Do not shake your head, you know you’re excited: both to read this post and to hurry to the Pottermore website and sign-up for the mailing list. Okay, so maybe you’re not that much of a Harry Potter fan. But, you must be a fan of marketing effectively, communicating successfully, and growing exponentially (the ambiguously clever slogan of this fine blog). Aren’t these desires instinctual? (Yea. Right next to “hunger” and “stress.”)
Even if you are a plain old marketing-loving muggle, you just have to respect what J.K. Rowling is doing with the website, described in the meta-description as:
“a unique and free-to-use website which builds an exciting online experience around the reading of the Harry Potter books.”
Okay, I can dig an online experience to go along with some of my favorite books (especially the Prisoner of Azkaban). I find myself smiling uncontrollably in giddy anxiousness for October when Pottermore becomes available, which is surprising because I have absolutely no idea what it is actually is. Genius, right?
Okay, so it is Harry Potter.
There is no denying that some of the frenzy can be credited in large part to Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and…Ron. It’s true, the series has built up a following of pseudo-delusional people who carry wands and fight hypothetical dragons (no judgement here, as I have been known in my day to slay a few trolls). But, this following is only part of the reason behind Pottermore’s undeniable future success.
Curiosity killed the cat, but we aren’t going to have time to feed it anyway.
Pottermore was introduced as “J.K. Rowling’s next thing,” and remains relatively mysterious (branding, anyone?). While there is talk that it will be a massive online game, we have yet to have confirmation. Withholding the details compels us avid Potter fans to chatter about the overwhelming possibilities. And, last time I checked, chatter is nothing if not a great thing for all online projects.
Talk leads to more talk.
Late last week, MTV announced that the wait is over:
Pottermore has arrived, and as we guessed, it’s an online experience featuring brand new “Harry Potter” material.
Oh, it’s an “experience,” just as we guessed. Wait, what does that mean? What Rowling has done is spur our curiosity with a mystifying project, than claim to satisfy our curiosity with an “official introduction”; the catch is that we are still curious! And, now we are slightly frustrated (yet even more excited) that we are still unaware of what is going on (yet, again, still excited). Now that the chatter has died off from the first unaware excitement, it is back again with an increasing need for more and more details.
The privilege of “registering your interest.”
At the time this post was written, the page title of the Pottermore website beckoned the curious to “register your interest.” In other words, “hey, buddy, you’re excited about Pottermore? Why don’t you prove it!” Oh, you don’t think I love Harry Potter? Well, I do! (This is when I opened a new tab, rushed to the Pottermore website, and added myself to an email list that will surely drive me back to the website again and again.)
Lastly, note the timing.
The last movie of the series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, hits theaters two weeks before the launch date of Pottermore. Coincidence? I think not! Nothing like having one of the most talked-about and anticipated movies of our generation pop up to do some cross-promotion and branding before the big day. Oh, Rowling, how I love you! J.K.
Whether or not you’re as excited as me, or had even heard about the project before today, the flawlessness of the Pottermore marketing strategy is undeniable. Innovation, technology, and incentive meets Harry Potter. What could be better?
