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08-19-2003, 09:08 AM
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[img]http://www.snitchseeker.net/images/avatar/harry_hedwig_80.jpg' align='middle'> VisitScotland seek ways to use Harry Potter’s magi - Summary:
Concerns remain over tourism ‘breaking down’ mystique of Warner Bros’s most lucrative brand... Article:  SCOTLAND’S tourism chiefs are in talks with film giant Warner Bros to investigate how Harry Potter might help boost visitor numbers in the Highlands.
The boy wizard, born in a cafe in Edinburgh where his first adventures were fleshed out by author JK Rowling, has maintained his connection with Scotland through blockbuster movies filmed in Lochaber, Glenfinnan and Glencoe.
A memorable scene in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second film in the trilogy, was set against the backdrop of the Glenfinnan Viaduct, and featured the Jacobite Steam Train. The forthcoming third film, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, also includes scenes in Scottish locations.
With the third film expected to be released in time for Christmas, tourism representatives are involved in determined behind-the-scenes efforts to ensure Scotland is positioned to take advantage.
But while some visitors have already been attracted to Scotland to see locations made famous by the films, tourist bodies have so far been able to make little use of the interest they have generated. This is largely because of the protective attitude of Warner Bros to a ‘brand’ it freely admits may be the most valuable commodity it has ever owned.
There certainly is magic attached to Harry Potter, with the books chalking up record sales the moment they hit the shops, the movies topping the box-office charts and merchandise keeping tills ringing.
It is a magic that those marketing holidays in Scotland hope might rub off on tourism, but as Neville Longbottom, the inept pupil at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry might warn – some spells are easy to break.
Warner Bros doesn’t want the illusions of children shattered, or concrete locations too obviously linked with particular sequences in the films. This might “break down” the magic according to one company spokeswoman. “We’ve always been non-specific about where the locations are in Harry Potter,” she said.
Now tourist bodies hope their negotiations may be close to reaching a solution that satisfies the interests of both parties.
Malcolm Roughead, head of marketing at VisitScotland said: “We have been talking to Warner Bros. Obviously, and rightly, they are very protective of Harry Potter the brand. They don’t want to demystify the magic for its fans. It may be that Glencoe and Glenfinnan viaduct are providing backdrops but in the world of Harry Potter, they don’t really exist.
“We have to treat that with sensitivity and understanding and explore how we might work around it.”
That means any Harry Potter-related tourism marketing may have to steer clear of linking marketing concepts by name to the films. Anything else is likely to be prohibitively expensive.
Merchandising is as lucrative for Warner Bros as the films. Each film has delivered £60 million for toy company Mattel in Potter-related sales, under license from Warner Bros. In June, Diane Nelson, senior vice-president of marketing at Warner Bros described Harry Potter as “a bigger property than anything else we have ever seen … and we’re nowhere near saturation point.”
Attempts by VisitScotland to tap into the Harry Potter effect are likely to be subtle.“We are more likely to try and exploit thematic spin-offs – for instance the Glenfinnan viaduct is instantly recognisable with the stream train and we could encourage people with ‘10 magical rail journeys in Scotland’,” said Roughead.
“We can make the connection without taking away the mystique of the films. We are reluctant to have a Harry Potter endorsement per se, because then you are into intellectual property rights.”
Another way forward would be extrapolating from the interest in magic and mystery to engage visitors in Scotland’s myths and legends, Roughead added. Guides to Scotland in the movies, featuring Harry Potter locations alongside those from other films including Mrs Brown, Braveheart and even The 39 Steps are also a possibility. Promoting “literary Scotland” is another.
But Harry Potter visitor centres, or advertising the Jacobite Steam Train as the “Hogwarts Express” are more problematic. At present using images from Harry Potter movies is barred, but Roughead hopes that might soon change. “We are talking to Warner Bros and have to convince them that some of these ideas are worth pursuing. This is a win-win situation, this is good for the company’s image and good for us as well.”
VisitScotland admit the model of how to make use of such gift-wrapped marketing opportunities is the New Zealand Tourist Board’s use of the fact that the country’s wild scenery is the setting for the Lord Of The Rings movie trilogy.
Roughead said an impressive degree of forward thinking was involved. “I have seen what they did, and bits of it are superbly done,” he said. “The national tourism organisation in New Zealand was in at the very beginning, Air New Zealand was a strategic partner and was able to take ownership of this from the very beginning.”
New Zealand’s government also gave grants for filming. “They joined up, got together and that makes life much easier,” added Roughead.  | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
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