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Why? How?
There are two main predicaments that Peter Cuneo and his colleagues are trying to decide upon. First being how to most effectively use its library of characters, and secondly, whether to expand into more capital-intensive activities in the value chain for its entertainment products.
Marvel can either continue to focus on a small set of its most popular characters or shift their focus to a larger set of lesser-known characters with the potential to become the next world-wide phenomenon. Continuing to capitalize on the strength of a select few characters is not a sustainable strategy, as there is no way to tell the lengths to which their popularity will persist. Marvel’s vast content library provides it with endless opportunities to develop lesser known characters, but this also runs great risks as these characters are generally unknown. It is recommended to take a cooperative approach, marketing its known characters to a lesser extent, and shifting the excess resources to developing new characters. Many consumers associate big superheroes like Spiderman and X-men with Marvel, and this brand recognition is crucial, but not many of its characters have actually achieved “superhero” status. By appropriately allocating resources to both sets of characters, Marvel will be able to create new profitable superheroes, improving revenues and brand …show more content…
Established in the 1930s, Marvel’s sole focus was on publishing comic books, and its great success in this industry has allowed Marvel to gain credibility and integrity as a corporation. Since 1997, the comic book industry has been very stable, with total U.S. retail sales of approximately $300 million per year. Marvel had a 40% market share, 5% higher than its biggest competitor: DC Comics. In recent years the net sales of Marvel’s publishing have been increasing; however, as of 2003, these sales accounted for only 21.08% of Marvel’s total sales and 14.54% of its gross profit; making publishing the lowest financial contributor of the three divisions. Nevertheless, it is still crucial to Marvel’s future performance, because what it lacks in financial contributions, it will make up for in its influence on brand equity. Marvel may be yielding greater returns in other divisions, but its publishing sector is essential to sustaining its reputation and loyal consumers, as comic books are what Marvel is known for and what it should stay true
There are two main predicaments that Peter Cuneo and his colleagues are trying to decide upon. First being how to most effectively use its library of characters, and secondly, whether to expand into more capital-intensive activities in the value chain for its entertainment products.
Marvel can either continue to focus on a small set of its most popular characters or shift their focus to a larger set of lesser-known characters with the potential to become the next world-wide phenomenon. Continuing to capitalize on the strength of a select few characters is not a sustainable strategy, as there is no way to tell the lengths to which their popularity will persist. Marvel’s vast content library provides it with endless opportunities to develop lesser known characters, but this also runs great risks as these characters are generally unknown. It is recommended to take a cooperative approach, marketing its known characters to a lesser extent, and shifting the excess resources to developing new characters. Many consumers associate big superheroes like Spiderman and X-men with Marvel, and this brand recognition is crucial, but not many of its characters have actually achieved “superhero” status. By appropriately allocating resources to both sets of characters, Marvel will be able to create new profitable superheroes, improving revenues and brand …show more content…
Established in the 1930s, Marvel’s sole focus was on publishing comic books, and its great success in this industry has allowed Marvel to gain credibility and integrity as a corporation. Since 1997, the comic book industry has been very stable, with total U.S. retail sales of approximately $300 million per year. Marvel had a 40% market share, 5% higher than its biggest competitor: DC Comics. In recent years the net sales of Marvel’s publishing have been increasing; however, as of 2003, these sales accounted for only 21.08% of Marvel’s total sales and 14.54% of its gross profit; making publishing the lowest financial contributor of the three divisions. Nevertheless, it is still crucial to Marvel’s future performance, because what it lacks in financial contributions, it will make up for in its influence on brand equity. Marvel may be yielding greater returns in other divisions, but its publishing sector is essential to sustaining its reputation and loyal consumers, as comic books are what Marvel is known for and what it should stay true