The marketing code: unlocking the secrets of Dan Brown's success

To extract the secrets of the marketing of Dan Brown's world‐wide bestseller, The Da Vinci Code.

Case study research based on secondary sources and close reading of relevant texts.

The staggering success of The Da Vinci Code is contrary to conventional marketing wisdom, but conventional wisdom is increasingly inappropriate intoday's entertainment economy.

Case study research. Needs replication in additional domains. The accepted approaches to best marketing practice need re‐evaluation.

Approaches topic from unconventional direction. Tries to capture the spirit of Brown's writing.