Marvel Entertainment Analysis

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An Environmental Analysis for
(Marvel Entertainment)
Yolanda Brown)
Full Sail University
Project & Portfolio II: Business and Marketing
(12/7/2019)

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The STEEPLE Analysis (Include Citations)
PROVIDE at least one observation for each of the seven elements of the STEEPLE analysis (you can make more). These should be full
paragraphs that include explanation and detail. These observations should also help you to make statements that go in the SWOT chart,
below. Remember to put a “short form” citation in APA format after each observation here, and list the corresponding APA “long form”
reference in the Reference section at the end.
Keep the focus on the division/brand. You may observe something that affects the parent company or the industry, and which will affect
the division/brand, too. It’s okay to include those observations, but always remember it’s the division/brand you’re working for. Not the
parent.
SOCIOLOGICAL:(#S1) Marvel has one of the biggest fanbase in the world right now and it is constantly growing. Marvel has evolved
from comic books as far back as 1939 to the present day with blockbuster hits such as Black Panther. They were acquired by Disney in
2009 and with Disney behind them they were now able to make the big budget movies that bring in a constant flow of cash for both Disney
and Marvel, mainly Disney. Marvel tries to stay as true to the superhero’s persona as possible, but that not always the case, to give the
vintage audience a sense of nostalgia (Kochur, R., 2016).
TECHNOLOGICAL: (#T3) In the Black Panther comic book the people of Wakanda wore Komodo beads around their wrist. These beads
are now compared to a smartwatch, they can predict your health, remember your life history, and medical history. X-Men mansion had
the Danger Room which was voice activated and did things that you asked of it like home automation. Marvel Entertainment has always
been an innovator in technology, we just didn’t know it (Cink, L, Belton, L., 2019). Marvel has been adapting digitalization at a faster pace
than its competition, DC comics. Marvel movies are not but pure technology with the wild scenes in their movies.
ECONOMIC:(#S3) Marvels Avengers: Endgame had record breaking numbers at the box office with $1.2 billion globally. Predictions
have stated that Marvel may gross $5 billion by the end of 2019 (Hughes, M.). Marvel has been dominating the movie industry for eleven
years straight, so it doesn’t surprise about the numbers they are receiving at the box offices. Captain Marvel grossed $1.1 billion this year
as well, combined with Avengers: Endgame they have already grossed $2.6 billion. Marvel has a roster of over 8,000 characters so I
highly doubt they are going to slow down on making the blockbuster movies. With all the money that they are earning globally I see no
plans of slowing down with production especially when they have the budget to continue to create these movies.

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ECOLOGICAL: (#O2) Marvel has partnered with many different companies over its eighty-year history. Sony, Hasbro, and Amazon are
just a few to name. Each company brings something to the table to help Marvel increase its cash flow. Sony and Disney came to an
agreement to allow Marvel to produce Spider-Man which is one of the most famous superheroes’ ever in his upcoming film that is
expected to be released July 2021. Hasbro has signed a deal to distribute Marvel merchandise which is expected to bring in $80 million
for both companies. Amazon is privy to exclusive merchandise that you can only get on their website which is going to bring more money
in for them as well.
POLITICAL: Art Spiegelman, well-known writer, withdrew an essay from Marvel compendium after editors resisted his comparison of
Donald Trump as a villain. Spiegelman was asked to write the introduction to Marvels 80th
anniversary special edition book. He has
referenced Trump as an “Orange Skull”, which was a comparison to the Red Skull. Red Skull was an evil villain in WWII that Captain
America had defeated. When he was asked to remove the line from his writing he refused and the Folio Society told him that was a deal
breaker and they didn’t publish his writing (Romano, A., (2019).
LEGAL: (#T1) In 1990 Stephen Kimble obtained Patent No. 5,072,856 for a toy that children could shot a high pressurized foam
substance from the palm of their hand. Kimble went to Marvel with his invention to sell. During the contract negotiations Marvel started
marketing a toy called the Web Blaster, which was the same toy Kimble brought to them. Kimble sued Marvel in 1997 for breach of
contract and patent infringement. Marvel settled with Kimble for $500,000 and three percent running royalties on future sales of the Web
Blaster and similar products (McGraw, M. 2017).
ETHICAL: (#W2) Out of all these blockbuster movies that Marvel have put out since 2008, Captain Marvel was the first female lead
superhero movie. The film was not well received with fans like how her male counterparts were received. Marvel took so long to put out a
movie with the female as the lead because female fans were asking for it and it flopped. Marvel, which is considered the Boys Club, didn’t
do a good job on promoting and backing Captain Marvel. I’m a huge Marvel fan and I was not impressed with this movie. I for sure
thought it was going to just the others, but the storyline fell flat. The lack of female variety in very controversial in the comic world, they
aren’t giving the women the attention (Phillipson, D., 2019).

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The SWOT Analysis (Citations optional)
Provide at least three statements in each of the four sections of the SWOT chart: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
Include explanations and details within the chart that make your points clear. A phrase is not enough. Each point should be a short
paragraph.
HELPFUL HARMFUL

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INTERNAL
STRENGTHS
1. Marvel has a strong presence with the
branding it does to get fans to want more.
For example, fans stay to watch the
ending credits of the movies to get a hint
or small piece of information for the next
movie that will be coming out. They feed
the fans information piece by piece
building up to the new movies release.
2. Marvel is s very recognizable brand
which draws a huge fanbase. Marvel
success is dependent on the characters.
Marvel is a brand that is recognized
worldwide. It has been around since 1939
with loyal fans that want to relive their
younger years though the new movies.
3. Marvel has over 8,000 characters on
their roster so they can make movies until
the end of time. Black Widow, The
Eternals, Shang-Chi and the Legend of
the Ten Rings, and Doctor Strange are
just a few. They want to keep you wanting
more. The reason why they are able to
continuously put out movie after movie is
because they have an arsenal of
characters.
WEAKNESSES
1. Marvel is targeting boys mainly
teenagers or younger. This is limiting their
fanbase and revenue as well. If they
targeted a broader audience, then their
demographic number would be higher in
older adults.
2. Marvel has a lack of female
superheroes. There are a lot of female
superheroes, but Marvel is mainly doing
films where the man is the main
character/superhero. They are losing an
audience could up their revenue.
3. Doesn’t have a strong diversity of
characters in their movies. At 69% the
majority of superheroes are Caucasian.
That means that more than 3 out of every
5 actors are Caucasian.

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EXTERNAL
OPPORTUNITIES
1. Globalization has led to opportunities in
the international market. Marvel is in a
prime position to tap into opportunities and
grow the market. Growth in the
international market can help Marvel
diversify the risk and become less
dependent on the domestic market.
2. Aggressive marketing focuses solely on
entertainment, licensing, and publishing.
Hasbro has guaranteed an additional $80
million in royalty payments to Disney for
licensing Marvel products. This marketing
is geared towards males <18 which is the
biggest demographic at this present
moment.
3. They host events and panels where
fans can come and see the characters in
person. This year they celebrated their
80th
birthday with a weeklong event. They
gave fans an opportunity to ask questions
and fulfill lifelong dreams of meeting them.
They partnered with Amazon, Box Lunch,
and FYE to host the celebrations well by
having exclusive merchandise, special
offers, and giveaways to fans.
THREATS
1. Marvel has been sued on several
occasion for infringement. They were
sued in 1997 by Stephen Kimble for
stealing his idea for the Web Blaster he
created. In 2013 he was sued by the
family of Jack Kirby for rights to over 262
works that were published.
2. Marvel has more that DC comics as a
competitor. Dark Horse, Image Comics,
and Valiant are just a few competitors that
they face in the industry. These
competitors are not backing down from
the conglomerate that is Marvel.
3. By not sticking to the history of
characters fans are losing interest in the
movies. Marvel fans are very picky about
how their favorite superhero is depicted.
Marvel should tone it down on the
exaggeration of the characters and try to
be true to the characters and his/her
likeness.

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Conclusions: (Include Citations)
Findings lead to Conclusions. In two or three well-developed paragraphs, provide conclusions for the company based on your analysis of
the findings. This means talking about the meaning of your findings. For instance, is there growing negative feedback from customers
based on perceived changes to quality? Then it would be fair to say that the brand probably has a public relations crisis looming in the
near future.
Try to assess the fit of the current market position for your product. How does it compare to its competitors and its industry as a whole?
Where does it excel? Where can it improve? How does the company’s financial health factor into what it can and can’t do?
With this exercise, you should begin to identify what questions your client hired you to answer. Note what should be new goals and
actions for the future. Note whether there should be any changes to product/service line, target market or message. You will elaborate in
Week 4 when you make specific, future oriented and actionable recommendations for your company.
Marvel Entertainment has been a force to reckon with since 2008 when The Walt Disney Company acquired them. They have shoveled
out blockbusters such as Iron Man, Black Panther, and Avengers just to name a few. Since 2008 Marvel movies have grossed $18 billion
dollars from tickets sales, merchandise, and other product. They are a very marketable and profitable company because they have a
global fanbase that is loyal and persistent. They have crossed over into international waters by getting foreign actors to play the
superhero role. By doing that they have secured a more international fanbase. Over the past eleven years their movies have been in the
top ten compared their competitors movies released at the same time.
Marvel takes B-list superheroes and bring them back to life with their movies. Marvel has scheduled movie releases all the way into 2021
and beyond. With over 8,000 characters on their roster there is no way that they plan on slowing down with these blockbusters. They are
expanding their business day by day by partnering with some of the biggest businesses in the world allowing fans to have more access to
Marvel.

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References:
In APA format, list each reference you used (at least five). Each reference in this section should have a corresponding “short form” citation
in the STEEPLE section or the Conclusions section.
Belton, L., Cink, L. (Mar. 1, 2019). Retrieved Dec. 8, 2019, from
https://youtu.be/-j-R87d18oo
Chitwood, A. (Nov. 16, 2019). Retrieved Dec. 8, 2019, from
https://collider.com/upcoming-marvel-movies/#black-widow
Hughes, M. (Apr. 13, 2019). Retrieved Dec. 8, 2019, from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2019/04/30/marvel-studios-could-top-5-billion-in-2019/#5e59e8817a30
McGraw, M. (2016). Retrieved Dec. 7, 2019, from EBSCO Host
http://web.b.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=7&sid=9640e5ff-f927-4ad0-847c-
6fb674f2862b%40pdc-v-sessmgr05
Romano, A. (Aug. 20, 2019). Retrieved Dec. 8, 2019, from
https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/8/20/20812333/art-spiegelman-marvel-comics-backlash-essay-trump
Phillipson, D. (Mar. 14, 2019). Retrieved Dec. 9, 2019, from
https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a26819388/captain-marvel-female-superheroes/
Spangler, T. (July 2013). Retrieved Dec. 8, 2019, from
https://variety.com/2013/biz/news/hasbro-extends-disney-pact-for-marvel-star-wars-toys-and-games-1200566115/

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