I decided to become a part of history last night. I went to the final Harry Potter party at Barnes and Noble in Burlington, MA. I hung out with the kids and adults in costume, I wore the glow-in-the-dark glasses that they offered up for free when you came in the door. I made my guess at how many of Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans were in the jar. I thought about getting my face painted, but the poor woman (only one person) doing the face painting had a line around the building. I almost stepped in and offered to help her paint, I felt so bad for her. Instead, I reminded myself that this was fun-time for me and I went and got my picture taken. (I'll post it here as soon as I can get the polaroid scanned. It's pretty funny.)
I arrived at about 8pm. By 9pm when I left, there was a line around the building of people waiting to get in the door because the building (a HUGE two-story structure) had hit maximum capacity. The air conditioners were having a hard time keeping up with all of the people. I was glad to be leaving at 9pm. I was tired and there wasn't any chance I was buying a book since mine was due to be delivered the next day (I ordered in advance).
I started thinking about the marketing machine that created this furor. There were kids and adults alike dressed in costume (I know I would have been if I had been inclined to think a little more ahead). There were lines of people around the building. Barnes and Noble even had to contract with BOTH UPS AND the post office to deliver the books. (UPS delivered them to the post office who did the Saturday delivery.) All over a children's book.
Talk about viral marketing. I keep thinking that if I could get even one tenth of the momentum of that marketing machine, my business would take off in a flash. When I break down what it is that I think makes Harry Potter so compelling it comes down to a few things:
- It's fantastic - things that could never happen in real life magically happen - it's every kid's fantasy to have special magical powers
- It's got the classic underdog story that everyone seems to associate themselves with
- It's the archetypal struggle of good against evil
- The main characters are human - they've got magical powers, but they're not all-powerful. They are in fact fragile and sometimes not so bright. Which makes us feel like we could be them.
There are some of these concepts that can be used in our marketing as well. And I'll let you brainstorm about how that can happen for yourself below. I'll come back and chat more in a few days, but for now, I'm off. My doorbell rang a few minutes ago and my latest Harry Potter book has arrived. I'll be out of commission for a few days while I digest it. I'll speak with you all when I come back up for air...
Read the Next Installment - Harry Potter and Marketing II
Kelle Sparta is the author of The Consultative Real Estate Agent - Building Relationships that Create Loyal Clients, Get More Referrals, and Increase Your Sales, as well as being a speaker and trainer and coach specializing in the real estate industry. Kelle is the founder of Sparta Success Systems, a real estate training company that provides coaching, products, and training to empower agents and brokers to create lives and businesses they can love. To learn more about hiring Kelle as your coach, visit her website. For more information, visit her website at http://www.spartasuccess.com/. © 2007, Kelle Sparta.
Dear Terry,
That must have been great fun! It's nice to see another person who appreciates the "being part of history" piece. I have to admit that sometimes I do things just so that when I'm old and grey I can say that I was there. I want the kiddies to be fastened to their chairs when I tell all the cool stories about my life. Then there's also the part about not liking to be bored...
Thanks for writing!
Dear Michael,
I am also a Tolkien fan (I own all of the movies too), but there is something so innocent and child-like in the Potter stories that appeals to me. Perhaps it is that I had some similarities to his feelings while growing up - feeling like he didn't fit in (my family moved all the time). Perhaps it's that he's the chosen one - after all who doesn't want to feel like they are special and have some greater purpose in the world? Perhaps it's that he's human and I just want to see him make it - against all the odds. It gives me a sense of hope for the world and for myself. Then there's always the cool magical items and spells that make the world more fun (I'm all about fun myself).
J.K. Rowling does a great job with the books. The world she has created is just as complex as Tolkien's. There's history, artifact, continuity, and complexity. Don't write it off too quickly. The books are much more complex than the movies (obviously). Try one. I'm betting you'll get hooked too. If not, well at least you'll have some context for conversation with the rest of us junkies. ;-)
Thanks for writing!