Positioning Strategy
By examining the current level of business undertaken by Marvel Entertainment, it is undemanding to understand how the corporation is equipped with an effective strategy intended to uphold the company’s comprehensive products portfolio.
In fact, all the perspectives of business operations have been properly placed. That is, the company’s operational strategy was clear from the beginning. The company sought to be in command of a huge segment of its leisure output. The approach was in effort to create an ongoing super hero merchandise franchise.
There is link in the company products from animation and movie to consumer products including DVD, video games and toys. There is also an online version of the links utilizing animations, movies and classics (Collins 26).
Consumers’ Perceptions
The core idea of Marvel’s strategy reflects the foundation of the company business. In the company’s comic books, the main heroes emerge frequently in each other’s storyline.
Considering that the company initially depended on Spider-Man over a long time, the incorporation of key heroes was refreshing for the company’s core fans. The consumers of the corporation products view the company as one that can offer a wide range of entertainment products for individuals of all ages.
Indeed, this is particularly the case of families with young children. The company offers a wide range of products including shoes, bags and clothes that are designed to be associated with heroes in the company entertainment products.
Children who enjoy the entertainment products from the company can hence associate with other products such as clothes, shoes and bags. According to Collins (2011), this gives the interconnectivity between the basic requirements of the consumers and the entertainment portfolio.
By examining the profitability and financial performance of the company, it is easy to conclude that the company customers are receiving the positioning strategy adopted by the company positively. In recent years, major licensees and retailers have come on board to discuss the long-term ventures.
In 2008, the company earned international royalties of over 147 percent increase from the previous year. The consumers of the movie products are pleased that the company has presented them with linked, in-depth, and detailed story forming an umbrella narrative.
The company has created a niche in the younger audience. By bringing forward new brands including The Super Hero Squad, the company has managed to create a loyal base of consumers.
The initial young customers of the company since it opened its doors are now individuals with financial capability to purchase the consumer products from their own pockets. They do not need to rely on their parents to purchase the products.
As the company grows in both profitability and products, these customers get products that match their age such as the introduction of The Avengers.
In locations such as Japan, the company has managed to position itself locally to the benefit of local consumers. There are localized characters in its product line.
From study literature, this has received positive acknowledgement with consumers in other countries demanding the comic products to be availed in local dialect. The company responded to such demands in India by offering a Hindi-language version of the Spider-Man comic book.
The brand of the company conveys excitement, adventure, fun and power, which offers a broad appeal to everyone from young children to the middle-aged mothers (Cho, Corbett, and Dang 1).
The product and its influence on the corporate image
The products offered by Marvel Entertainment help in raising its public profile. It offers products that function as intended. The products give the customers value for money. The quality of the products presents the company as a genuine business entity intended to give its customers more than demanded.
State of PLC
Marvel Entertainment including its franchises is a branched out global entertainment firm. It operates in five business segments under the Walt Disney Company. The segments include Interactive Media, Consumer Products, Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts, as well as Media Networks.
The products offered by the company are of high quality and auger well with its strategic objective of being a leader in various areas of business.
The company is profitable according to previous audit reports. The public perceive the corporate image of the company positively considering that it performs well at the NYSE (Collins, 2011).
Characteristics of Marvel Entertainment as a PLC
The shares of the company are freely traded at the NYSE. The shareholders of the company are shielded from potential losses made by the company.
The company over the years used its PLC status to raise capital through issuing corporate shares to the public at the NYSE. Such an event occurred in 1996 when the company sold shares worth $350 million to the public.
Classification of Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment made its initial public offer in July 1991. It offered 40 percent of its shares to the public. Besides, the company became a public limited corporation given that private ownership ended with the above move.
Position of the organization in its environment and effect of this on brand strength
Competitive Position
The entertainment industry has a wide range of competitors that compete with Marvel in the United States and other market locations worldwide. However, Marvel Entertainment managed to create a market position that allows it to have a competitive advantage.
Any company offering a wide range of main products that are interlinked with other entertainment products achieves this goal (Cho, Corbett, and Dang 1). The main competitors of the company include DC Comics Incorporated, Hasbro Incorporated, and Mattel Incorporated.
Technological Position
The advancement in technology has not spared marvel Entertainment. For the last two decades, the entertainment industry has experienced significant changes effected by technology. The company originally produced hardcopy comic series.
As technology advanced, it became essential for the company to digitalize these products. Most of the company customers were in a position to afford electric gadgets enabling them to access the company products in digital formats including comic books.
Marvel Entertainment advances its strategic objective of developing the company as the leader in the field of creating high value recognized content using technology. The use of technology ensures that the content of its products is very persuasive.
It also ensures that the products reach the consumers in diverse ways (Cho, Corbett, and Dang 1). By digitalizing the product line, the company is able to reach a wide base of consumers globally by allowing customers to place orders on the internet and downloading products such as movies.
Customers in far locations are hence able to get the desired products promptly without visiting the company outlets physically.
Physical Position
Marvel ensures that its franchise and outlets are strategically located for easy access by customers. The outlets are located in areas near the entertainment spots including theme parks. In fact, this effort ensures that the company reaches its target customers also dubbed the entertainment seekers.
The company covers a wide geographical market by extending into the international markets such as Japan, China, Canada, and Latin America. In pursuit of the expansion strategy, Marvel focuses on confronting challenges presented by the physical locations via incorporating technology into its operations.
The location of Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, Hong Kong Disneyland and the Disney’s California Adventure ensures that the company captures the attention of families on vacation.
Social-cultural Position
Marvel Entertainment has successfully integrated its core business with the growth strategy. The company, founded in the United States, has grown significantly to offer consumers in other cultural backgrounds with entertainment products including South Africa, Japan, and India.
The company has intentions to expand its business in Canada, Latin America and China. The management plans to create and develop localized programs that will fit the culture of the consumer base.
It also intends to create tailored initiatives for particular markets in order to increase product awareness that will allow it to establish its business in line with the social and cultural settings of the targeted market and audience (Cho, Corbett, and Dang 1).
The company ensures that it meets its social corporate responsibility in all its operations and locations.
Legal Position
Inherently, companies face legal challenges in establishing businesses as well as when operating. To overcome these challenges, the management must ensure that the company complies with all the set laws, legislations and regulations.
The entertainment industry poses challenges to many organizations given the high rate of infringement of patent, copyright issues, piracy and trademarks (Collins 2011).
Since the establishment of the company, Marvel Entertainment ensures that it complies with all the legal aspects that ensure smooth operation without breaching laws and regulations set by the authorities.
Besides, to ensure that the company corporate image is positively received in the market, the corporation accepts to streamline all legal aspects when entering into contracts, franchising or acquisitions.
Such moves help in displaying the company as one that follows the laid down procedures for conducting business. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) must and has licensed all the media owned by the company.
Works Cited
Cho, Eunice, Jennifer Corbett and Alfred Dang. “Marvel Brand Audit Project.” Journal of Brand Management. 63.15 (2012): 1-28. Slideshare. Web.
Collins, Josephine. “Marvel.” Hero Worship Journal. 4.1 (2011): 26-31. Print.