1. Passionate Brand JK Rowling infuses magic in Brand Harry Potter
I remember taking my daughter, who was 5-years old then, to see ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ which was the first film release in the series. This was just my motherly attempt to introduce her to the world of Harry Potter. That was it and a Potterhead was born in my family and what followed was my daughter’s fanship growing crazier by the year, who left no piece, no corner unexplored in the Harry Potter world. From reading, re-reading of each Harry Potter series book to watching all its movies, again to no count, to endlessly wanting, getting & flaunting gifts from its wide-enticing merchandise. Then experiencing its theatrical production to enjoying the tours to its studio and trips to its filming locations, she had it all. But that craze has not subsided in any way from that 5-year-old to today’s 25-year-old, whose eyes still shine up on any & every mention of things & episodes related to Harry Potter.
I see a Marketing marvel.
Definitely first pull is by the product created by its magical creator, the author JK Rowling. The pull continued to grow & sustain, result of well-crafted extensions of the brand, superb marketing, execution skills & strategy.
‘Movement is life’, no matter how clichéd it may sound, but it definitely has a strong meaning in the world of marketing. Stay still and you get thrown out from the market. Brands have to continuously revolve in order to evolve and grow. JK Rowling did not let her brand Harry Potter lose its steam. She explored every hidden spark and capitalized every opportunity to build the brand bigger, so much so that Harry Potter turned into a phenomenon.
Very recently Harry Potter completed 20 years since its first film release in the Harry Potter film franchise. The 20th Anniversary Special show, ‘Return to Hogwarts’ was released on Amazon Prime on Jan 1, 2022, and I got to watch the show, of course because of the big Potterhead at home – my daughter. As I watched, the brand enthusiast in me once again got enamoured by this brand’s appeal and its creator JK Rowling.
A strong, inspirational Personal Brand, giving immense brand learnings to me. Few of which I share here:
The big Purpose of one’s life story should be explored, identified and built
For JK Rowling love for the magical world of books got induced by her dad who used to read out stories to her. At the age of six, she had her own book written, by ten she was a voracious reader who was deeply in love with the world of make believe. Becoming a writer was the big Purpose she identified early in life and chased it with passion throughout.
Identifying the Big Purpose, knowing the destination to reach, the vision of one’s being is a crucial element for building personal brand. Because it’s the vision which can indicate the path to be followed. Important is continuous exploration till we find one where our conviction & passion come together.
Passionate efforts can result in phenomenal creations
JK Rowling’s first book Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was rejected by 12 publishers till Bloomsbury (UK) published it in 1997, with name changed to ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’. It caught popularity worldwide & till 2020, this first book alone in the series had sold 120 million copies. JK Rowling’s life journey which had her big purpose identified early in life, moved ahead on her passion of writing, turned her into the best-selling author, with 7 books in the series, later converted to 8 movies and raising the character from the book /film, Harry Potter to the status of an icon. Purpose, Passion, Perseverance turned JK Rowling’s writings into big business, her a billionaire author and an inspiring Personal brand.
Strong sustainable meaning makes up a brand
Rowling created magical world of Harry Potter in her books and then continued to spread that magic in all extensions associated with Harry Potter. With creation of Harry Potter and its tremendous success, meaning of brand JK Rowling got associated with magical & wizarding world. She has written detective series in crime genre as well, but most of them in her pseudonym Robert Galbraith to keep the distinction from other writing.
That meaning gets strong by staying consistent at every customer touch-point
Multiple touch-points are created around the world of Harry Potter and interaction at each touch-point strengthens the meaning in the minds of the customers due to the consistent message that goes across and the uniform image which is built. To not let the excitement around Harry Potter to subside in any way in the hearts of Potter fans, Rowling created an amazing site Pottermore for the ardent fans who can delve deeper into the world of Harry Potter and satiate their desire to know more & more about the characters and spells and thus grow their love & connection with Harry Potter even stronger.
Once J.K. Rowling was approached with merchandising opportunities on McDonald’s Happy Meals. An attractive proposition on business front but one with potential risk to the image of brand, so it was turned down by her. Right portrayal of Harry Potter brand in every medium was of paramount importance. Love for brand should be bigger than lure for money.
The brand building is the result of long years of effort, with fair number of challenges, failures, setbacks till some success achieved
JK Rowling the big brand that we see today, has passed through a life full of pains & miseries since childhood to many failures, criticism & rejections later. When everyone & everything leaves, only passion stays. Sticking to one’s passion and moving ahead with determination results in success.
Once success achieved, it should be capitalised extensively, not just to get bigger wallet-share of customers but, more importantly, for bigger mind-share & heart-share of customers which leads to ever increasing loyal base
J.K. Rowling the creator of Harry Potter is at the heart of the brand. Minutely taking care of the marketing and business behind Harry Potter, in a way which doesn’t dilute the brand from any corner but keep building in the hearts & minds of customers. Every small gesture by this brand evokes immense brand love among its target audience. The creator who being an author, dwelling on emotions could very well capitalise on the brand love by opening up different avenues by which love for Harry Potter evoked at a very young age, doesn’t end there. Through whichever product, be it books, movies or any other, first exposure that target audience get of the Potter world are able to carry through their teens and even adulthood. Experience in different ways & forms exists catering to all age groups. Brand loyalty continues for long and loyal base keeps on expanding.
Continuous brand extensions, giving a refreshing appeal each time, resting on consistent image & true to vision, results in strengthening the brand instead of leading to brand dilution
Harry Potter has a magical line of extensions, from books, movies, clothes, candy, board games, toys, theme parks, theatrical productions and so much more. Consumers still can’t get enough of Harry Potter, and they remain emotionally attached to the brand and extremely loyal to it. Harry Potter is one of the highest grossing franchises of all time. The royalties from all different partnerships have made Rowling one of Britain's wealthiest women.
Bold brand guardians, completely engaged in their purpose, who embrace emotions & value integrity, can add magic to their brands
JK Rowling is truly a brand with a soul. She has founded Lumos, an NGO which works extensively for orphan kids. Through her devoted efforts, she tends to end the harm of institutionalisation & help children worldwide be reunited with family. She strongly believes that all children need to grow up in a safe and caring environment and makes high donations towards this and other important causes.
Fearless & committed brand guardian like JK Rowling ensures that no damage is done to the image and core values on which her strongest brand Harry Potter and her own personal brand stands. Harry Potter & JK Rowling give identity to each other and any harm to one can affect the other. Being very well aware of this, she struck a deal with Warner Bros and agreed for her books to be adapted to film, only when they allowed her to maintain some control over the Harry Potter movie franchise.
To witness once again the wizarding world and reminisce in the memories of that magic which kept us captured through the spell for last 20 years, just click this link and get blown away by this marvelous creation:
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2. The iconic ‘year of 83’ and Brand Kapil
Just last week, I went to watch the most awaited movie ‘83’ based on the historic, first ever winning of World Cup by India in the year 1983. I went watched the film with family at Jio Drive-In theatre to get close to that stadium like experience. Before going to the movie, I had already watched multiple interviews and events celebrating the movie, the World Cup team and, most importantly. the man at the centre stage, Kapil Dev – the then Captain of the team and now an inspiring idol for many – on YouTube and other channels. Actor Ranveer Singh who has enacted the role of this cricketing legend with extreme perfection has garnered immense love and will get a new boost to his image.
Like any Indian, I also felt the emotion & sensation heightened while watching the movie and thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely got inspired once again by the simple rustic persona of Kapil Dev and his broken English which had the power to keep the team motivated to give that big fight and pick up that glorious Cup.
The brand enthusiast in me got excited seeing this potential revival of Brand Kapil Dev, who got faded from the scene since last many years. With the iconic ‘year of 83’ hitting nostalgia & frenzy all around, our endearing ‘Kapil Paaji’ can easily have a come-back on the media scene and into our hearts.
All the ingredients of a strong revival are in place.
Branding insights derived from Brand Kapil Dev
During our brand journey we all create many small & big stories
Add a relevant meaning to some story which connects with your target audience
Create at least few magical moments, milestones which become strong associations of your personal brand
Brands with strong associations, high emotional connect, impactful performance do not lose relevance even when away from public eye for years
Such associations act as strings to support revival of the brand when required
Every brand has strengths & weaknesses. Important is to speak from the position of strength. Weaknesses which don’t affect your performance, what you are here for, then just let them be unique elements of your personality, to carry with humour and ease. Work upon the weaknesses which affect your performance or strategize to lessen their impact.
Set compelling goals
Be consistent on your values both on & off field, which adds credibility to brand
BIG LESSONS
Being underdog doesn’t hamper your growth. Instead, it helps you get creative, take risks, make decisions based on gut, thus leading to unpredictable positive performances.
Kapil Dev’s unbeaten 175 against Zimbabwe in the World Cup’s group stage resulted in India qualifying for the semi-finals. And perhaps, forever changing the fortunes of Indian cricket.
The World Cup of 1983 was a perfect story of the underdogs. The captain could infuse the spirit in each player to expect big from oneself, even when the world around had placed Team India in no or low expectation zone. For underdogs, their expectations are theirs, and theirs alone. They do not have any big successes to look back on, to derive any success formula or pattern from those wins. No ‘set ways’ for them. Only ‘refuse to give up’ mind-set sails them ahead.
Back to Basics strategy brings strength in revival.
Kapil Dev even when away from cricket field and public eye for years, continued to be an all-rounder as a businessman too, holding to his principles. “Running a business, I would like to see companies grow slowly. Too fast is not very good. You should have a plan for five, seven, 10, 15 years. Set timely objectives for its growth and valuations," Dev says.
Glimpse into the Brand endorsement journey of Kapil Dev
From the 80s era, brands which Kapil dev endorsed, just very few, but got strongly associated with were Palmolive shaving cream & Boost.
Fast forward through the years, now recently we have seen Kapil Dev as endorser, brand ambassador with many of the serious brands which require sincere messaging in a credible voice. Like AIPL ABRO for its leading products in hardware, construction chemicals and autocare segments, also in the new version of the old school famous advertisement “Sunday ho ya Monday, Roj khao Ande!” by National Egg Coordination Company (NECC), Zota Healthcare and others.
Extending on his sports space, Dev launched and became face of the new fantasy sports platform, Apne11.
In the year 2021, few brands for their campaigns aiming to create big impact, got associated with the cricket icon Kapil Dev. In June 2021, Nissan released a general awareness and safety campaign to educate India about COVID-19 through cricket analogies. Kapil dev’s presence and his voice aims to inspire the country to get ready to fight COVID.
In September 2021, Kapil Dev, who is now a smart investor & successful businessman, joined the team of Monedo Financial Services, a new-age financial services provider, as brand advisor and an advisory board member.
In November 2021, Kapil Dev was announced as a brand ambassador for Novo Nordisk, a leading global healthcare company which aims at increasing awareness about better diabetes management and early insulin adoption.
The most recent one, advertisement of CRED which went viral on social media, showed Kapil Dev in a new avatar, as flashy as one could never imagine! The ad displays the role reversal, as the former Indian team captain mimics Ranveer Singh, who is playing the role of Kapil dev in the movie ‘83’.
On the occasion of the 2021 IPL final, Dev himself posted the advertisement video through his Twitter handle. Dev captioned the post, “Heads, I’m fashionable. Tails, I’m still fashionable.”
Is this the revival & reinvention of Brand Kapil Dev!
Whatever be the future of this Celebrity Brand Kapil Dev, but this name will forever remain connected to that past glory, of being the captain of the winning Team India in 1983 World Cup. A lot followed, he was named Wisden cricketer of the year in 1983 and Wisden Indian cricketer of the century in 2002. He was conferred the Padma Shri in 1982, Padma Bhushan in 1991 and entered the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2010.
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