Newswise — A Purdue University marketing professor says Harry Potter's originality goes far beyond the pages of a book.
"J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter has shifted perceptions of the book industry and turned major book releases into full-on extravaganzas to rival blockbuster movie releases," says James Oakley, a Krannert School of Management assistant professor of marketing.
The sixth book installment (of a projected seven) in the Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," comes out July 16 with a first printing of 10.8 million copies. The fourth Harry Potter movie, based on the "Goblet of Fire," hits theaters Nov. 18.
"The book is a bonafide phenomenon, midnight sales - people standing in line to get the first copies, even if they have reserved one in advance - fans wearing costumes. It's a happening," Oakley says.
The first three Harry Potter books sold more than 30 million copies and were translated into 31 languages. Sales of the first three books in China were 1.3 million.
Publisher Barnes & Noble Inc. has announced pre-orders of 750,000 for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and expects orders to reach 1 million. The Wall Street Journal reports that while hit audiobooks sell between 20,000 and 50,000 copies, Bertlelsmann AG's Listening Library imprint has announced the July 16 release of 635,000 "Half-Blood Prince," audiobooks in North America, the biggest initial "print" in history, according to the company's Web site.
"In my marketing classes, I also talk about the effect the movies have on book sales," Oakley says. "With every movie release, sales for both that particular book, and all of the books in the series, spike. This indicates that the movies are creating new fans for the series rather than just attracting existing readers."
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