Business proposal for DC Entertainment

Strategic Business Proposal 1 of 27
Strategic Business Proposal
for
DC Entertainment
For: DC Entertainment
www.dcentertainment.com
Prepared On: January 20, 2019
Prepared By: Ashley Milano, Rassoull Shabazz, Tevin Green
Instructor Name: Jennifer Marshall

StrategicBusinessProposal Page 2 of 27
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................................. 3
Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................. 3
1. Organizational Challenges & Proposed Solution......................................................................................... 4
Organizational Challenges......................................................................................................................... 4
Proposed Solution.................................................................................................................................... 4
2. Environmental Scanning............................................................................................................................ 5
Internal Analysis.................................................................................................................................... 5-7
External Analysis....................................................................................................................................... 7
3. Strategy Formulation...............................................................................................................................10
Operations..............................................................................................................................................10
Sales, Marketing, & Distribution...............................................................................................................11
Legal ......................................................................................................................................................12
4. Proposal Budget & Projections.................................................................................................................14
Sales Projections......................................................................................................................................14
Project Budget....................................................................................................................................14-15
5. Strategy Implementation.........................................................................................................................15
Timeline and Key Milestones...............................................................................................................15-17
6. Future Plans............................................................................................................................................17
Long-Term Opportunity and Development Plans .......................................................................................17
7. Appendices and References.....................................................................................................................18
References.........................................................................................................................................19-22
Appendix 1:Competitive Analysis.........................................................................................................23
Appendix 2:Financial Worksheets………………………………………………………………………………………………..……..24-27

Introduction
Executive Summary
Dear DC Entertainment Board of Directors,
DC Entertainment (DCE) is facing a position to rebuild and reinvent “the wheel”. With Marvel
Entertainment (backed by Disney) being widely successful around the world, DCE is forced to come up
with new and inventive ideas that are enticing to new and existing fans to continue paying for goods and
services. The proposed solution that we have for DCE is going back to the original comic book storylines
and creative processes, while executing these services with today’s technology. This includes ideas such
as creating an interactive game app that allows users to quest, progress through a storyline, and
purchase in-game content expansion packs as well as merchandise linking directly to DCE’s official
website.
We are excited for the new adventures of DC Entertainment! Below is our proposed business plan to help
aid DCE in the new adventures that are arising.
Best regards,
Ashley Milano, Rassoull Shabazz and Tevin Green

1: Challenges & Solutions
Organizational Challenges
DC Entertainment (DCE) has a few challenges that we would liketo address. These challengesrange from
not monopolizing on new creative ideas, having direct communication with fans, and full transparency in
both the pre and post production processes for the movies and creative tasks. As stated by
denofgeek.com, “DC Entertainment’s subsidiary DC Comics is one of the two biggest comic book
publishers in America, and in the world. Their characters, Superman and Batman, are as recognizable as
Mickey Mouse or Ronald McDonald.” Denofgeek.com also states that “earlier this year DC rebranded to
better reflecta focus on digital media. Recently, DC Comics, also pushed ahead with simultaneous digital
and print comics release and pioneered a move back to cheaper issue prices.” The opportunity that DCE
has to improve on these challenges are that directors and writers should be transparent between
animated movies and liveaction. Not being too focused on the competitors during the creative processes
will help improve the overall outcome for the fans and the actual products themselves (IMDB, 2015).
ProposedSolution
Our proposed solution for DCE is important to go back to the original comic book production values. Our
first proposed solution is integrating artists and writers who are knowledgeable about the comic book,
and not just well-known names in the movie and entertainment industries. The second proposed solution
is working with artists to create new content that is adjacent to the lore of the original stories. The third
proposed solution is having events and fan-community gatherings to drum up excitement and
announcements for upcoming releases. The benefits of executing all three of these proposed solutions
would allow for better content for both the creators and audiences to enjoy, as well as becoming more
of a unique and marketable business.
2: Environmental Scanning
Internal Analysis
DCE as a whole, fits in the entertainment industry through the Comics, Film, Digital and retail spaces.
Some of the DCE’s major products include comic books, accessories, clothing, toys, movies, etc. As of
2018, DCE launched the DC Universe App, which is a direct-to-consumer digital application for exclusive
DCE content to its consumers.

In regards to market position, the DC Comics brand of DCE ranks number two worldwide behind its
primary competitor the Marvel Comics brand of Marvel Entertainment. For the publishing aspect, DCE
owns 26.74% of the retail market share, which is second to Marvel’s 40.80% (Diamond, 2019).
Company Overview
DC Entertainment (DCE) was founded in 2009 as a division of Warner Brothers and Warner Media. DCE
is home to DC comics, Vertigo, and MAD. The purpose of DCE is to work in conjunction with multiple
Warner Brothers divisions in order to display and tell the stories of all of its characters across all media
platforms. Out of the 3 DCE brands, DC comics is home to its superheroes including Batman, Superman,
Wonder Woman and Green Lantern. Vertigo is a stand-alone brand with stories like Sandman and
American Vampire. While MAD is a humor-based brand meant to parody pop culture.
DCE’s mission is to maximize the power and value of the DC Comics brand across all platforms. The
company is meant to strategically integrate the DC brand into Warner Bros. Entertainment along with its
contents and distribution businesses (Hyde, 2009).
Financial Standings
DCE is a division of Warner Brothers, which is a division of Time Warner, which is now owned by AT&T
due to their merger in June of 2018 (Forbes, 2018). According to Forbes, AT&T’s debt was about $163
Billion as of the first quarter of 2018. Even still, they still spent $85 million to complete the merger.
Moreover, as stated by Yahoo Finance, as of 31 December 2017, AT&T as a whole had a gross profit of
over $83.1 million,an operating incomeof $23.8 million,and a net income of about $29.5 million(Yahoo,
2018). These statistics were prior to the merger so the disposition of finances specifically to Warner
Brothers or DCE is currently unknown. However, prior to the merger, a business wire report shows that
Time Warner’s adjusted operating income for Warner Brothers, which includes DCE, was $383 million
and the revenue from that division was $3.2 billion (Business Wire, 2018).
Organizational Strengths
DCE does extremelywell creating awareness for its new products. For instance, DC Entertainment utilizes
its connections in order to get a majority of its advertisements into mainstream media to create demand
for its products. When a new movielike “Aquaman” is about to be released, one can see ads on YouTube,
Facebook, Instagram, conventional television, and a multitude of other places where a fan of DCE may
be (WB Pictures, 2018). DCE also utilizes its WB partners to make some of the most high-quality content.
DCE has an extensive superhero base that can go head-on with its biggest competitor, Marvel
Entertainment. 9 out of the 10 top best superhero animation movies were created by DCE, as well as 3
out of the 10 top highest grossing superhero live action movies were created by DCE (IMDB, 2019) (Box
Office Mojo, 2019). DCE is also the 2nd biggest comic book publisher worldwide (Albert, 2018). Customer

loyalty through its character branding since DCE has built a strong bond between its characters and its
consumers.
Organizational Weaknesses
DCE doesn’t always properly cater to fans. They don’t always utilize company influence correctly when
delivering new content, as well as focuses too much on competing with Marvel Entertainment in the
film department rather than delivering the best content. DCE doesn’t always maximize potential
opportunities with its audience. DCE decreased brand recognition for its lesser-known characters, and
misses out on potential revenue opportunities by not expanding on some of its lesser-known characters
like Booster Gold, Vibe and Star Girl. These characters have been featured in DCE’s Justice League
Unlimited, The Flash, and their various personal comics, but they have not had their own TV shows or
movies as of yet (IMDB, 2019).
Customers
Customer profiles (Audience Insights, 2019):
Geographic:
 Primarily in the United States, but reaches worldwide to Brazil, Mexico, the UK, India, etc.
Demographic:
 Age: all ages; Approximately 90% of consumers are ages 18 to 55
 Gender: Men and women
o 62% Men and 38% Women
 Ethnicity: all
 Languages: Primarily speak English, Spanish, and Portuguese
 Family Life Cycle: all walks of life
o Roughly 47% of DC comics fans are single
o 53% are engaged, in a relationship or married.
Psychographic:
 Personality: ranges between optimistic, happy or cynical. Every comic book lover is different, and
they come from all walks of life with their own tendencies.
 Motives: a majority of DCE fans enjoy reading, watching movies and being engulfed in engaging
storylines.
 Lifestyle: Mostly that of a normal adult that works or the typical child that goes to school.
However, there are some that are avid collectors of DCE memorabilia and other items of interest.
Lots of these people wear superhero-oriented clothing and watch TV shows related to these
characters.

Behavioral:
 Benefits sought: Any merchandise or content that provides entertainment or a way to show their
loyalty to their favorite characters.
 Usage rate: regular
Collaborators
DCE’s primary collaborators include other Warner Brothers (WB) subsidiaries. For instance, Warner
Digital Networks (WBDN) is an important partner as it allows DCE to distribute digitally. In essence,
WBDN’s partners are DCE’s partners as well. WBDN cooperates with Machinima for social media and
has direct-to-consumer digital portfolios of Boomerang, FilmStruck, Machinima, Stage 13 Uninterrupted,
Ellen Digital Ventures and DC Universe. Another partner of DCE is the Warner Bros. Theater Ventures
division, which develops live stage plays, and other productions based on Warner Bros film properties
(Warner Bros, 2019). There’s also Warner Bros. Consumer Products (WBCP), which partners with multiple
licensees on a global scale to offer a variety of licensing opportunities for films and television programs.
Lastly, DCE also partners with WB Studios and Warner Bros. Technology (WBT) to produce films and
utilize state of the art to assist in their multiple creations and development of content (Warner Bros,
2019).
External Analysis
Amongst many direct competitors of DC Entertainment, we have defined some core competitors that will
shape the way we move forward in the future.
Competitors
Marvel Entertainment
After researching the company, we found Marvel to be a direct competitor, who creates unique
products and opportunities for its customers to engage and experience a real connection to the
characters in their movies and comic books. Marvel creates content that not only increases excitement
but is used as a bond created between them and the customer. Marvel creates food recipes for its
customers along with video content on how to make such foods as a “Captain Marvel Pies”; in
promotion of the “Captain Marvel” film that is set to release March 8, 2019. There are multiple DIY
videos, like how to make a Deadpool Ornament or a DIY ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ inspired costume. Marvel has
an interactive website and has given its customers the opportunity to sign up for a Marvel Mastercard,
which will help the customer earn 3% cashback on dining, Select Entertainment, Online at Marvel.com,
and Marvel’s Official Merchandise Booths. The master card will also allow the customer to earn 1%
cashback on all other Mastercard purchases, as well as 10% off Merchandise purchases at Marvel
Shop.com every day. Marvel puts its audience inside the story, as a themed attraction in Hong, Hong
will send guest on a critical mission with Ant – Man and the Wasp.

Dark Horse Entertainment
Dark Horse offers its creators the opportunity to maintain ownership of their properties and participate
in a greater share of the licensing revenues from, toys, merchandise, and media in addition to
publishing comics based on popular licensed content (Salkavitz, 2018). Dark Horse has great success
with creating graphic novels, as they have set out to create a graphic novel for the live action Disney
film Aladdin; which is set to be released in April of 2019. The business model of Dark Horse allows them,
to be open to any opportunities to work with companies like Disney. Dark Horse is set to launch a
reboot of the movie Hell Boy in 2019, as well as release a Netflix film called “Polar” on January 25,
2019. Their customers also got a first look at another Netflix film created by Dark Horse called “The
Umbrella Academy.”
Image Comics
Image Comics also gives the creators freedom but gives them freedom to create whatever they choose
to. In return the company is pushing out great illustrations, artwork, and Graphic Novels. Image Comics
are connecting with their customers through different platforms, such as “Twitch,” a live streaming
video platform. Image Comics offers readers a lineup of diverse characters, stories, and emotions
(Johnson, 2018). Image Comics affectively creates brand awareness through Facebook and other social
media platforms, as well as giving to charity through a company called Humble Bundle. Humble Bundle
is a distribution platform selling, games, eBooks, software, and other digital content (Humble Bundle,
2019). Image comics gives away a bundle of every issue of their hit series, “Deadly Class” and
customers can pay what they want for it. Image Comics are set to reboot the movie Spawn with actor
Jamie Fox and release a new Syfy TV series of the comic book issue “Deadly Class.” They are the
creators of the hit AMC TV series “The Walking Dead,” and have more TV series coming soon.
Business Climate
Political & Regulatory
Through research we have discovered some political and regulatory issues, that may affect the
Entertainment industry as whole. On May 25,2018 the GDPR was introduced and is a regulation on
companies that states that they must state in clear, non-legalese language what they do with customer
data or risk heave financial penalties (Fairbanks, 2018). This regulation can affect content marketing
drastically as DC has great success with its comic books. According to Enza Iannopollo, senior analyst at
Forrester, “Many companies have reported a decrease of about 25% to 40% of their addressable market
(Fairbanks, 2018).
Economic
The comic book industry has been on a decline and has been in competition with digital entertainment
companies. The market has declined 6.5 percent in 2017, according to estimates by ICV2 and Comichron.

Total sales of comicsand graphic novels in the United States and Canada were 1.015 billionin 2017, down
$70 million from 2016 (Schmidt, 2018). At the end of 2018 more than 2.3 billion enthusiast spent an
estimated 137 billion on games, which increased by 13.3% from the previous year (Finance Magnates
Staff, 2018). It is also estimated that mobile games will be worth close to $100 billion in annual revenues
by 2021.
Social & Cultural
According to eMarketer, between 2015 and 2019, the amount of digital video advertising transacted
programmatically will nearly double (Newman, 2018). AI and Machine Learning is becoming what
marketers rely on to reach customers. Viewers say they’re finding that content via their streaming
company’s recommendations, creating their own “MeChannel” (Newman, 2018). Many brands are using
multi-channels to keep viewers engaged, and 40% of users are willing to spend more to avoid Ad attacks
when steaming TV.
Technological
Mobile carriers like Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, are running test with the 5G Network. The 5G
Network is set to reach the mainstream technology by 2020 and by 2023, a billion people are forecasted
to have access (Wasserman, 2018). The VR market is quickly transforming into entertainment
productivity, as well as OTT video revenue expecting to reach $30.6 billion in 2022 (Abramovich, 2018).
AR is another growing technological factor this year as it uses the existing environment and overlays new
information on top of it (Rouse, 2018). AR is expected to generate $1 billion in direct revenue by 2020
(Gliddon, 2018).
Industry Trends
Business Opportunities
DC Entertainment has numerous amounts of Business Opportunities, and through our analysis we have
found that partnering with mobilecarries such as AT&T; who is beginning to run test with the 5G network
can increase awareness of our brand and products early on. Amazon is developing a subscription video
game streaming service (Shaban, 2019). Working with Amazon is an opportunity to continue to grow
revenue in our gaming department. We also have the opportunity to increase company revenue with
VR/AR companies, as means to engage and expand brand awareness with our customers. Game stop is
looking at how traditional comic books will sell and will run a test program for about 40 stores, placing
Marvel and DC comics within its facilities; GameStop will also focus on key series and titles (Womack,
2018).

Business Threats
Korean online comic platform Lezhin Comics has topped the Google Play Store chart in the United
States. Lezhin Entertainment said it recorded 6.6 million in sales in 2017 and the application edged out
Marvel Comics and DC Comics on the charts (Byung-yeul, 2018). Book Scan reported that graphic novel
sells dropped 5% in 2017 (O’Leory, 2018). A number of comic specialty stores like Bonza Comics in
Modesto, Villainous Lair in San Diego, and Seattle’s Zanadu Comics, closed their doors for good
(O’Leory, 2018). Marvel will be providing content to Disney’s new streaming service “Disney +,” which is
set to debut in 2019 and the industry is salivating all over again (Gaines, 2019). Dark Horse just did a
joint venture with the company Vanguard Visionary Associates on October 16,2018. The Vanguard deal
will give Dark Horse the ability to fully finance original film and television, then co-finance the
production of those projects. Dark horse had a 3.13% retail share and a 2.25%-unit market share of the
comics market in 2017, according to diamond, the primary distributor of comics to retailers in North
America (Salkowitz, 2018).
3: Strategy Formulation
Operations
Organizational Impact
For the formation of the DC Now app to be successful, there are a few DCE departments that would need
to be involved. The main components would be the Business & Marketing Strategy and the Direct to
Consumer & Global Franchise section, which is the creative division of DCE (DC, 2019). Both departments
are lead by Amit Desai who serves as the Executive vice president. Mr. Desai and the personnel who work
this section would be the primary drivers of the DC now initiatives. They would be in charge of making
sure that the app is developed, works properly, and is up to standards prior to its distribution.
The other department that is vital to this apps success would be that of the Publishing department. This
department is headed by Mr. Jim Lee and Mr. Dan DiDio. Along with Mr. Desai, these three men serve as
the DCE executive team. Jim Lee serves as the Chief Creative Officer and a Co-Publisher with Dan Didio.
Overall, the publishing department is responsible for the publishing of all DCE related entities. For the
app to be successful, these men would have to ensure that the writers craft an amazing storyline that
captivates audiences and that the digital illustrators create intriguing imagery.
Additionally, DCE would need to work with its Warner Bros. (WB) partner divisions in order to bring the
app to life. Since the app is a digital creation, DCE would need to work with WB Digital networks directly
in order to create and digitally brand the app across multiple platforms (WB, 2016). Adjacently, DCE
would need to collaborate with the WB Technology division since its primary job is to give technological

services and information regarding the business and technological advances to each studio division (WB,
2017). Since this app will be entering new territory that most aren’t too familiar with, WB will need to be
innovative and figure out how to make their app the most successful in an unfamiliar domain.
In conclusion, DCE and WB would have to coordinate all activities in accordance with their parent
company AT&T as a result of the recent Time-Warner/AT&T merger. This would involve consistent
communication between Mr. Desai and Mr. John Stankey. Mr. Stankey is the CEO of Warner Media who
is responsible for AT&T’s investment stakes in HBO, Turner, WB, and Otter Media (ATT.com, 2019). Any
failure to communicate or cooperate in any division can have dire consequences on the overall product
and its success.
Staffing Needs
Software Engineer – 1 to 2 needed, Salary 78K to 154K (Glassdoor, 2019).
Storyboard Artist – 1 to 2 needed, Salary 86K to 139K (Glassdoor, 2019).
Brand Marketing Manager – 1 needed, Salary 65K to 130K (Glassdoor, 2019).
Beta/Video Game Tester – 1 to 3 needed, Salary 17K to 110K (Ziprecruiter, 2019).
Other Needs
We will need to have at least 5 to 8 computers with Photoshop and Creator software already pre-
installed. We will also need external hard drives, tower drives, desks, chairs, and lamps. Aside from the
items aforementioned, no other needs have been identified as most if not all are satisfied by WB partner
divisions.
Sales, Marketing, &Distribution
Marketing Mix
Price
The consumer will likely be familiar with in-app purchases from previous game experience so our prices
will likely be similar to other businesses such as Niantic with their Pokemon Go in-app purchasing
structure. Inside the Pokestore in the Pokemon Go App, Poke coins are priced at $0.99 to $99.99 for 100
to 14,500 pokecoins depending on what a player may want to purchase (Garis, 2016). Essentially, our in-
app virtual items will be priced at $0.99 to $29.99 while our in-app physical items will be priced between
$3.99 and $35.99 due to the item and what’s reasonable based on our competitors.
Product
The names for our virtual items will be called “DC Power Packs”, this will be the overall name for the

items when bought in bundles. If they are bought singularly then they will be called by their normal
names. For example, if someone wanted to buy a power up for one of their Batman-Inspired characters
that works as part of Batman Incorporated, they could buy the Batman DC Power Pack. If it were a
singular item like an upgraded batarang, it would be called “Batarang X-2 Power UP”. With this specific
batarang upgrade, the weapons speed would increase by 2%, the power would increase by 1% and the
accuracy would increase by 1.5%.
In regards to physical products, we aim to sell t-shirts, hats, cups, and posters. Since we haven’t seen a
game that sells physical products in it’s store we are stepping into newfound territory so it is hard to
gauge the future success. However, according to Game Analytics, “most games get between 0.5% and
5% of your users to purchase” (Nizan, 2013).
Distribution
The primary and preferred distribution outlet for our product would be inside of the DC Now app’s store.
No game has ever sold both physical and virtual products inside of their store. By doing this, we give a
certain level of exclusivity to the product which aids in customer loyalty and brings a sense of belonging
to our consumers.
Promotion
For our marketing plan, we will focus on advertising via social media such as YouTube, Instagram,
Facebook, and Reddit. This is because most mobile gamers are already on their phones and are likely
using the apps of those respective services. The best times to run our ads would be within 3 days of the
1st and the 15th of every month between 2pm and 11pm. This timeframe is sufficient because it is right
after people get paid and leave work so they are more inclined to make purchases. Overall, this is likely
the best way to reach those gamers and to let them know about our app. As a secondary method, we
would use traditional via ad placements inour comicbooks and on the tags of commonDCE merchandise.
Sales Strategy
Our sales strategy will be a transactional model as each purchase is a one-time event. This is especially
true for the virtual purchases. However, there will be a team to fulfill the physical orders. When each user
of the app attempts to purchase a physical item, they will have to list a shipping address, which will be
saved in the app to allow future purchases to go swiftly. This will allow the sales team to fulfill the order
and have the items shipped out as soon as possible.
Legal
Legal Factors
Since DC Entertainment already has copyright, intellectual property, and licensing agreements in place,
the organization should be ok. The main risk that would be of concern is making sure that the DC Now

apps game-play, programming, look, and feel doesn’t too closely resemble the Pokemon Go app or any
other gaming app. We need to have our own look, feel, and sound.
Regulations
According to App Empire, the top 5 legal issues that app developers face are the formation of their
business, confidentiality, intellectually property ownership/protection, and their terms of use clauses
(George, 2018). For DCE, their business has been around for years and they have acquired the proper
licenses, permits, and permissions to use their characters as necessary. Because of this, no actions are
needed in regards to regulations other than reviewing all documents to make sure everything is up-to-
date so that our permissions remain valid. Since the DC Now app willbeavailable to both new and existing
fans, the app will focus on using the current DC Universe creations, costumes, missions, and backstories.
With over 50 earths and various worlds within the DC multiverse, there are loads of unexplored concepts
to utilize for intriguing experiences in the DC Now app (DCE Editorial, 2014).
Contracts
For contracts, DCE may have to consider contracting our software developers/engineers, storyboard
writers, illustrators, and beta testers, as these individuals are often not confined to only one company.
Some may work specifically for one company and then leave for another like Brian Michael Bendis did
(Peris, 2018). Others will work on contract for a specific time and jump between respective companies so
that is always a viable option.
If we were to contract our Software engineers, DCE would set the contract for a specific amount of time
such as 18 months for the development of the app (Rocha, 2015). With this contract, the developer is not
our employee, but they do get paid by the hour for the work they would do. If the app isn’t done or
complete to our desired specifications by the end of the 18-month time-period, we have the option to
extend the contract. Due to the creation of the app for the purposes of our benefit, the contractor would
agree to a statement detailing that we own the rights to the creation of the app as they lent their services
specifically for its creation.
Moreover, as stated in the Time Warner/AT&T plan of merger, any contracts for the use or lease of
property in excess of 50 million must be filed by the company as a “Materials Contract” under the
securities act (SEC, 2016). Lastly, according to Article I of the Time Warner/AT&T plan of merger, the
separate corporate existence of the companies no longer exist and are therefore merged (SEC, 2016).
Because of this, DCE, WB, and all of its subsidiaries are entities of AT&T.

Insurance
According to Lowhurst and McDonald from Insurance Journal, there are four types of insurance that we
need to be aware of and possibly acquire in order to protect our app and ourselves from legal
ramifications (Lowhust & McDonald, 2016). The first of which is the Commercial General Liability (CGL)
policy.The CGL protects against injury and property damage, which maybe caused by the app or software
program (Lowhust & McDonald, 2016). App developers generally pay about $430 a year for General
Liability Insurance (Insureon, 2019). The next one is the Technology, Errors, and Omissions Liability (Tech
E&O) policy. This policy protects against “claims made on alleged errors and omissions” in connection to
the app or technology (Lowhust & McDonald, 2016). This type of insurance costs an average of $956 to
$2,652 annually (Tech Insurance, 2018). The third is Cyber Insurance. This generally covers more app-
related exposures. “Cyber policies cover liability to third parties resulting from a cyber-attack or data
breach and may also offer additional protections for liability resulting from denial of network access,
unauthorized network access, theft or destruction of data, exposure of personally identifiableinformation
(PII), and governmental investigations of any of the above” (Lowhust & McDonald, 2016). This type of
insurance ranges costs between $1,000 to $7,500 per year (Thune, 2018). Lastly, there is Directors and
Officers (D&O) liability insurance. D&O is meant to protect the company, it’s directors, and its officers
from suffering any type of loss due to claims of wrongful acts (Lowhust & McDonald, 2016). D&O
insurance “ranges from $5,000 to $10,000 per $1 million of coverage per year” (Thune, 2018).
Intellectual Property
“Except as noted, all books, titles, characters, character names, slogans, logos, and related indicia are
trademarks of and copyright DC Comics and/or WildStorm Productions, an imprint of DC Comics” (DC
Comics, 2019). Any and all characters to be used in the DC Now app will be used from the DC Universe
database.
4: Proposal Budget & Projections
Sales Projections
For sales projections we can expect between approximately 100,000 and 4.3 million people to download
the app (Facebook, 2019). Based on stats from Game Analytics, we’ll assume that 0.5% of those
consumers who downloaded the app will purchase something from the in-app store (Nizan, 2013). This
will equate to a range of approximately 50,000 to 215,000 people making a purchase in the store for
either virtual or physical products. Since virtual currency can’t be held, the unit volume will fall primarily
to the physical products. However, it will still be important to keep track of virtual units as well. So the
total unit volume will range between 50,000 and 215,000 units for both the virtual products and the
physical if each person were to purchase one of each at the bare minimum.

With the in-app purchases, gamers will have to pay money in exchange for virtual currency so they can
get their power-ups. Theprices will range from $0.99 to $29.99 with different pricing thresholds that give
you a certain amount of currency based on the price. As an example, one individual can pay $5.99 for 60
coins and use 25 of those coins to buy a virtual power-up. For the physical products, customers will pay
between $3.99 and $35.99 for different pieces of merchandise with the option to bundle certain items
and purchase it for $35.99.
In total we can expect a minimum sales range of $49,500 to $6.5 million if only 0.5% of the expected
customer base were to make at least 1 purchase from the in-app store. For our physical sales, we
expect a sales range of $199,500 to $7.7 million if the same customers were to make at least 1
purchase. With the combined expected revenue from both in-app purchases and physical sales, DCE can
expect a total sales range of $249,000 to $14.1 million if each person in our estimated consumer base
were to purchase 1 virtual item and 1 physical item.
Project Budget
For the budget, our main expenses will be for our workers, the marketing costs, and the insurance.
Workers
Based on research from Glassdoor and Ziprecruiter, this is what we would pay our workers if we were to
pay them on based on Average salaries:
Story Board Artist - $104,640 (Glassdoor, 2019)
Software Engineer - $115,462 (Glassdoor, 2019)
Brand Marketing Manager - $93,125 (Glassdoor, 2019)
Beta Tester - $52,244 (Ziprecruiter, 2019)
Marketing Costs
Since this will be the release of a typical gaming app, the marketing can be consolidated to traditional
ads in our own comic books and to social media ads since that is where our target audience will
primarily be.
If we wanted to reach a quarter of our total fan base via digital ads. By using the calculator at hubspot
we’ve come to this conclusion. These are the metrics for our digital advertising (Hubspot, 2019).
Projected budget: $15,000/mo
Expected cost per click (CPC): $0.1
Target conversion rate: 5%
Single Customer value: $3000
Lead to Customer rate: 10%
Expected Results of ads:

 150,000 clicks
 7,500 leads
 $2 per lead
 $300 value per lead
 Expected Revenue: $ 2.25 Million
 Expected profit: $2.35 Million
 Return on Ad Spend: 14,900%
Total Projected budget (Annual): 180,000
Total Projected Revenue (Annual): $27 Million
Total Projected Profit (Annual): $28.2 Million
Annual Insurance costs
CGL Insurance: approximately $430 (Insureon, 2019)
Tech E&O Insurance: Between $956 and $2,652 (Tech Insurance, 2018)
Cyber Insurance: Between $1000 and $7,500 (Thune, 2018)
D&O insurance: Between $5,000 and $10,000 (Thune, 2018)
Total minimum expenses derived from citations above (Workers’ Salaries + Marketing costs +
Insurance): $552, 857
5: Strategy Implementation
Timeline & Key Milestones
In the summer of 2020, we will officially launch the DC Now augmented reality app in the United States.
Starting March of2019, we willbegin gathering writers, forming management positions, techdevelopers,
etc. In June of 2019, we will have everything created, such as the design of characters, the
missions/backstories, character costumes, the technology will be developed, etc. July of 2019, we will
seek to acquire a joint venture with the mobile carrier AT&T. Following the proposal for a joint venture
with AT&T, in August we want to be closing the deal so that we can begin to run an exclusive beta test in
Japan, and then expand the beta test into Canada and Australia before launching DC Now in the United
States. If beta test goes well, we will begin a 6-month marketing campaign in the United States starting
January of 2020. The campaign will run up into July of 2021 when the official release of the app is
scheduled. ByDecember 2020, we expect to reach 75% of our revenue goal, by January of 2021, we expect
to hit 100% of our revenue goal. We will look to expand our market with other mobile carriers as well as
updating the current app by February 2021. In March of 2021 we will run another 6-month campaign in
preparation to launch DC Now Gen 2.

Year 1
Date/Time Frame Event/Milestone
March 2019 Gather writers,formmanagementandgathertech
developers. We will beginthe characterdesignand
missions/stories.
June 2019 Finishedcharacterdesign,missions/stories,andwill
prepare forbeta test.
July 2019 Propose a JointVenture withmobilecarrier,AT&T.
August 2019 Close deal withAT&T.
September– October 2019 Beginexclusive betatestinJapan.
November– December2019 Beginexclusive betatestinCanadaandAustralia.
Year 2
January – June 2020 Begin6-monthmarketingcampaigninthe U.S.
July 2020 Launch DC Now.
December2020 75% of Revenue Goal.
January 2021 100% of Revenue Goal.
Year 3
January 2021 100% of revenue goal. Negotiate jointventurewith
othermobile carriers.
February 2021 Close deals with other mobile carriers. Update
app to fit new regulations if any on augmented
reality.
March 2021 Begin 6-month marketing for DC Now Gen 2.
August 2021 Launch DC Now Gen 2.

6: Future Plans
Long-term Opportunity & Development Plans
Future plans for DC Entertainment include more partnerships, as well as more avenues for market
expansion. By 2023, we will have accomplished a partnership with Amazon. This partnership will allow
DC to start streaming their video games, as well as the purchase of exclusive merchandise, action
figures, and other products strictly through Amazon. In the next 2 – 3 years, DC Entertainment will be
announcing film releases and giving the customers a virtual reality experience. With the company’s new
writers, tech developers and different character designs; the augmented reality app will be a link to
creating new and improved content for upcoming films. We will offer more products on the DC
Entertainments website and work with musical artist to merge with the app and other products.

7: Appendices and References
References
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marketing-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,23.htm
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DC VS Marvel Animated Movies - The Best to Worst. (2015, Jul 15). Retrieved from
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Appendices
Appendix1:CompetitiveAnalysis
Marvel Dark Horse Image Comics DCE
# of Films in 2018 6 1 0 1
Comic Book Units Market Share
2018 37.89% 2.41% 12.64% 32.99%
New Comics Released 2018 95 23 78 78
Average Annual Revenue 2018 $300M $15M $18.7M $47.6M

Appendix2:Financial Worksheets

Business proposal for DC Entertainment

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