Communication Value: Marvel
- What is Marvel’s business model (business divisions and their roles and interplays of activities in each division)? In your view, what strategic direction should Marvel Enterprises’ Vice Chairman Peter Cuneo and his colleagues pursue? Why? How?
Marvel uses a diversified business model through its four divisions; comic-book publishing segment, toy department, and the licensing segment. The comic-book publishing segment is responsible for publishing, marketing, and selling comic books about its various characters. The toy department deals with designing, developing, marketing, and distribution of a miscellaneous collection of toys for movies to various global markets. The licensing division is responsible for licensing and selling rights for various Marvel characters to feature films, animations, videogames, and television programs (Elberse, 2004). Marvel also licenses their popular characters with various studios for use in motion features. The licensing division also licenses use of their characters in toys, collectables, apparel, accessories, and food products.
Marvel should consider developing their lesser-known characters to boost growth. Instead of exhausting the company’s prominent characters, the chairman and his colleagues should use other characters who have the potential to generate more income for the company. Marvel should also explore other growth opportunities by venturing into more capital-intensive investments rather than depending on the characters alone. Adapting such a strategy would allow Marvel to generate more profits and allow their lesser-known characters to grow and increase their audience.
- Why was Marvel’s turnaround so successful? Would you characterize that success as a fluke? Or do you view it as sustainable? Why? How?
Marvels turnaround was successful because instead of focusing on additional expenses and debts, the company used other strategies which are not capital-intensive. The company lent its characters to other studios and made licensing deals with a variety of other products like toys, video-games, motion picture, food products, apparels and party items. Marvel did not contribute to capital but they use the knowledge of characters, thus the turnaround was successful. The success cannot be characterized as a fluke because Marvel invested a great deal of time and commitment to find the right characters and partners. Marvel’s success is sustainable because they still have a great library of characters and they also venture in other departments like licensing and comic-book publishing who as well, contribute to the development of the characters.
- How important are each of Marvel’s three divisions – comic books, toys, and licensing – to its past and future performance?
Each of Marvels division serve distinct functions as explained earlier, which are key to its performance. The comic-book division has massively contributed to the development to various characters’ personality and context in the past (Elberse, 2004). The licensing segment was important to Marvels performance because it helped monetize the content library through selling rights and licensing characters for use in consumer products like toys and collectables, and media products like television programs and videogames. The toys department was used to generate more revenue for Marvel through a making and distributing miscellaneous collection of toys depicting action figures. The three divisions are the core to Marvel’s performance and will continue to play these roles even in future, although the capacities could vary because the company’s performance is dynamic.
- To what extent is Marvel’s success due to only one character, Spider-Man? How can Marvel develop its lesser-known characters?
Spider-Man is Marvel’s most popular character and he has contributed to a big percentage of the company’s success. The character has been featured in several best-selling movies, which have made Marvel more successful. Marvel has also lent the character to other studios and made several licensing deals with wide variety of media and consumer products like television programs, videogames, and toys. Spider-man also has a wide audience than any other Marvel character. Therefore, Marvel’s great deal of success is therefore, due to the character Spider-Man. Marvel can develop its lesser-known characters by featuring them in more films, comic-books, and involving them in more licensing deals.
Reference
Elberse, A. (2004). Marvel Enterprises, Inc. Harvard Business School Case, (505-001).