The wizardry of great branding demystified
Book Review
Harry Potter:The Story of a Global Phenomenon
By Susan Gunelius
This celebratory literary scene was simultaneously taking place outside hundreds of bookstore locations across the United States, preceded, no doubt, by similar activities in time-zones around the world. That Harry Potter author, J. K. Rowling, is an almost unprecedented publishing success has been well documented in book reviews and front-page articles from coast to coast and country to country. That she and her books, films, video games, and merchandising endeavors are also part and parcel of a global branding success story has now been delightfully documented by Susan Gunelius in her new book, Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon.
The series of seven Harry Potter books have sold over 400 million copies worldwide, has been translated into 64 languages, and the five Harry Potter films have grossed over $4 billion at the box office. All in all, the Harry Potter brand is worth over $4 billion. While many believe this incredible success may, indeed, be Hogwarts magic, Gunelius explains in enjoyable, straightforward manner that it’s actually the result of a concise business strategy and a carefully planned and executed branding strategy. From Harry’s remarkable beginnings, conjured up on a train ride Rowling took from Manchester to London, to the current blockbuster state of the Harry Potter brand, Gunelius deftly takes the reader through the business story using the principles of great brand-building as a template. Dissecting the tale from this perspective is an interesting challenge, and one that Gunelius tackles with ease and the appropriate level of detail to bring the phenomenon to life. Without being pedantic in any way, she takes the reader through the brand’s creation, how the buzz began, how it was managed through branding tactics both traditional and digital, and how it is carefully monitored. She also employs the use of mini-case studies, histories of other cultural phenomena including Star Trek, Playboy, Tom Clancy, Ian Fleming, and Oprah Winfrey, to further illustrate her points.
Why did Harry Potter become so successful? Why did my friend and her husband witness the pre-midnight madness to buy the latest tale of Harry, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and the evil Lord Voldemort? In The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon, Susan Gunelius tells us about everything we need to know from the price wars, to the merchandising, the word-of-mouth to the social networking. And she does it in way that makes it clear that the compelling story of Harry Potter’s life and times was just part of an equally compelling branding story.