Marvel vs. DC Comics 

Brand Strategy

The top dog in the battle of Marvel vs. DC Comics would definitely be Marvel.In 2019, the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s total worldwide revenue was $22.55 billion USD (statista.com, 2019). Marvel is now owned by Disney, which has helped it become the powerhouse franchise that it is now. One of Marvel’s main strategies that they employ to keep the audience coming back would be continuity. They create story lines with each movie, and each movie blends into a greater story. They also bring characters together to larger cinematic experiences, such as the Avengers. This is guaranteeing that most people will want to see the movie because at least one of their favorite characters will be in it. I also feel with their superhero movies, you tend to know what to expect, so therefore you do not feel your time or money was wasted. 

DC Comics is the underdog in my opinion, and their strategy is very different to that of Marvel. The DC movies tend to focus on one main character in each movie, such as Wonder Woman. They have had some crossovers, but nothing to the extent or popularity that is the Avengers. They have however branched out to the world of television, and have made their mark in the TV world. DC needs to bank on their viewers feeling a loyalty to certain characters to keep them returning to the theaters. One main thing that sets the two apart however is that DC tends to have a more edgy feel to their movies such as the recent Joker movie, as opposed to Marvel which is more family friendly. 

There are a few things that the underdog, DC Comics could do to gain more market share and surpass Marvel. One thing would be to come up with some new characters that are more fitting to the younger generation. For example, Marvel rebranded Spiderman to be more up to date to fit into the new Avenger movies. If they came out with some more modern characters it would bring in a new audience. Another option would be to create weaving story lines and plan/map out movies so that they intertwine together. This creates the urgency for fans to feel the need to see every movie in the franchise in fear of missing a point that may be relevant in a future film. I also feel that DC could focus on hiring very popular actors. If they are big names, people would be more inclined to see the movie, and that person doing press would be very beneficial. 

I believe that people prefer Marvel because the universe they have created is so broad. There is a superhero for everyone, whether you are a young kid, a woman, or an older person. They have a strong focus on humor, and the way all of the stories blend together keeps people coming back. I actually prefer Marvel too because I relate to their characters more, and the way the movies are sensationalized makes me feel like I am missing out if I do not see them. The way they have marketed and scheduled/planned their films is nothing short of genius to keep people coming back.

Resources:

Watson, A. (2019, August 13). Marvel – Statistics & Facts. Retrieved February 9, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/topics/5313/marvel/

In this case study article about Under Armour, the market segments that were identified were female athletes. The company realized that they were generating a large amount of sales, but only a fraction of those sales were coming from women even though they were participating in sports more than ever before. They saw this opportunity to market to a new demographic and ran with it in an effort to expand on sales from this segment. They began to run campaigns such as “I Will What I Want” which focused on a female angle. 

I believe that there are four very important points to remember when implementing segmentation strategies, such as: 

1. Focus on the price or cost of the item you are looking to market. Depending on if it is a luxury item, the demographic you are targeting will be very different, as well as the way you choose to advertise it. 
2. The occasion or time of the year is of great importance. If the time of advertisement is around the holidays, people may be more willing to spend more money during that time. 
3. The region/geography of the country or even world that you are looking to target. Culturally people may have different taste, customs, or ideals which you need to keep in mind when looking to market to them. 
4. How often will a person use the product? If they are going to be frequent users or repeat customers, it would-be a great idea to come up with a loyalty system to reward them for returning as opposed to going to another competitor. 

I am very into health and wellness, and one trend that I have begun to see blow up is the Whole 30 diet. For 30 days you cut out alcohol, processed foods, dairy, and you are not allowed to weigh yourself. It has become a very popular lifestyle trend, and I am now beginning to see a lot of food companies coming out with “Whole 30 Approved” products with their logo of approval. As a consumer if I was doing the 30 days, and I saw that logo on a bottle I would be very inclined to purchase it. According to our text, I believe that this would be a behavioral demographic who are focused on health conscious items and not necessarily price. If I were a restaurant I would want to create a section on my menu that is dedicated to these people, giving them to freedom to eat out without worry. I would market it as a way to eat healthy, with convenience, no hassle, and no stress about breaking any Whole 30 rules.

When it comes to consumerism, I am an individual consumer. This means that I consume products to satisfy my own person needs or desires. This differs from organizational consumption, which has the goal of reselling or using purchases to create new goods or products. 

My buying decisions are mainly influenced by price, as well as convenience. If an item is well priced, I am more likely to buy it. However if an item, or good can make my life easier, or more convenient I am also likely to purchase. One main example of this would be the food delivery services UberEats or DoorDash. While they charge a premium to deliver food, as opposed to me going to a restaurant to pick up my food, the convenience of having items delivered is worth the value to me. When I can save time and energy to get other tasks accomplished, I am willing to spend more money. 

The stage the actually leads to my purchasing decisions would be information search or research on the items and competition. For instance if I am searching for an item on Amazon, I will look at other alternatives, and scour the site for reviews/testimonials before making a decision. Reading reviews is a huge part of my decision making as a consumer as well when it comes to dining out. I like to read Google and Yelp reviews before deciding where I would like to eat. When I am spending my money dining out, I want to make sure I will enjoy the meal and atmosphere of the restaurant. Therefore I believe the information and research is the most important stage of the purchasing decision for me. 

I love graphic design, so the design choices for marketing are really interesting to me as a consumer. I enjoy seeing that stock photos a company might choose for an ad campaign. As a consumer, I am more impacted by realistic ads. For example, the clothing brand Aerie has done a phenomenal job in their marketing by using women who are not the traditional model body type. They use women with realistic bodies, and they do not airbrush their advertisements. I believe that this influences me to want to purchase their clothing, because they are not trying to paint an unrealistic ideal and are appealing to women of all sizes, while feeling inclusive and welcoming.

As I feel that I am very thorough in my research when I want to purchase items, I rarely have post purchase regret. As I mentioned earlier, when shopping online especially I will usually only purchase items that have many excellent reviews. This leads me to rarely need to return or exchange items because I focus on research so much. However another behavior that I am now aware of that I have now after reading Chapter One of our textbook, is that I tend to only shop at places that have amazing return/exchange policies. I believe that I want to feel secure in knowing that if I spend my money on an item and I am not happy, I am able to get a refund easily with no hassle. For instance, I buy all of my beauty and cosmetics from Ulta Beauty, because they will accept an item even after it has been opened with no questions asked. I will then spend a large amount of money there because I know if I try out an item and it does not make me happy, I can return it with ease. 

Thank you so much for reading my post! 

-Christianne Dreyer