Harry Potter and the Chamber of Commerce: J.K. Rowling’s Pottermore.com as the extension of the Harry Potter brand in a digital context

Abstract

With the launch of the website Pottermore.com, author J.K Rowling has extended the Harry Potter brand into the digital realm. After seven books and eight films, the Potter saga continues with an online multimedia experience and ebook versions of the Harry Potter books. The site, which is free to join and use, opened for beta users in August 2011, and subsequently, following a number of postponements, was launched to the general public in March 2012. Pottermore serves three main functions: 1) A social network for fans and readers, 2) A platform for games, puzzles and additional content tied to the Harry Potter brand, and 3) An online store for ebooks and digital audiobooks. This paper seeks to provide the background for Pottermore, identify the publishing strategy behind the digital launch, and discuss its implications for the book industry and the publishing supply chain. Focus is on the third main function of the site, i.e. the Pottermore Shop, the online store providing ebook versions of the Harry Potter books for the first time and on the specific kind of digital publishing that Pottermore represents. The study forms part of the author’s PhD project on digital strategies and internationalization in the publishing industry.<br><br>

Published in: "Magic Is Might 2012: Proceedings of the International Conference". Edited by Luigina Ciolfi and Gráinne O’Brien. ISBN 978-1-84387-359-4.