...Case Analysis: Marvel Enterprises, Inc.__________________________________________ Marvel Enterprises, Inc is an industry leader of character-based entertainment, building its foundation on publishing comic books and licensing character rights over the past seventy years. After encountering some hardships in the late nineties, Marvel repositioned itself as a powerful global firm under the leadership of new CEO, Peter Cuneo. He developed a strategic recovery plan, allowing Marvel to overcome bankruptcy through the monetization of its extensive content library, long term development of characters, and the assurance of high-quality for all Marvel-related products. However, by 2004 concerns arouse regarding the sustainability and continued growth potential of this business model. Marvel needed to determine whether continuing their focus on popular characters was a sustainable strategy or if it was necessary to expand into lesser known characters to reach a larger audience. Cuneo also wondered if Marvel should venture past is current business operations to invest in content creation, rather than licensing the rights to others to do so. Marvel is currently competing in a red ocean, attempting to exploit existing demand and outperform its rival competitor, DC Comics, vying to obtain a greater market share. In order to do this Marvel should consider creating two divisions of character development. The first will focus solely on maintaining popularity and profitability of well-known...
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...Marketing Strategy 8050 Marvel Enterprises, Inc. Case Writing by Xiaodan Dong February, 2008 Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (b) Why was Marvel’s turnaround so successful? Would you characterize that success as a fluke? Or do you view it as sustainable? Why? How? Marvel’s success is not a fluke because its business model is sustainable. Marvel’s new strategy monetized the content library by licensing characters for use with media products. During an era in which mass media is very important in people’s life, only one media tool, publishing, is not strong enough to expand Marvel’s influence to consumers. Comic books can target a very limited market, mostly composed of male teenagers and young adults from 13 to 23 years old. It is very difficult to expand this traditional market. After many years of development, this market has matured and is very stable. Meanwhile, people have been more exposed to movies, televisions, and video games, which more effectively influence people’s consumption behavior than do comic books. All these media modes are able to reach more consumer segments than traditional comic-book publishing. Marvel’s potential to develop increased dramatically when its market expanded to broadcast media. Other consumer products, such as toys, worked in conjunction with media products, these two kinds of products reinforced each other. Marvel’s market expansion developed in both a comprehensive and intensive manner. Marvel emphasized long-term value in its...
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...Richardson Keller Graduate School of Management Abstract Marvel Entertainment, LLC (Marvel) has been producing toys, comics and stories filled with characters that have played a substantial role in the childhoods of millions. In this paper I will examine the leadership that allowed Marvel to emerge out of bankruptcy into a largely profitable company in less than a decade. The type of change that Marvel experienced is not the norm for companies that were in their position, making their story intriguing and valuable to anyone who learns from the success of others. In this paper I will analyze the strategic rationale for change that took place at Marvel, propose a suitable change process for their situation and examine possible obstacles they will face when restructuring their organization. Course Project Paper #2 Developing a Communication Plan Marvel finds itself in a very precarious position emerging from bankruptcy. After a company goes through the bankruptcy process, its customers, employees, partners and investors find themselves consumed with uncertainty when it comes to future prospects. As a result, I believe Marvel must take on reestablishing its image as a boundless and profitable company. Marvel has to put forth communications that clearly separate its future from its past while providing achievable goals for the future. Since Marvel now has a recent track record of failure, it will be fresh...
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...in comics. In the 1980s, Marvel began to target different demographics in the market, and began to use new distribution outlets including shopping malls. Perelman pushed Marvel to expand into other areas with the 1992 purchase of Fleer Corporation, which made trading cards. Marvel Mania was opened as a theme restaurant with servers in costume and menu selections with superhero descriptions. Marvel made some of its comic book archives online through its Digital Comics division in 2007. By the end of the decade, Marvel was well on its way to becoming a leader in the entertainment industry, with two self-produced feature films in 2008.The company transitioned From a traditional publisher and toy maker into a new media and entertainment company. Online business Marvel made some of its comic book archives available online through its Digital Comics division in 2007. 15% of the segment’s revenues came from sales of advertising and subscriptions, including its online business. Because of the growth of the Internet and the potential for online readership, online comic books were launched in 2007 through Marvel Digital Comics Unlimited, in an attempt to reach existing readers in a new medium while also further extending Marvel’s reach to new readers. Expand distribution channels and product lines In the 1980s, Marvel began to target different demographics in the market, and began to use new distribution outlets including shopping malls. In 2008, Marvel was focused on expanding...
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...Marvel Enterprises, Inc. (b) Why was Marvel’s turnaround so successful? Would you characterize that success as a fluke? Or do you view it as sustainable? Why? How? Marvel’s success is definitely not a fluke and its business model is very sustainable. Because Marvel’s new strategy chose to monetize the content library via licensing characters for use with media products. In an era during which mass media is so important in people’s life, only one media tool - publishing is not strong enough to expand Marvel’s influence to consumers. Comic books can only target a very limited market that most is composed of male teenagers and young adults from 13 to 23 years old. It is very difficult to expand this traditional market significantly. After many years development, this market has become matured and very stable. Meanwhile, people are more and more exposed to movies, televisions, and video games, which are very effective to influence people’s consumption behavior than comic books. All these media tools are able to reach more consumer segments than traditional comic-book publishing. Marvel’s potential to develop has increased dramatically when its market has significantly been expanded by broadcast media. Other consumer products, such as toys, work with media products reinforced each other. This market expansion develops not just in a comprehensive manner, but also in an intensive manner. Marvel emphasizes a long-term value in its new management. They plan career for each...
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...Bankruptcy and Restructuring at Marvel Entertainment Group Bankruptcy and Restructuring at Marvel Entertainment Group 1. Why did Marvel file for Chapter 11? Were the problems created by bad luck, bad strategy or bad execution? Before addressing its bankruptcy, it is necessary to have a general understanding of the company being analyzed. Marvel Entertainment Group began in 1939 as Timely Publications, a comic book publishing company that gained fame around the time of the Second World War. One of its most successful characters from this period was Captain America, who was often depicted fighting against the Germans. Other new characters came in the decades that followed, some of which still maintain popularity to this day, including The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, The X-Men, and Spider-Man. Attempting to reflect the general “psychological spirit” of the era (WWII, Cold War, etc.), many of Marvel’s creations in the mid-20th century fought against Communist foes. Editor-in-Chief Stan Lee helped usher in the ‘Marvel Age of Comics’ of the 1960’s, writing most of the superhero titles himself, and restoring many of the aspects from the late 1930’s superhero genre. Skipping forward a few decades, Marvel Entertainment Group was bought in January 1989 by Ron Perelman for $82.5 million, financed using only $10.5 million of equity. The remaining portion was borrowed from a syndicate of banks led by Chase Manhattan, seeing this as a relatively insignificant amount for Perelman...
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...The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media. Media Networks Media Networks comprise a vast array of broadcast, cable, radio, publishing and digital businesses across two divisions – the Disney/ABC Television Group and ESPN Inc. In addition to content development and distribution functions, the segment includes supporting headquarters, communications, digital media, distribution, marketing, research and sales groups. The Disney/ABC Television Group is composed of The Walt Disney Company’s global entertainment and news television properties, owned television stations group, and radio business. This includes the ABC Television Network, ABC Owned Television Stations Group, ABC Entertainment Group, Disney Channels Worldwide, ABC Family as well as Disney/ABC Domestic Television and Disney Media Distribution. The Company’s equity interest in A&E Television Networks, Hulu, and Fusion round out the Group’s portfolio of media businesses. Parks and Resorts When Walt Disney opened Disneyland on July 17, 1955, he created a unique destination built around storytelling and immersive experiences, ushering in a new era of family entertainment. More than 55 years later, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts (WDP&R) has grown into one of the world’s leading providers...
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...Business Paper #2 In a capitalist environment, one's purchases can often be described as “voting,” and can attest to that person's character and personality. The Values, Attitudes and Lifestyles (VALS-2) are a psychographic research method which was developed around this concept and attempts to divide consumers into eight archetypal categories which describe their patterns of consumption. These categories include innovators, thinkers, believers, achievers, strivers, experiencers, makers and survivors. The innovator is the success story. He has the highest income of all and makes purchases based on an image of sophistication. Just as many success stories, the innovator's value of personal development often drives them to various intellectual activities, creating a very well-informed and politically active social persona with a high amount of social and financial resources. This produces an optimistic and self-confident archetype, which is involved in various organizations and is also very outgoing and open to change. These are the leaders in our business and government. As a consumer, the innovator prefers products which reflect good taste and character and their open-mindedness makes them very receptive to new ideas, technologies and products. However, cutting-edge products often come at a risk. Experience in the market, as well as a drive towards intellectual pursuit makes innovators very skeptical of advertising. The thinker is one who values education and...
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... Case Study Analysis [pic] Leopoldo Vendramin ADVANCED BUSINESS STRUCTURES Special thanks to Mr. Peter Butters Academic Year 2010/2011- Term I The movie company considered for this analysis, has recently acquired one of the major comic company of the world, the “Comedy Factory”. Is therefore being developed a business strategy, that serves to clarify the organizational structure at global level. The investment made, then as purpose, growth and expansion throughout the world, trying to revive the comic book characters (hidden for too long) and trying to exploit the licensing of the former company, implementing a new strategic plan of marketing and distribution of merchandise. As in the past, when Disney acquired Marvel, the CEO of Disney, Robert Iger said: “This treasure find of over 5,000 characters offers Disney the ability to do what we do best." (Robert Iger, 2009). The organizational structure of a multinational company, requires a detailed treatment of the management and executive system. Therefore be able to build within a specific operating system, which limits the costs of each department to avoid the risk of confusing the various tasks. The acquisition of Comedy Factory, leader in the field of comics, will help the movie company to implement and develop new projects in the film industry, entertainment and merchandise. “What I love about DC is that we're not a one-note business. We can be on-line, we can be CD-ROM, we can be...
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...lessons from Marvel Entertainment Group’s bankruptcy Joseph Calandro Jr Joseph Calandro Jr is the Enterprise Risk Manager of a global financial services firm and a Finance Department faculty member of the University of Connecticut (joseph.calandro@ business.uconn.edu). s the current recession unfolds, indications are that corporate executives and strategists will be making decisions in an economically distressed environment for some time to come.[1] Historically, investment and M&A activity tend to decline during periods of economic distress. However, a specialty form of acquisition, known pejoratively as ‘‘vulture investing’’ has flourished during such times. Perhaps because it has been practiced as a specialty by financiers accustomed to balancing high risks for quick rewards, acquiring distressed companies has not been widely viewed as a corporate strategic opportunity. Recently, however, distressed M&A has become more common: A B as of April of 2009, there were 60 distressed M&A deals for the year including Valero Energy Corporation’s purchase of VeraSun Energy Corporation’s assets in bankruptcy; in 2008, there were 220 distressed deals; and in 2007, there were 134.[2] B B When assessing distressed M&A opportunities, corporate strategists should leverage their industry knowledge and expertise to search for hidden value, and also to select qualified industry experts to validate strategic and valuation assumptions. The interesting bankruptcy of Marvel Entertainment...
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...Harvard Business Case Study: Apple Inc. Dennis Stovall Kaplan University GB 520 Strategic Human Resources Management March 25, 2014 Abstract This business analysis focuses on the commercial enterprising activities of a world leading consumer electronics company, i.e. Apple Inc. and how, through its technologically advanced creativity and electronics expertise, it succeeded in introduced the world to a radically new era of multimedia innovation. Apple Inc. opened up an entirely new method in which microchip technology was to be developed and used for industrial, institutional and commercial use. It is due in large part through the amazing talent of Steve Jobs that this esoteric technology managed to achieve stellar proportions with regards to the open market. The purpose of this case study is to shed some light on Apple Inc.’s adopted business plan, the one that led to the advent of a revolutionary new market, i.e. microcomputers and later iPods and iPhones. It serves to address why this business plan, if in fact there was a creditable one to begin with, did not achieve’-in terms of business management’- an unprecedented if not historic record of business design and implementation; at least one that could be looked upon as a shining example of how to introduce an amazing new product technology and sell it to the worlds consumers so as to obtain record profits while helping to stabilize the market and influence world wide business conduct...
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...the power of the licensing business. As for this year’s list, which reflects 2006 worldwide retail sales of licensed merchandise, No. 1 Disney recorded a $2 billion increase in retail sales fueled, in part, by consumer demand for all things Pirates of the Caribbean, High School Musical, Cars, and Disney Princess. Sanrio also saw a significant uptick in sales, rising from $4.2 billion in 2005 to $5.2 billion in 2006. Phillips-Van Heusen makes its debut on the list at No. 2 with $6.7 billion in sales driven by proprietary brands Van Heusen, Arrow, Izod, Bass, and Calvin Klein. Other newcomers include: Carte Blanche Greetings ($700 million); Sean John ($450 million); Taffy Entertainment ($98 million); Bang on the Door ($77 million); Just Born, Inc. ($33 million), and Jetix Consumer Products ($29.1 million). Tommy Bahama ($220 million) returns to the list after a brief hiatus. To be included on License! Global’s Leading Licensing Companies list, companies had to provide 2006 retail sales figures, licensing contact information, and...
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...COURSE DESCRIPTION FORM School/Faculty/Institute Sabancı University, Faculty of Management Program B.A. in Management Semester Summer 2014 Course Code MKTG405 Course Title in English Marketing Strategy Course Title in Turkish Pazarlama Stratejisi Language of Instruction English Type of Course Lecture/Seminar/Practical/Fieldwork Level of Course Senior, Junior Intermediate Semester Summer Hours per Week 3 Number of Credits 5 ECTS Grading Mode Letter Grades (A: 100-93, A-: 92-86, B+: 85-78, B: 77-70, B-: 69-63, C+: 62-50, F:49-0) Pre-requisites Principles of Marketing or Introduction to Marketing Course Description MKTG405 will deepen students’ knowledge of marketing strategy. Students will not only be provided with a capstone class that enables integration of their learning in marketing (“pull it all together”), but they will be equipped with thinking strategically when making and implementing marketing decisions (“strategic decision making”). Extensive application of specific analytical approaches and tools for understanding customers, competition, and markets (“applications of marketing data and information”) will help students in developing an appreciation for the relationship between marketing and the other functional areas of business. Course Description in Turkish MKTG405, öğrencilerin pazarlama stratejisi bilgisini derinleştirmeyi hedefler. Öğrencilere pazarlama bilgilerini entegre edebilme kabiliyeti kazandırmanın yanı sıra, pazarlama kararlarına...
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...------------------------------------------------- Individual research assaignment MD REZAUL KARIM-300792787 June 12, 2014 Fundamental business June 12, 2014 Fundamental business Secret Acres is a publishing company established in 2006 published many novels and comic books. This company is started by Barry Matthews and Leon Avelino. In spite of presence big giants company like Marvel and DC Secret Acres become successful in this business. They publish comic in any shape and sizes. 1. Visit Secret Acres’ website at http://www.secretacres.com to learn more about the firm’s product line. Write a marketing piece describing the product line to a potential distributor. * Secret Acres is a famous comic publishing company. It’s a small enterprise started in 2006. Their product are different than other comic publisher (Secret Acres, 2014). For marketing Secret Acres also use 4P of the marketing mix. * Product: Secret Acres has different types of comic books with various shape and sizes. * Place: Secret Acres sell their books to wholesaler and then they sell those thing to book store. * Price: Product prices are almost same with competitors. Also Secret Acres offer discount for the customer over the year. Secret Acres join various fest and give discount. * Promotion: Secret Acres are good at this marketing piece. They have several plans to promote the product. They have website to promote their product. Secret Acres join all the fest over...
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...The Walt Disney Company: A Corporate Strategy Analysis Written by Carlos Carillo, Jeremy Crumley, Kendree Thieringer and Jeffrey S. Harrison at the Robins School of Business, University of Richmond. Copyright © Jeffrey S. Harrison. This case was written for the purpose of classroom discussion. It is not to be duplicated or cited in any form without the copyright holder’s express permission. For permission to reproduce or cite this case, contact Jeffrey S. Harrison (RCNcases@richmond.edu). In your message, state your name, affiliation and the intended use of the case. Permission for classroom use will be granted free of charge. Other cases are available at: http://robins.richmond.edu/centers/center-‐for-‐active-‐business-‐education/research/case-‐network.html November 2012 "Walt was never afraid to dream. That song from Pinocchio, 'When You Wish Upon a Star,' is the perfect summary of Walt's approach to life: dream big dreams, even hopelessly impossible...
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