Analysis of the brand community of Harry Potter: the success of the boy who lived through the generations

Abstract

Harry Potter, the wizard who was worth $25 billion thanks to continuous products releases, a strong brand community and a bit of magic. This thesis analyses the case of the Harry Potter brand community by segmenting it between two generations. Literature defines brand communities with three markers: shared consciousness, rituals and meanings and moral responsibility (Muniz & O’Guinn, 2001). In addition to that, Burgess and Jones (2018) characterize the media fandoms as an emotional attached version of brand communities. Chaney et al. (2007) teach that generation Y and Z have a need for constant change. What does the HP community to retain and attract new members? In this thesis, I use a qualitative method, conducting exploratory interviews to determine the motives of each generation to enter and stay inside the community. The two generations were chosen because they differentiate on the factor of growing up with the saga or not. My results show the younger generation as more materialistic and a heavier consumer of merchandising. While Millennials associate the community and the brand to memories, with a more emotional dimension. The findings lead to think that brands need to be able to renew themselves due to the need for change of both generations and to the Gen-Zers’ involvement in many BCs. The brands also need to be careful and keep up with the expectations of the original fans. My hope for this thesis is that whoever is brought to read it, will want to (re-)discover Harry Potter afterwards.