Harry potter and the internet revolution

Monique Trottier
Web: SoMisguided.com Twitter: @somisguided
How the Internet Revolution Affected Fan
Participation in the Series

1990s: Email
In the early 90s we get email, which is still a
highly effective communication tool. It’s the
mechanism used by publishers to send scoops to
the fan sites. These messages can be forwarded
or copied and pasted online.
Monique Trottier

1995: Real Audio
In 1995, we get Real Audio. This is the
technology that allows us to stream audio and
create internet radio.
Monique Trottier

1995 & 1998: Search
In 1995 we get Yahoo! and in 1998 Google. Suddenly we have
incredibly powerful search engines that allow us to not just surf
the web but to actually search for the things we want to see.
These search engines also thrive on links. The cross-linking
between fan sites establishes the reputation of certain sites and
helps identify who’s who in the online fan community.
Search engines also are the #1 tool that amplify and make
persistent our online conversation. Now there is a way to see
who’s talking about what, how many sites are talking about one
thing, and that information is indexed and archived in the
search engines.
Monique Trottier

Search indexes become our
Time TURNers.
So the online stage is set for 1997 when Harry
Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is published
in the UK. What follows is a $100,000 advance
from Scholastic to publish the book in the US.
The online media pick up on this story along with
the Cinderella story of Jo as a single mom
writing in cafes.
And we get the early fan sites, we get the first US
book tour, we get onto the NYTimes bestseller
list and stay there.
Monique Trottier

$$$ 1998: Ecommerce
By 1998 ecommerce has truly hit the world wide
web. Amazon.com is raking in real money. And it
means that North Americas will soon be able to
buy UK editions online.
eBay launches which soon becomes the auction
site for signed first editions and other Harry
Potter memorabilia.
Monique Trottier

1999: MP3s
In 1999, MP3s take off and Napster launches.
Suddenly we have a file format that’s great for
music and a peer-to-peer file sharing network
that allows us to really easily pass files around.
Monique Trottier

<html> 1999: Blogging
1999 is also the year of MySpace.com and
LiveJournal: 2 sites that play a huge role in
terms of virtual communities and giving fans
really easy ways to create communities and to
stay in touch. It’s becoming easier and easier to
make a website.
Monique Trottier

1999: Fan Sites
1999 also sees the birth of MuggleNet.com. 12-
year-old Emerson Spartz gives us what’s to
become one of the premier fan sites. These early
days eventually lead to his in-person meeting
with JK Rowling and the launch 6 years later of
Mugglecast.
Monique Trottier

What does it all mean?
We have the community, the content, the
collaboration and the creativity for fans to
start moving en masse as a fan community. The
press call it POTTERmania.
Monique Trottier

1999-2000
With the publication of Harry Potter and the Chamber
of Secrets we get Jo’s first online chat and we learn to
pronounce Hermione.
2000 is the year of high-speed internet. Broadband
adoption in North America is high. We have faster
connections. Faster ways to keep in touch.
Jo’s North American tour is record breaking. We gather
20,000 fans in the Toronto Skydome and break the
Guiness World Record for the largest public reading by
an author.
Monique Trottier

The first 3 years of Harry Potter have laid a
solid technical foundation:
Monique Trottier

Then there’s 3 long years
before another book.
In the 3 year wait, fans take those tools and
generate an incredible amount of fan content.
1. The Leaky Cauldron comes on the scene.
2. Wikipedia launches and we start thinking
about creating databases on information—the
Harry Potter Lexicon (2000).
Monique Trottier

continued...
3. We have the Harry Potter Aggregated
Network, the Floo Network, FictionAlley. There
are tons of fan sites.
4. The books are translated into 40 different
languages.
5. We get 2 school books for Red Nose Day.
6. And the first movie comes out November 16,
2001.
Monique Trottier

What does the 1st film
mean?
For the first time fans see the world that they’ve
been imagining. Which means that there is no
dearth of things to talk about. Fans start
blogging, joining fan sites, and in 2003, 2
exciting things happen.
Monique Trottier

#1 2003: iTunes
#1. Apple launches iTunes. Which soon
becomes the easiest way to buy and search for
music. Soundtracks…
Then in June 2005, iTunes introduces built-in
support for podcasting, and users can
subscribe to podcasts for free.
Anyone can submit their podcast.
Consumers become Creators.
Monique Trottier

#2 2003: Nimbus
The second thing that happened in 2003 is
Nimbus — The first fan-organized, large-scale
conference all about Harry Potter. As a fan
community, they are large enough to need a
conference.
The online space has created the need for
a physical space to share ideas, news and
gossip.
Monique Trottier

2004: JKRowling.com
2004: That explosion of voices means that
someone needs to step up as the Official Source.
JK Rowling and her publishers take up the call to
action. JKRowling.com is re-designed and
becomes THE source for Harry Potter
announcements.
Monique Trottier

2005: YouTube
2005. YouTube.com launches. We finally have
audio and video in a way that is easy to share.
With YouTube in particular, there’s a built-in
piece of technology that let’s us grab a piece of
code and embed it on any site. This means fans
can grab stills and clips from the movies can
create their own mashups, movie trailers, music
videos.
Monique Trottier

2005: Podcasting
AND, we get the first Harry Potter Podcasts:
MuggleCast and the first PotterCast.
And at that height of PotterMania, there are over
200 weekly podcasts created by fans.
Monique Trottier

2006: Facebook
2006: We get Facebook.
All of this is a huge lead up to 2007...
Monique Trottier

July 11, 2007
July 11, 2007: We had the release of the movie
(Order of the Phoenix) and 10 days later on July
21 the publication of the final book.
So we have a movie, the final book and the
10-year anniversary of the publication of
the first book.
Monique Trottier

The Perfect Storm Story
It’s the "perfect storm." The height of
Pottermania: the goodbyes to the series, the tell-
all interviews with author J.K. Rowling, the fan
reviews … the harsh articles talking about the
Harry Potter buzz machine.
But you can see from our Short History of the
Internet that it was less about marketing and
more about timing.
Monique Trottier

What am I saying?
Harry Potter wouldn’t have happened the way it
happened without the web.
For marketers, this means you have to
understand
• that blogging is the new press release
• twitter is the new story scoop
• Facebook is the new cocktail party
Regardless of the tools, online marketing is still
about building relationships.
Monique Trottier

Saga con’t: 2008-2010
2008: Jo publishes Tales of Beedle the Bard. Auctions handwritten
edition for £1.95 million ($3.98 m). Bought by amazon.com
2008:Robert Pattinson (plays Cedric in 2 HP films) finds vampire fame as
the star of Twilight.
2008: Book 4 in Twilight series sold 1.3m on first day
July 2009: HP Half-Blood Prince film sets midnight record,$22.2 m.
2009: Universal announces the Harry Potter theme park to 7 key people
and within 24 hours, 350 million had heard the news
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part 1) on its way to hitting $1
billion worldwide in box office sales
Monique Trottier

What’s the Key?
Teaser and perpetual marketing, one tactic fuels the next
Release information in bits (hooks), leave fans wanting more
All brand touch points communicate a consistent brand message, image
and promise (no overextensions, i.e. HP Happy Meals, less merch)
Let consumers take control, in particular on the social web
Guide the conversation, don’t dictate it
Allow for an emotional involvement, which leads to relationships and
word of mouth
Monique Trottier

Monique Trottier
Monique Trottier is president of Boxcar Marketing,
an internet marketing company. Former internet
marketing manager of Raincoast Books, she
spearheaded major online marketing campaigns,
including promotion of Harry Potter and the creation
of the first Canadian-publisher podcast and blog.
Twitter http://twitter.com/somisguided
Boxcar Marketing http://boxcarmarketing.com/
So Misguided Blog http://SoMisguided.com

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