1

Understanding Harry Potter as a Global Brand and its marketing

strategies.

Madhavi Pramod Gangadharan

MBA CM

21050143059

Project 1 - Academic Essay

Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication

Harry Potter made the world believe in magic once again. The characters and the world that J K

Rowling created shaped an entire generation like the Beatles or Star Wars. Harry Potter's impact

in the publishing world is more significant than any other book in the world. It influenced

children and adults to read again and even write. Pottermania, the term used since 1999 to

describe the fandom of the world of Harry Potter, thrived and went beyond what most people

imagined. However, how did the Harry Potter fandom turn into a global brand? From spoof

videos, fan forums where lengthy discussions about Defense against the Dark Arts or unicorns

take place to Harry Potter conventions or cosplay, Pottermania expanded across the globe.

Fandoms existed before Harry Potter-like Star Trek, Star Wars and Sherlock Holmes.

Nevertheless, Harry Potter turned itself into a brand much before George Lucas did the same to

Star Wars.

The Harry Potter fandom came during the Internet boom. This allowed fans to discuss it and

share their ideas and variations of the stories on various forums. Writing, reading and reviewing

these stories on sites like fanfiction.net, Wattpad, Fiction Alley allowed a new kind of literature to

emerge. Accessibility to the internet allowed fans worldwide to engage and communicate about

Harry Potter like never before. Harry Potter fandom has, in a way, affected even pop culture to a

certain extent. However, the books were not the sole reason for the creation of the brand. It

started with the creation and release of the Harry Potter films based on the book and went on to

forums that regularly discussed the latest theories or possible storylines in the

fandom. This dedicated fandom evolved to one of the most famous representations of the

fandom; Harry Potter Fanfiction.

Professor Rebecca Tushnet has described fanfiction as "any written creativity based on an

identifiable segment of popular culture, such as a television show, and is not produced as

professional writing". Fanfiction is stories or written works by fans based on the original

storylines of popular culture. These original storylines are referred to as 'canons'. The canons can

be different genres of popular culture, from movies, books to TV shows or celebrities. Fans use

characters, plotlines or other elements from the canon as a base for their storylines. One of the

most popular fanfiction themes is Harry Potter. Harry Potter Fanfiction is one of the most popular

and searched for in fanfiction websites. In fanfiction.net, 760378 stories have been written so far.

Since the first Harry Potter fanfiction to be written on Fanfiction.net in 1999, it has boomed and

allowed fans to be a part of the world of Harry Potter. Fanfiction also gave way to slash fiction,

particularly queer slash fiction, which created a new fandom within the existing Pottermania.

Slash fiction of Harry Potter has opened a new fandom within the series. Fanfiction writers create

pairings between same-sex characters in the series, the most popular being Harry/Draco (Drarry)

and Sirius/Lupin. Fanfiction is a new style that moves away from the original and mainstream

culture. Slash fiction of Harry Potter included characters relatable to an entire marginalised

population. It exposed Harry Potter to a new audience who appreciate the original story and can

better understand themselves and the narrative by creating their versions through

fanfiction. The slash fiction of Harry Potter has expanded its fandom to a broader audience

within the adolescent fan base.

Pottermore was one of the first products launched by the Harry Potter brand. It enhanced the

experience for fans with the wizarding world. J K Rowling's involvement with official fansites

and her Twitter handle, which she constantly uses to send tidbits or fun facts about the characters,

keep the magic alive in the world of Harry Potter.

Post the final Harry Potter film; the brand remained consistent by first releasing the Fantastic

Beasts Book and eventual movie trilogy. Then the release of the Cursed Child stage play and

book. Both of these reinvented the brand and increased engagement with the Wizarding World.

The popularity of these transmedial versions led the brand to expand from traditional media

forms into the themed parks with The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Apart from the theme

parks where they can have real-life experiences in Hogwarts, fans also desire objects from this

world. The wands, the uniforms, even the food items from the world of Harry Potter became

merchandise that fans are desperate to acquire. Now online gaming allows fans to have their own

Hogwarts adventure, similar to that of Harry Potter. Rowling's world has grown into a cultural

phenomenon unlike any other.

In the article "Harry Potter and the never-ending phenomenon", David Sims argues that Rowling,

despite writing the final instalment of Deathly Hallows and ending it with an epilogue of a time

jump nineteen years into the future, never let the story end ultimately. She drops notes or hints to

the story through tweets and interviews that may not be significantly relevant but still intrigue

the fans. These tweets may lead to detrimental changes to the original story that the fans may not
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appreciate, like in George Lucas and the Star Wars movies. The issues with Rowling filling in the

gaps with her subtle tweets and Fantastic Beasts Trilogy (which she has scripted) are that the

gaps she fills leave less room for her fans to fill with their imagination. Moreover, concerns of

how despite J K Rowling not having written Harry Potter books anymore, the fandom continues

to grow to a large scale, from convention to Kickstarter-funded campaigns for films to the latest

development of the play, 'The Cursed Child', which Rowling herself backed. Does this take away

the magic of Rowling's world?

This year, with the 20th anniversary of the series's first film, Harry Potter is still as popular and

magical. Be it the theme parks, merchandise, new films or fanfiction, the fandom still loves to

escape into The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. There is concern from many whether this

Pottermania will ever overextend its brand. For now, the brand does show restraint allowing the

fans to feed into its pull for another 30 years. Perhaps eventually, consumer behaviour will

inform whether the brand of Harry Potter has finally run its course.

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