Have you ever wondered how the Harry Potter Juggernaut became...well... exactly that. A juggernaut! The marketing of Harry Potter is a study in capitalism at its zenith. The approach was simple. And one word was key. Synergy!
Synergy in its simplest form means a concerted effort. In the case of the Harry Potter vehicle what this meant to its parent company (AOL Time Warner) was executing a marketing blitz that involved several aspects of its vast empire. Utilizing its various media outlets (Time, People Sports Illustrated and CNN) AOL Time Warner created a huge, huge buzz for the Harry Potter franchise.
About US$ 30-40 million was spent on marketing the 1st Harry Potter movie. The marketing campaign included product tie-ins and product licensing. J.K. Rowling authorized 85 licenses which was actually small for a movie of that size and budget. The norm is around 200 licenses.
In all about 500 products were licensed and they included: Lego games; Gameboy games; PlayStation games; Wallpaper: Nokia phone covers; mugs, books, clothes, food items and so on.
Coca-Cola was the only official sponsor of the movie and reportedly paid about $150 million for the global marketing rights...strategically placing Harry Potter images on various Coca-Cola products. Since those not so humble beginnings nobody has looked back. Like the proverbial snowball rolling into an avalanche, the Harry Potter Juggernaut has grown and grown and grown, to the extent referring to it as a juggernaut no longer does it justice...
The Harry Potter Juggernaut is now officially The Harry Potter Behemoth!
