Project Description:

 

This case study analyzes Marvel Enterprises Inc.’s marketing strategy. It examines the marketing tactics between Marvel’s three divisions – comic books, toys and licensing – regarding the organization’s short term and long-term sustainability, and the impact that the three divisions’ activities have on each other. The report determines if Marvel should make use of already-prominent characters to expand their market share in their three operating divisions or explore other superheroes and villains in their character library to gain a competitive edge against their friendly rival DC Comics. All this culminates into a recommended decision pertaining to the risk of investing big money into capital-intensive activities like films, television productions, and video games.

Marketing Strategy: 
 

Each of Marvel’s three divisions – comic books, toys and licensing – are equally important, because they reinforce each other in the marketplace. The three divisions impact the company’s short-term and long-term sustainability by encouraging or discouraging Marvel fans to explore and purchase other consumer products within each separate division. Marvel’s three divisions can aid with the company’s short-term and long-term sustainability by allowing certain characters from their library to gain media exposure, preferably through a licensing agreement, to predict how audiences will react to their new character. The comic book publishing division can be considered Marvel’s long-term sustainability category because their consumer segment consists of males between the ages of 13 to 23 and adults in their mid-30s. The toy division is Marvel’s short-term sustainability revenue category since the superhero toys are targeted to boys aged four to 12 years old. If the company can sustain the child’s interest in Marvel’s characters throughout their childhood development, they are more likely to explore and purchase products in the comic book publishing division as they move through their adolescent stage and into adulthood. Therefore, the company should bear the risk and the cost of such a significant investment because of the high success and revenue previously seen in American and worldwide box offices. The company has seen nothing but success amongst their three divisions – comic book publishing, toys and licensing – although they have been licensing their lucrative intellectual property to third parties instead of cashing in on the benefits of their characters’ success alone.

​

To read more about my case analysis, please download a copy of my work.