Marketing a Message: Harry Potter and the Role of Marketing and Publicity in Raincoast Books' Ancient-Forest-Friendly Initiative

On June 21, 2003, Raincoast Books released the Canadian edition of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth installment of the extremely popular series of novels by J.K. Rowling. Raincoast was the only one of fifty-five publishers of Harry Potter worldwide to print the book on 100-percent post-consumer recycled, ancient-forest-friendly paper. Raincoast decided to publicize its commitment to printing on ancient-forest-friendly paper by launching a media campaign on the subject just a few weeks before the release of Harry Potter. Taking advantage of the popularity and media hype surrounding Harry Potter, Raincoast was able to garner attention—from both the media and individuals—for the company's pledge to become an environmentally responsible enterprise and for the issues that initially provoked its decision to make such a commitment. This report explores environmental issues concerning the current state of ancient forests worldwide; the impact of the book publishing industry on ancient forests; and Canadian consumers’ opinions on environmentally responsible paper usage in book publishing. This report documents and examines the changes that have occurred in Canada since an environmental coalition, Markets Initiative, began its ancient-forest-friendly campaign with Canadian book publishers in 2001, and the ripples that are being felt—by publishers, printers, paper manufacturers and the public—since Raincoast’s launch of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.