Pottermore and Harry Potter Brand Exceed Expectations
May 8, 2012
Over half a million people purchased Harry Potter ebooks during the first month that they were available through the Pottermore ebook store and digital universe for a total of nearly $5 million.
The site attracted 22 million visits from 7 million unique visitors during its first two weeks, and those visitors liked what they found on Pottermore. The site tracked 1 billion page impressions with the average visitor viewing 47 pages and spending 25 minutes on the site. During those first two weeks, 5 million people registered on the site and half had already been sorted into the famous Hogwarts houses.
To date, Pottermore’s immersive brand experience only includes content for the first book in the series, but Pottermore CEO Charlie Redmayne reports that book two is coming soon. In the meantime, new interactive elements, activities, and community tools will debut in the coming weeks. Redmayne says that the success of Pottermore and the Harry Potter ebook sales are exceeding expectations, which is really not surprising given the emotional attachment that consumers feel for Harry Potter — one of the most powerful relationship brands in history. Redmayne shares, “[Pottermore] has been amazingly successful and shows the power of the Harry Potter brand.”
As such, ebook sales haven’t cannibalized print book sales. Instead, print sales increased after Pottermore launched. And while piracy initially increased, it quickly decreased again because loyal Harry Potter community members wouldn’t accept illegal versions of Harry Potter ebooks. He explains, “We have demonstrated that if you make these books available in a way that people want them, and on a platform that is accessible to them, and at a price they are happy with, then generally people will choose to buy them.”
In typical Harry Potter marketing style, tease and perpetual marketing will keep consumers wanting more from the brand. That pull marketing coupled with the engaging Pottermore brand experience will ensure that the Harry Potter brands remains top-of-mind among consumers for years to come. Word-of-mouth marketing will continue to play an important role in the success of the Harry Potter brand, and the community aspects of Pottermore (which are sure to evolve in the future) will keep the conversations going.
Harry Potter might be the main character of a children’s fantasy book series, but it’s also a brand phenomenon that brands in all industries can learn from. What do you think?
Image: Pottermore
LinkedIn Acquires SlideShare
May 4, 2012
News that LinkedIn acquired SlideShare for over $118 million broke this week (along with a SlideShare presentation explaining the news) — an acquisition that gives LinkedIn access to a lot of content created, shared, and discussed by its target audience of professionals. In March 2012, the SlideShare website received over 29 million unique visitors, which means it’s one of the most trafficked websites for professionals.
Over 7.4 million presentations have been uploaded to SlideShare since it debuted in 2005, and since then, those presentations have been embedded in over 1.4 million unique domains. All of that content represents opportunities for LinkedIn to connect with a larger audience and get access to valuable information about its users.
In a press release, LinkedIn CEO Jeff Weiner explained, “Presentations are one of the main ways in which professionals capture and share their experiences and knowledge, which in turn helps shape their professional identity. These presentations also enable professionals to discover new connections and gain the insights they need to become more productive and successful in their careers, aligning perfectly with LinkedIn’s mission and helping us deliver even more value for our members. We’re very excited to welcome the SlideShare team to LinkedIn.”
Information is valuable these days, and the SlideShare acquisition certainly gives LinkedIn information. The acquisition represents what appears to be a turning point for the direction of LinkedIn as a company. Undoubtedly, the LinkedIn strategic direction goes far beyond the SlideShare acquisition. Simon Sharwood of The Register speculates, “The [acquisition] could mean ‘this is our cloud storage play’ or ‘our members were spending a fair bit of time using Google Docs and Office 365 and we wanted that time-on-site’.”
One thing is certain, what started out as a simple social networking destination for professionals might just be turning into something far more comprehensive. Let’s just hope that “something” really is useful.
Image: LinkedIn
Some Executives Really Do Believe in Social Media Marketing
May 3, 2012
For most marketers, getting senior level buy-in on social media marketing investments is an uphill battle, but new research by PulsePoint Group and the Economist Intelligence Unit (as reported by eMarketer) shows that some North American senior executives are starting to figure out just how effective social media marketing can be.
Most of the 329 senior executives who responded to the survey are quick to note that social media marketing is still lacking in objective metrics, but there is no denying that it does have a positive effect on brands. Executives who claimed their companies have an extensive social engagement presence reported a return on investment (ROI) twice as high as those companies with a limited social engagement presence and four times higher than companies with no social engagement presence.
While much of social media marketing is still analyzed subjectively, executives reported a variety of positive benefits of investing marketing budgets into social media initiatives. For example:
- 84% reported improved marketing/sales effectiveness.
- 81% reported increased market share.
- 68% reported improved product/service quality.
- 67% reported improved brand or stock value.
- 65% reported improved speed to market/innovation.
- 65% reported improved collaboration with partners.
- 58% reported improved talent retention.
- 37% reported decreased costs.
Senior executives are also realizing that the long-term brand building value of social media comes from developing relationships that lead to brand loyalty and brand advocacy and a form of word-of-mouth marketing that’s extremely powerful. 69% of executives stated that customers speaking out via social media (even if those conversations were negative) increased sales. 67% of executives said that suppliers connecting via social media raises their games, and 54% said that employees speaking out helps them attract talent.
These are the types of benefits that lead to long-term, sustainable, organic brand and business growth. Short-term tactics are an important part of a social media marketing plan, but a brand’s integrated marketing strategy should focus on building brand awareness, advocacy, and ultimately, equity that can survive through any macro- or micro-environmental problem.
What do you think? Leave a comment and share your thoughts on the study.
Image: Denis Dervisevic
Who Benefits More From Using Social Media: Large or Small Businesses?
May 2, 2012
Christine Kane, a graduate in Communication and Journalism, offered us a guest post discussing social media in small and large businesses. Which benefits more? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Over to you, Christine…
Who Benefits More From Social Media Usage: Large or Small Businesses?
Every business, whether large or small, can benefit from social media usage in terms of internet marketing and brand awareness, but is it small or big business that benefits more? Do the large businesses, with their far-reaching fingertips, benefit more from social media? Or is it the smaller, humbler businesses that prevail?
Recognition and loyalty
It’s pretty obvious that everyone is benefiting in terms of brand recognition from using social media because of how quickly it allows you to expand your audience. And there’s no denying that big brand names such as Target, Exxon, or Best Buy are able to draw in large followings with a simple snap of their social media fingers because they’re such well-known brands already. Small businesses, on the other hand, have the most growing to do, and don’t bring in large followings right away because they have to build their brand recognition. However their followers are also much more likely to share the small business because if they’re following them then it’s out of a deep appreciation for the brand and they are usually interested in doing whatever they can to help grow it. This brand loyalty isn’t usually as strong with big businesses.
Ability to relate
One of the most influencing factors of social media is the ability to put a human “voice” behind a brand name. This helps alleviate the feeling of interacting with a nameless, faceless brand and fosters feeling of an actual relationship. Both businesses benefit from this, but small businesses are able to use this more to their advantage because there isn’t a large corporation fueling their posts, tweets, etc., which usually translates to having a more personal and less automated feel to them. Having a more personal feeling that people more easily relate to, gives them a stronger bond with the brand than those that boast hundreds or thousands of employees.
Interaction with the general public
Coming out on the forefront again, small businesses are much more likely to reach out to the general public for product reviews or to send out free samples than big businesses. This is because they’re trying to create brand awareness in exchange for product reviews or link-ups on social media sites, which helps further solidify a commitment to the brand and business. People love to feel appreciated and are usually much more active in promoting a brand that they feel appreciates them as well.
So who comes out on top?
While both small and big businesses will reap benefits from social media marketing, small businesses tend to see the most growth and brand commitment from their followers. This is born largely out of the personal connection their fans feel to them, and that connection is vital to successfully growing through social media usage. In terms of social media success, while big businesses may be able to implement more expensive marketing plans, when small businesses approach marketing in a more intimate way they’re likely to come out on top.
Thanks Christine!
This guest post is by Christine Kane from internet service providers. She is a graduate of Communication and Journalism, enjoys writing about a wide variety of subjects for different blogs and can be reached via email at: Christi.Kane00 @ gmail.com
Does Your Brand Need a Mobile App?
May 1, 2012
It seems like only yesterday that brands were scrambling to get Twitter profiles and Facebook Pages. Now, those things seem ancient as brands are realizing that mobile is the future (a future that’s already here).
Brands in every industry are launching branded mobile apps, and executives are demanding that brands get on board the mobile app train because it’s the cool thing to do. It doesn’t matter if a mobile strategy has been developed for a brand. Everyone else is doing it so few brands are confident enough to ignore the mobile movement.
But does your brand really need a mobile app? Is developing a mobile app where you should be investing your budget today?
At its core, the answer to those questions is very simple. If you can create a mobile app that provides meaningful or interesting information in a manner that is useful to your consumer audience, then a mobile app can help your brand. However, simply creating an app to say that your brand has one is a mistake that’s unlikely to deliver positive results in the long-term.
Of course, it could be argued that in order to stay relevant, brands need to have mobile apps because consumers expect them in 2012. While it’s true that brands should have a mobile presence since that’s where consumers spend more time every day, it’s not wise to make the leap to investing in a mobile app without doing your legwork first.
For example, you need to conduct some research and find out what consumers want from your brand when they’re on-the-go. Are there specific types of information or content that you can deliver via a mobile device that can add value to consumers’ lives? A mobile app isn’t an ad. In other words, don’t use a mobile app to regurgitate marketing messages and sales pitches.
Furthermore, you need to analyze your competitors and understand what they’re doing in the mobile space. You certainly don’t want to fall behind or launch a mobile app that’s not unique. Spend time analyzing brands beyond your industry as well. Your mobile app should be creative and innovative. While such an app might not exist in your industry yet, you can find inspiration from brands in other industries that have found creative ways to bring brand experiences to mobile consumers.
Remember, mobile apps are focused on delivering content to an audience whenever and wherever they want it, but branded apps should also leverage the real-time nature of mobile devices. Deliver something valuable and timely via a branded mobile app, and you’ll be on your way to driving positive returns.
What do you think about branded mobile apps? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
Image: renatomitra
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