Marketing Professor: Only Hufflepuffs Totally Loyal to Harry
Books
Posted by: sue
October 20, 2008, 04:33 PM
The Telegraph is reporting tonight that a professor in the UK has done a study on readers of the Harry Potter novels, with the findings apparently revealing there are four distinct type of readers. According to the report, Professor Stephen Brown of the Ulster Business School says the groups closely mirror the Houses of Hogwarts, and indicates the breakdown of the groups as follows:
- 'Hufflepuff' readers take the tales at a slow, steady and systematic pace and enjoy re-reading the books over and over.
- 'Gryffindor' readers are eager and energetic and will
devour the latest Potter book in one sitting, but quickly move on to
new things.
- 'Ravenclaws' are subversive and take
the stories with a pinch of salt, while 'Slytherin' readers are not
fussed about the books.They prefer the films but pretend to have read the books when it suits them.
Speaking about potential sales and continuing interest in Harry Potter now that the seventh and final book in the series has been published, Professor Brown said "It is an interesting time in the development of the Potter brand
because a lot of people have moved on. It will only be people who revel
in his world who will continue with their admiration of the brand," he
forecast.
He also noted that "Only the Hufflepuffs are totally loyal to Harry, the Gryffindors are
already moving on to other things, the Slytherins never really liked
him anyway and the Ravenclaws are too busy writing their own fan
fiction or posting spoof videos on YouTube."
Finally, Professor Brown said that the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling do not have staying power, and noted "It could come back into fashion but I think it could be like many fads
and just fade away and people will look back and say 'Why did we ever
read this stuff?' "
No word if Professor Brown has ever visited a Harry Potter fan site while doing the research.
huh. I’m some kind of Gryffindor Hufflepuff hybrid. I devoured them quickly enough but then I read them over and over and over and….well I am listening to the OotP audiobook right now. I do eat other books happily and get into other books/movies/anime/what-have-you, but, I always come back to HP and something has had anywhere near the impact HP has had on me. I can no more leave behind the Harry Potter universe for something else then I can remove my arm and put on others as I see fit.
It would appear that he failed to take into account that some Harry Potter fans have spent several years growing up with Harry, and, that that kind of connection may prove more lasting than other interests we may have, and that the speed at which we read the books is pretty irrelevant when you can spend so much time as the series develops mulling it all over and that fanfiction and other fan works can involve a lot of devotion and understanding and exploration.
Then again, the very presence of a person on this site with any regularity now, might suggest a somewhat skewed sample… :-D
What a crock. I am a Gryffindor through and through, I have read every book at least ten times, watched the movies too many times to count, written fan fiction, debated topics ad nauseam, I spend at least some time every single day on Leaky, often visit other fan sites and Harry is my ultimate Hero. I dress up for all midnight releases/openings and go in some sort of HP theme for Halloween just about every year with my entire family. That is NOT a fad, it is a lifestyle! LOL True, I read the books quickly, but that has more to do with the pace of the story and the awesome writing. They are easy to read because they are so exciting and character driven and they lead you on. HP will NEVER go out. Never. It is a classic for the ages. I think he must have had a preconceived notion about what he was “studying” and clearly he did not do a very thorough job if he didn’t visit any fan sites. I’m a 40 year old mother of three and the HP series of books are my favorites of all time. I read anything and everything, but I always come back to HP. He should have taken a wider sample of the population!
huh. I’m some kind of Gryffindor Hufflepuff hybrid. I devoured them quickly enough but then I read them over and over and over and….well I am listening to the OotP audiobook right now. I do eat other books happily and get into other books/movies/anime/what-have-you, but, I always come back to HP and something has had anywhere near the impact HP has had on me. I can no more leave behind the Harry Potter universe for something else then I can remove my arm and put on others as I see fit.
It would appear that he failed to take into account that some Harry Potter fans have spent several years growing up with Harry, and, that that kind of connection may prove more lasting than other interests we may have, and that the speed at which we read the books is pretty irrelevant when you can spend so much time as the series develops mulling it all over and that fanfiction and other fan works can involve a lot of devotion and understanding and exploration.
Then again, the very presence of a person on this site with any regularity now, might suggest a somewhat skewed sample… :-D