At 12.00 am July 21, 2007, we will witness something extraordinary, the like of which may never be seen in our life time.
Harry Potter is officially the new $15 billiion man. Publishers, movie studios, theme park owners, children, young at hearts, toy marketers, packaged foods marketers – the enthusiasm and money altogether has reached an alltime high.
So how much is Harry Potter really worth?
A calculation done has provided startling results. According to the AC Nielsen research
1. Author J.K. Rowling herself is worth $1 billion
2. Harry Potter himself is now the 30th most wealthy individual in USA, even wealthier than the likes of Micheal Dell (CEO Dell) and Eric Schmidt (CEO Google)
3. Some of his grand revenue sources are – Advertising ($380 million), DVD sales ($1 billion +), packaged good licensing ($11.8 million), music ($13 million+), books ($9 billion), movies ($4.4 billion) etc.
With so much hoopla around the boy wonder, what are we doing in our country to capitalise?
While an extravaganza like this is a marketers dream, its sad to say that we have completely missed the Potter bus here in Bangladesh. Sure, Etc. and some book stores are doing in house Potter fair, competitions and book promotions, but that is definitely not enough. Here are some of the missed opportunities
1. Harry Potter has replaced “Dalim Kumar” in childrens heart, but english illiteracy is a challenge. Any book publisher could have acquired the license of Harry Potter latest installment, and go for Bengali translation (not pirated). This could have increased the appeal to those children who would love to read Potter books but cant do so because of english illiteracy. (Criminal company – Sheba Prokashoni!! Where are you?)
2. There is this big hype about what happened to Harry Potter at the end and who are the two person who died in the book. Marketers could have capitalized by running contests for people who can correctly guess what happens in the book and reward them accordingly.
3. TV channels or Star Cineplex could have bought the right of old Potter movies and shown them during this time. As all children are in the mood of revising old stories before diving into the new book, this could have been an wonderful opportunity
4. Bangladeshi bags and other merchandise owners could have also tagged along, by selling Harry Potter licensed goods.
5. Some event management company could have organized a big Potter Event in Wonderland by transforming it into a Harry Potter theme park for 1 day, inviting children from all over Bangladesh to join and celebrate
6. Some newspaper or magazine could have published a special Potter supplement and sell it separately in news-stands from the day of the launch.
These are just random thoughts. But i am sure with some conscious group efforts, something much more grand could have been done here. What remains to be seen is if we learn from such missed opportunities. Our neighbours have made big strides in aligning themselves with global events like this. How long will it take for us?
One comment
Mohammad Jobaed Adnan
July 21, 2007 at 4:48 pm
This is to notify that Words `n Pages brought Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows book in Bangladesh. Here I am going to quote from amadergaan.com, “In the history of publishing, Harry Potter is probably the most heated book which swept away the world with fever. In Bangladesh the popularity and fever has been also phenomenal. The 7th and last book of the series will come out on 21st July, 07. But the readers are already excited and eagerly waiting for the book. Words `n Pages, the no. 1 bookstore in town, is launching the book on the same day along with the globe so that readers of Bangladesh can also be a part of this international rendezvous.
During the launching of the 6th book in 2005 we saw the huge excitement among the people and we arranged lots of programs which created a mark all over the Dhaka. The print and electronic Medias covered the ceremony with lots of enthusiasm.
As this is the last one of the series, the fever is more acute than the previous year. People from the whole town are waiting. So we thing this will be a high impact campaign. Words `n Pages have already got hundreds of pre bookings. Though it is said that, this book is for teenagers, our experience shows people from every age group are also interested in the book.
Words `n Pages is preparing for a huge launching ceremony. We are eyeing to 1500 people to get the book.
The activities of the campaign…..
• We are presenting attractive Harry Potter T-Shirt and other gifts as free give away with every pre-booking.
• We have arranged a quiz competition in association with Rising Star (a supplement of the Daily Star)
• Amader Gaan is providing the online information. Log on to http://www.amadergaan.com
• Radio Foorti is airing a special quiz competition.
• In different school in Dhaka and Chittagong we are arranging special campaigns.
Programs:
18 July
Quiz Competion (day long)
Draw and bring a Harry Potter Book Cover (day Long)
Write your own story about Harry Potter (day long)
20 July
Tell a story about harry Potter (3pm-8pm)
21 July
Launching the book at 9 am
Special Harry Potter Food Item (day long)
Look a like contest ( Dress as a Harry Potter character)
Count the bin contest.
The book will be launched at Radio Foorti Studio also with a special guest. Mojo will provide free drinks with every book.
For the first time, Chittagong is also participating in the festival. In Chittagong Bishod Bangla, a popular cultural centre at Mehedibag, will also launch the book at 5 pm on the same day in association with Words `n Pages.”