Lord Voldemort is not simply “the darkest wizard of all time,” he is also a strong brand. A brand that had a unique and notorious identity. A brand feared so much that people couldn’t dare speak the name.
Many of us grew up alongside Harry Potter books. As we embarked upon the magical journey with Harry, we found many friends along the way. We found fulfillment in Ron and Hermione’s friendship, loathing in Umbridge’s guts and solace over Tom Riddle’s “mundane finality.”
Lord Voldemort a.k.a. He-who-must-not-be-named was as much a companion to us as Harry himself in this journey. J.K. Rowling brilliantly contrived him alongside Harry, gradually removing each veil of his character, always leaving us a little intrigued.
As I re-read the series, I realized that Lord Voldemort is not simply “the darkest wizard of all time,” he is also a strong brand. A brand that had a unique and notorious identity. A brand feared so much that people couldn’t dare speak the name.
8 Lessons from Lord Voldemort About Branding:
1. A logo that shines – quite literally
When you see a dark mark, you know what it means. The fact that this sign has never failed to induce fear on the onlooker or leave a doubt in mind who this logo belongs to, makes it a successful brand logo.
A good logo must be simple, clear and relevant. It is the identity of brand. A strong brand ensure that their logo is fixed inside customer’s mind so distinctly, that whenever they come across it, they are able to recall the brand without confusion or conflict.
2. Brand Personality – The “feel” of a brand
Brand personality is the personification of a brand. Just like an individual’s personality could be “Happy,” “Brooding,” or “Bubbly,” a brand can be described as a having a personality.
For eg. McDonald’s brand is ‘happy’ and Amul is ‘Indian and fun.’
Voldemort has created a strong brand of himself, a brand which invokes a particular feeling in people’s mind. If we are to specify personality of Voldemort’s brand, it is fear and mystic.
3. A Unique Brand Name
As Ray Kroc puts it in the movie “The Founder” – “No one ever has build such a big restaurant and no one ever will because they all lacked that one thing… that makes McDonald’s special. It’s not just the system, Dick. It’s the name. That glorious name, McDonald’s. It could be, anything you want it to be… it’s limitless, it’s wide open… it sounds, uh… it sounds like… it sounds like America. That’s compared to Kroc. What a crock. What a load of crock. Would you eat at a place named Kroc’s? Kroc’s has that blunt, Slavic sound. Kroc’s. But McDonald’s, oh boy. That’s a beauty. A guy named McDonald? He’s never gonna get pushed around in life.”
What is a strong brand without a good name? The name of a brand must be relevant, relatable and catchy for an easy recall. It should be about the brand and for the brand.
Voldemort inspired such a strong sense of fear among people, that they dare not speak his name. “You-know-who” and “He-who-must-not-be-named” they call him. Branding done right. Right?
4. Brand Aesthetics – Looks matter
The glowing red eyes, vertical slits for pupils, the fingers, long like spider, pale like they have not seen sunlight for years. A hiss that left him when he sighed and a voice that sent a chill down the spine – A perfect look for a perfect villain.
Voldemort not only did evil, but he also looked evil. He was everything, an evil man should be. So should be a strong brand. It should look as much as act, on what it stands for.
A great example would be Zomato. From the delivery person’s shirt and bike to the brand’s Instagram post, all is “Zomato Red.”
5. Safety Nets – What else are Horcruxes?
“He made seven Horcruxes?” said Harry, horrorstruck, while several of the portraits on the wall made similar noises of shock and outrage. Voldemort wanted to be immortal, and for that he made seven Horcruxes. The optimal number of safety nets he decided would be enough to ensure his immortality.
Good brands must also have a good number of safety nets. Diversifying product portfolio, market research to find exact customer needs, test launches of new product etc. are all risk mitigating methods that companies use to ensure sustainability.
6. Use of Integrated Marketing Communication for a Strong Brand
Multi-channel, consistent communications that complement each other is Integrated Marketing Communication or IMC. It ensures multiple touch points hence enables reach to a larger audience and builds a strong brand recognition.
Didn’t all of Voldemort’s communications had a similar consistency and relevance? Even the free media coverages he gets in “The daily prophet” has a clear communication, which speaks of Voldemort, his dark aspirations and his goals. In short, a great implementation of IMC.
7. Delegation of routine tasks, a must for a strong brand
After taking over the ministry, Voldemort didn’t declare himself as the minister of magic. Instead Pius Thickness was appointed as the minister. This left Voldemort free to extend his reign further without being bogged down by routine tasks of management.
This is not strictly a brand building point, but it helps in effective management of any firm. The habit of delegating routine tasks so as to focus on more important tasks is a quality every manager must possess.
8. Unfailing Communication System
How can any death eater miss a call from the master, when Voldemort has inked the Dark mark on their skins! And not just that, it burns too!
Not that one should do something like this, but it is an unfailing communication system anyway. An effective team must have an effective communication system, which is root of a strong brand. Afterall:
“The difference between mere management and leadership is communication” – Winston Churchill
9. Well prepared pitch for a strong brand
This is not shown much in the movies, but the book readers know that Lord Voldemort was a great persuader. He wheedled out information of great value from people. He was seemingly empathetic and understanding and he convinced the Gray Lady to divulge the information of Helga Hufflepuff’s lost tiara, a fact denied by her for centuries.
Even after being naturally gifted with such a communication skill, Voldemort appreciated preparation. He apparently spent weeks planning on his pitch to Slughorn, when he wanted to know about Horcruxes.
Similarly, despite everything else, preparing a great pitch beforehand is crucial for any conversation in which persuasion is necessary. Be it a job application or sales presentation, a great pitch always has its uses.
In a Nutshell:
Despite being the antagonist of the Harry Potter series, Voldemort’s character has many admirers. He was a great manager, had natural leadership skills and was a great orator. While we must not follow him and become the next dark wizard, we can learn from him and apply his learnings to our businesses.
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Stradonn 
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