Sunday, May 24, 2020

Advertising Of The Ad Agency Model - 912 Words

I recently asked my good friend Google, â€Å"is advertising dead?† Google responded with over 100 million articles, blogs and PhD thesis on the subject. As I perused several of the links, I couldn’t find consensus between publishers and agency insiders claiming the industry is stronger than ever, and other marketing minds bemoaning the fact that advertising’s glory days are long gone and the whole industry is dying a slow and painful death. The overall health of the ad business is a hotly debated topic in trade journals and industry conferences. I confess I believe that the ad agency model is archaic and in desperate need of an overhaul, but the actual act of advertising is here to stay. Brands will always need ways to communicate compelling messages to their target audiences, and consumers will always accept a certain amount of ad interruption if it means they can get free, or lower cost, access to the content they really want to consume. And, believe it or no t, consumers sometimes even enjoy advertisements. I personally know people who requested Ikea’s catalog, opted in for Victoria Secret’s emails, watched the Super Bowl solely because of the commercials, and I even admit to once voluntarily clicking on a Facebook ad. BUT, all is not well in ad-land, and that’s because a radical recalibration is happening amongst brand leaders who are starting to ask a different question, which is, â€Å"how little advertising can my brand get away with?† Perhaps a bit scary for those who makeShow MoreRelatedMarketing Analysis : Creative Without Strategy1586 Words   |  7 Pagesto Jef I. Richards quotes: â€Å"Creative without strategy is called â€Å"art†. Creative with strategy is called† advertising† This statement shows a discussion between two statements. Firstly, this essay will discuss about what is creativity and why is it important in advertising, the evidence and shows how and why the creative idea works or doesn’t work. What is the strategy? Refers to The Advertising Concept book (Barry 2008). Strategy refers to the overall marketing or selling approach† Strategy is everythingRead MoreDeveloping A Schedule. Where Do You Begin To Prepare Your1552 Words   |  7 PagesDeveloping a schedule Where do you begin to prepare your advertising schedule? The best point of reference is the creative or advertising brief. Here, you will be given a direction on how long the campaign should run for, when it should begin and when it should end, along with other relevant information. You may choose to run it over days, weeks, months or even years. Regardless of which option you select, the length and timing of the campaign will be determined by the targets set by the originalRead MoreThe, Colorado And California A M Kingsville975 Words   |  4 Pageshas, the hottest model in Victoria’s Secret, but according to her, she is fat in contrast with her, also she want to emulate Julia in every aspect of her day life. Like Tina, many girls are fascinating in the way that fashion is, with exotic designs or unique smell, but they do not recognize that advertising is striking them more than they believe. Eating disorders and self-esteem problems are an unexpected result of advertising, to solve the problems, companies could use models with regular bodyRead MoreA Brief History of the Development of Advertising1461 Words   |  6 PagesNAME – KUNTAL BOSE DEPARTMENT – PGDM ROLL – PGDM/10/013 ASSIGNMENT – A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADVERTISING DEFINITION - Advertising is a  process, not a medium in its own right, although it uses different media forms to communicate. Advertising, in its simplest form, is the way in which the vendor or manufacturer of a product communicates with consumers via a medium, or many different media. HISTORY EgyptiansRead MoreHow Are Teenagers Affected By Advertisements For Fast Food?1468 Words   |  6 Pages Munusamy and Wong argue that advertising has become one of the important elements in our modern life (Munusamy and Wong). According to the most recent forecast of US advertising spending, eMarketer expects US advertisers to spend $171.01 billion on paid media this year, up 3.6% over 2012 spending levels (US Total Media Ad Spend Inches Up, Pushed by Digital - EMarketer.). Besides, the increasing concern from the businessmen who spend a lot of money on advertising, there are also a rising numberRead MoreAdvertising agencies today are confronted with the ever-evolving nature of technology and new1000 Words   |  4 PagesAdvertising agencies today are confronted with the ever-evolving nature of technology and new applications that are continually being devised. Traditional advertising methods such as billboards, newspapers, magazines, radio and even broadcast television advertising are becoming less effective due to the significant increase in the number of platforms for getting messages to target audiences. In my essay I will discuss the challenges that the digitalization of communications has had on advertisingRead MoreDeceptive Advertising1524 Words   |  7 PagesMarketing Term Paper Principles of Marketing MKT 2423 Angela Hanson Deceptive Advertising Deceptive advertising has been around since the beginning of time and still prevalent today. Sometimes it is done unknowingly by an advertiser, however more often than not; it is done with the intent to mislead the consumer making deceptive advertising a relevant marketing ethics issue. Deceptive advertising is a growing trend among business in our society. This trend includes directly trying to deceive consumersRead MoreDeceptive Advertising Essay1503 Words   |  7 PagesMarketing Term Paper Deceptive Advertising Deceptive advertising has been around since the beginning of time and still prevalent today. Sometimes it is done unknowingly by an advertiser, however more often than not; it is done with the intent to mislead the consumer making deceptive advertising a relevant marketing ethics issue. Deceptive advertising is a growing trend among business in our society. This trend includes directly trying to deceive consumers into thinking that they are gettingRead MoreWhy Marketers Must Stop Being Distracted942 Words   |  4 Pagesand media publishers and media buying agencies have been quick to provide them. The outcome is a multi-billion dollar industry dedicated to paid mass media solutions that place greater emphasis on efficiency than effectiveness. Case in point†¦ If you study where brands’ ad dollars are actually being deployed, it appears to be shockingly little accountability or sufficient rationale for the excessive expenditures in particular channels. E-marketer’s study of ad spending by medium between 2010-2014Read MoreThe Advertisement Of The Super Bowl1192 Words   |  5 Pagessecond advertisement during the Super Bowl costs approximately 4 million dollars (Yes, A Super Bowl Ad Really Is Worth $4 Million). These commercials often feature scantily-clad women using a wide array of products. For the exorbitant amount of money that advertising companies spend on these ads, it seems that they should do something that would be more attention-grabbing. In reality, this advertising technique is one of the most effective ways for corporations to sell their products. Humans naturally

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

The Effects Of Cameras On School Schools - 1304 Words

As an increase in horrific school mass-shootings throughout the United States within the past two decades have led to a scare in multiple schools nationwide. Such notable shootings that have taken place at schools like Columbine High School in 1999 and Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012. As a result, safety has risen in school, especially in a district located in Biloxi, Mississippi, where they implemented cameras into every classroom to monitor the action of everyone on school grounds. Everything a student or faculty member does or says will be under surveillance and be available for access by school administrators. Therefore, if there is suspicion that a student cheated on a test, if a student stole property, or any action that is deemed illegal and inappropriate for school, the school administrators would notice it as it is happening and enforce a consequence among that student(s). As a result of the classroom surveillance system, students have been better both academically and physically. On the other hand, people argue that the cameras are negatively impacting the students, as well as violating their rights. The two sides of this dilemma reflect different viewpoints and opinions, therefore this is a moral dilemma. With the point of view from the school district, the dilemma involves whether or not the district is infringing the civil liberties of the students by having cameras in every classroom. Civil liberties can be described as being subjecting to and protected by lawsShow MoreRelatedWhy Safety Is The Most Important Aspect Of School1399 Words   |  6 Pagesabout school, what is the first thing that pops into peoples minds? Academics? School appearances? The answer is safety. Safety is the most important aspect of school because if students do not feel safe, they will not learn. Safety is â€Å"the state of being safe; freedom from the occurrence or ris k of injury, danger, or loss† (Dictionary.com). This research paper will talk about why safety is the school’s number one, what teachers and schools are doing to ensure students feel safe in school and theRead MorePros and Cons of Installing Closed-Circuit Television Cameras in Classrooms to Prevent Misbehavior1512 Words   |  7 PagesInstallation of surveillance camera systems as a way to deter crimes or criminal acts has gained traction in recent years. In some countries, surveillance camera systems – also known as closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras – have also installed in educational institutions as a security measure to address fears for the safety of the students (Hope, 2004; Corpuz, 2011). The trend, however, did not stop. From halls and corridors, some education institutions have started to install cameras inside the classroomsRead MoreAlfred As The Master Of Suspense In The Climbing Frame Scene In The Film The Birds1485 Words   |  6 P agesthe short story The Birds by Daphne Du Maurier. The film was directed by Alfred Hitchcock, a British born director who is known for other tense, suspense filled films such as Psycho and Vertigo. Due to the extensive special effects of the film, it took three years to make. During the film Hitchcock created several suspense filled, tense scenes. Including the Climbing Frame scene. Alfred Hitchcock tries to live up to his title The Master Of Suspense whilst creating Read MoreMetal Detectors Should Not Be Scanned, Treated Like A Criminal?954 Words   |  4 Pages Would you like to come to school like a prisoner? To be scanned, treated like a criminal? Of course not. Adding metal detectors to schools would do just that. It would be unjust and downright disrespectful. The schools are saying they don t trust its own people. Speaker ________ said that using metal detectors reduces the risk of entering school with weapons. However, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, metal detectors are usually not effective when used on purses, backpacks, briefcasesRead MoreHoles Essay1596 Words   |  7 PagesStanley Yelnats who follows a journey like his great great great grandfather did. He was sent to Camp Green Lakes for a crime that he did not commit and when he arrived at camp he uncovered some of his family secrets. Techniques such as camera angles, sound effects and color constructs the characters and atmosphere in the film which creates the mood.These film codes are very important in the film as they help the viewer understand the story and conventions better. Body Paragraph 1: Character 2Read MoreIncreasing Security During Modern Society1127 Words   |  5 PagesThink back to probably the worst school shooting shook the country when 26 people were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School and 20 out of the 26 were children. Then more mass shootings have occurred and terrorist attacks. There clearly needs to be an increase of security in modern society. Security in modern society should be increased by the use of metal detectors, gun laws, and surveillance for the people. First of all there have been too many terror attacks, school shootings, and mass shootingsRead MoreSurveillance And The Threat Of Terrorism1381 Words   |  6 Pagestelevision-camera systems in banks, stores, and metal detectors in airports to airborne heat sensing devices used by environmental officials to detect water polluters, and secret military satellites with a wide range of detection devices. Other examples include sensors, night vision devices, alarm systems, global positioning system (GPS) trackers, even unmanned aerial vehicles, known as drones (1 and 11). Although several people believe strongly in crime prevention with the use of these effects of surveillanceRead MoreSurveillance Camera1467 Words   |  6 PagesSurveillance cameras in banks, offices, shops and streets have been very successful in reducing crime in the workplace and in public, but they are also a tool for their users to spy on peoples private business. Surveillance is a close observation of a person or a group, especially one under suspicion for the purpose of influencing, directing, managing, or protecting. It creates both positive and negative effects. It is very useful for governments and law enforcements to maintain social controlRead MoreSurveillance Cameras On The United States1742 Words   |  7 Pagestheory: The history of the surveillance camera, The present day use of the Surveillance Camera, Surveillance Camera use outside of the United States, When Surveillance cameras effect behavior, and When Surveillance Cameras do not effect behavior. The use of Surveillance Cameras alters or sustains a person’s behavior, based on the situation presented. History Present Day Surveillance Camera use outside of the United States It is no surprise that surveillance cameras are used worldwide. However, do countriesRead MoreGus Van Sants Elephant1070 Words   |  4 PagesVan Sant’s film represents the reality of high school, focusing on the look of its beauty, characters, while also ignoring the basic grime inherent on most campuses. Van Sant takes pride in portraying a valuable image. What’s in the room really touches you if it is closely examined. The hallways and the fields of the school are in pristine condition, staying abnormally clean, almost too clean for a school. Despite this seeming glorification of the building, the hallways are kept as a constant

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Motivational Plan Free Essays

There are five basic theories of motivation. 1) Self-determination theory states that people have three basic needs. 2) Attribution theory wants to know why things happen. We will write a custom essay sample on Motivational Plan or any similar topic only for you Order Now 3) Expectancy-value theory is interested in a person’s beliefs about abilities. 4) Social cognitive theory states that human behavior comes from their attributes. 5) Goal orientation theory wants to know the reasons for doing tasks. Self-Determination Theory The self-determination theory states that people have three basic needs. A need for autonomy, which is to feel a sense of self-directedness, the need to feel competent, and the need to be related to something. People are motivated with the things that will help meet these needs. People are motivated when their actions are self-determined. â€Å"The more self-determined the motivation is, the more the person experience positive outcomes, including persisting in the activity† (Lavigne, Vallerand Miquelon, 2007). People perceive they have choices available to them. This theory gives another reason for negative effects of rewards on intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is when a student really wants to learn something. Students will be motivated if they feel they relate to what is going on. They also will be motivated if they feel competent. If a student feels they are smart and can do a task successfully, they will be more motivated to get it done. If an individual has the three basic needs they will have self-determination. Attribution Theory Attribution theory wants to know why things happen. It might lead to negative feelings. It could cause someone to give up or try harder depending on the feeling. â€Å"Attribution (explanatory) thinking involves an appraisal of factors contributing to success and failure outcomes and is regarded as instrumental to motivation and goal striving in achievement settings† (Perry, Stupnisky, Daniels Haynes, 2008). Stability is if the event is constant across time and situations. A cause that is stable is failing a test because they are not smart. Intelligence is unchangeable so it is a stable attribution. A cause that is unstable is not doing well because the student was sick when they took a test. Locus is the cause is either internal of external. Locus that is internal is thinking you do not have the ability or skills to do well. Locus that is external is outside factors. These could be the teacher grades hard, the classroom environment like too noisy or interruptions, or anything that is outside the students’ ability. Control is the belief that a person can control events. If a student makes a bad grade on something, they can make two attributions for this grade. They could possible feel they just are not capable of doing the work or understanding the work. They could also feel they did not put forth a lot of effort and therefore could have controlled the grade. If it is a controllability issue, then the student is likely to try and fix it. Teachers can help students with the attribution theory by helping with stability. They can encourage a student that they are intelligent and capable of doing the work assigned. They can also encourage a student which will help with internal locus. Expectancy-value theory Expectancy-value theory is interested in a person’s belief about abilities and their value of a task. Motivation is determined by one’s expectancies for success and one’s value of the task. How a teacher teaches can influence a student’s beliefs and values. There are four components to this theory. â€Å"Correspond to the students’ beliefs about how well they will perform on upcoming tasks and relate to their perception of being able to carry out their academic projects successfully† (Chouinard Roy, 2008). An example is a student who thinks they are logical will value problem solving. The intrinsic value is how interesting a task is to a student. If they like what they are doing, they will be motivated to finish it. The utility value is finding usefulness in a task. The student will be motivated if it will help their grade. The last component is cost. The cost value knows it will be worth their time to do it. Usually if a student knows the assignment is not going to be graded, they won’t bother to do it. Student results come from teacher expectancies. If a teacher thinks the tudents will perform poorly and they treat them this way, then they will not do well. If a teacher has high expectations for the students and shows them this, they will do better. If teachers believe that certain groups of students do not value educations, then they will have different expectations for them. Teachers also have different expectations based on culture areas and socioeconomic backgrounds. Socia l Cognitive Theory The social cognitive theory states â€Å"that most human emotion is the direct result of what people think, tell themselves, assume, or believe about themselves and their social situations† (Lantz, 1978). Students are motivated by what they see in other people. If they see that their older brother or sister cannot get anywhere in life because they dropped out, they will be less likely to drop out. They also are motivated if they have a belief they have the ability to perform a certain task. Teachers can influence their beliefs. Teachers can take a weak student and pair them with a strong student to motivate them by what they see in the strong student. Teachers can also motivate them by convincing them they have the ability to do a task. Goal orientation theory Goal orientation theory constitutes a substantial and informative body of knowledge concerning motivational processes in achievement settings and particularly in educational contexts† (Kaplan Maehr, 2007). The goal orientation theory wants to know the students’ reasons for doing academic tasks. There are two goals: mastery goals and performance goals. Mastery goals are tasks that truly master the material. Performa nce goals are tasks that demonstrate the ability. The theorists also look at approach and avoidance goals. Approach goals are positive motivation. Avoidance goals are negative motivation. Students with mastery goals are looking to improve their competence. Mastery goals have been associated with increased effort. Mastery-focused classrooms are discussions that encourage all students to participate. Students who use mastery goals are often critical thinkers. Students who use performance goals are using cognitive skills. These are the five theories of motivation. They are used by educators everywhere. By understanding them, teachers can help encourage positive motivation and help the students achieve the best education possible. How to cite Motivational Plan, Papers

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Marvel Inc Strategy free essay sample

?Marvel Enterprises, Inc. evolved from bankruptcy in 1997 to the best performing stock on The Wall Street Journal. This marvelous shift in Marvel Enterprises, Inc. is due to its strategic decisions in acquiring creative talent, a wide portfolio of super heroes and characters, synergetic acquisitions, strong control over the characters created by Marvel, very profitable value chain, and successful business model. Marvel History Marvel Comics started as an exclusive comic book company and was acquired by Perelman in 1989. Perelman tried to foster the growth of the company through acquisitions and diversification. He increased the number of titles under Marvel name and resulted in a reduction of overall quality of the comics. He led the company to a bankruptcy in 1997. Marvel was then acquired by Toy Biz and got saved from closure. Toy Biz purchase of Marvel was strategically very good move. Toys and comics have a lot of synergies because success of a character in comics can be translated to success of that character in toys. And Toy Biz emphasized on the core industry of Marvel comics. Its under Toy Biz that Marvel created most successful characters and changed the course of Marvel. Strategies of Marvel Enterprises, Inc. : 1 . Monetize the content library via licensing characters for use with media products and other consumer products. Marvel licensed the characters for movies, television, video games, toys, apparel, collectibles, advertisements etc. and earned royalties from the respective licensees. This was a very successful strategic move because: Create: This move created value for Marvel and Marvels customers (the licensees). Marvel earned royalties and the licensees promoted their business using the characters licensed from Marvel. Capture: Marvel captured the value in terms of further promoting its characters and further increasing its comic book sales. Marvels most successful super hero Spider-Man created a sensation through movies by Sony Pictures. Marvel introduced more issues of Spider-Man (Amazing Spider-Man, Ultimate Spider-Man etc. ) and increased the revenues from its core business. The success of the character also translated into additional revenues from royalties. Benefit: Marvels super heroes blend into the audience and created a bond with a wide range of people. The licensees benefitted from this craze through advertising, including the super hero fgures in wide range of products, and making blockbuster movies with the characters. This craze increased the customers willingness to pay for licensing the character and increasing their sales. Differentiation: Using the well- known characters on various products (toys, apparel, etc. ) gave a competitive advantage for their products in terms of marketing. The success of the character easily translates to success of the product that uses that character. Marvels characters are used as a differentiator for promoting their products. 2. Manage the library of characters to foster long-term value. Marvel has a portfolio of over 4,700 characters with distinct abilities and characteristics. Marvels success depends on the uccess of the characters Marvel creates. Having a wide range of characters under different super hero families is critical for Marvels long-term sustenance and success. Invention followed by innovation is always a necessity for creative company like Marvel. This strategy proved success for Marvel because: Create: Having more wide range of characters that can create value for many businesses. Capture: The value captured by Marvel in terms of royalties/brand name directly relates to the success of the characters it creates. More successful characters attract more licensees and success of the licensees further increases the success of Marvel. Benefit: Having more characters diversify the portfolio and increases the long-term strength of Marvel. More successful super heroes increase the brand equity for Marvel and also increase the probability of the success of the characters it creates. Having more brand equity and a successful portfolio of characters increasing the customers willingness to pay. Differentiation: Unlike DC Comics characters where most of the successful characters except Batman are aliens/born with super human abilities, Marvels most of the successful characters are normal humans turned super heroes due to some accident. This element elevates Marvel character and creates a sense of thrill in the audience. The audiences develop a bond with the human turned super heroes and increase the probability of success. This is the differentiating factor for Marvel from its main competitor DC Comics. 3. Retain some form of control over the creative process to ensure the quality of the content that featured Marvel characters. Marvel characters are blend into its admirers and audience. The licensees must respect this bond while using the characters in their businesses. No one but the creators of the characters understands the importance of this bond. So its critical for Marvel to monitor to the licensees products to ensure quality and integrity of the story of the character. Create: Marvels customers customers are people that admire the characters. Marvel can create value from its characters only if it creates value to its customers and customers customers. By having control over the licensees products, Marvel can protect the quality and integrity of the characters creating value to customers customer. Capture: High quality of the products encourages the collector market and increases the admiration over the characters. Marvel captures value in terms of the craze people develop over the characters it creates. Benefit: Higher quality of the products obviously increases the success of the products. Marvels customers benefit from the services provided by Marvel and are willing to pay Marvel for their values add services. It also gives Marvel control over the licensees and their business with respect to its characters usage. Differentiation: Having control enables Marvel protect the story of the characters and maintain a sync between the characters identity in all the media. Marvel was successfully able o create value for the customer and the customers customer, capture in an equitable manner the value created, benefit from the customers willingness to pay, and differentiate its products through its core strategic dimensions. Marvels Business model: Marvels core business is comic books. Although the core business is comic publication, Marvel makes most revenues and profits from licensing the characters it creates in the comic books. Creating more characters, increase the awareness of the characters and linking the character with an exciting story defines the success of Marvels business. Maintaining the integrity of these characters is the main strategy of Marvels business. Value proposition: The target market for Marvel is predominantly kids and male teenagers. Marvels the excitement its characters create in the target audiences and the bond they develop with these characters. Marvel characters are NOT a target for females predominantly. Competitors: Prime competitor for Marvel is DC Comics. There are also many small comic publishers that are competitors for Marvel within the industry In general, fairy tale and short story publishers can be competitors for comic book companies Analysis: Profit Model Revenue Architecture Comic book sales + Royalties from licensing for toys, apparel, etc. + Fees from advertising that uses the characters + Revenue share from movies + Revenue share from sales of video games Cost Structure Salaries for the creators of the characters and comics + Comic book publishing cost + distributor fees + marketing + quality control team cost Target margin The main target for Marvel is licensing the character for movies. Movies are widely reached medium. Success of the character in movies automatically increases the sales of all other products that use that character and increases the overall business f Marvel. Resource velocity Marvels net income in 2003 was over 43. 1% of its net sales from all its operations. This is the one of the best profitability index. Marvels key resources are its writers. Its important for attract and retain creative and talented writers for Marvels long term sustenance and success. Value chain confguration This table gives the outsourcing matrix for Marvel. According to the outsourcing matrix, Marvel keeps in-house the critical components of value chain, while outsourcing non-critical components. Long term ability of Marvel to compete High Medium Low Criticality of component process in Marvels products Comic books Character creation and story Toy creation (concept development) Quality control of toys and character integrity Marvel Select toys promotion Toy manufacturing Apparel that uses the character licensing Character branding for marketing Marvel and licensee Marvel maximizes the use of its core competency creativity by creating more interesting characters. The success of the characters it creates translates to the success of Marvel. Key Resources and Capabilities that should be focused Marvel is a company that lives on creativity. Creating successful super heroes and omics is the key capability that dictates Marvels long term growth. Marvel should focus on creating characters and maintaining their integrity. Competitive strategy In the entertainment industry, as long as Marvel can create interesting and exciting characters, success is guaranteed for Marvel. A character once admired by masses never dies. Marvel has to work on protecting the admiration over the character and this gives Marvel a competitive advantage. Industry analysis Marvel is an entertainment company. Entertainment industry is extremely wide and all Marvels businesses fall under entertainment industry. Marvels core business is creating super hero character and inducing the character into various forms of entertainment. The attractiveness of super hero industry can be assessed by Porters five forces analysis. Porters 5 forces analysis of super hero industry: Threat of Entry : High Any writer with a story and an exciting super hero can enter the industry through numerous publishers. Bargaining power of Suppliers : High Suppliers of Marvels business are creative writers and artists. The industry runs on them and their stake in the character and its success is extremely high. Bargaining power of Buyers : Low The demand for super hero industry depends on the success of the super hero. And these characters are exclusive copyrights of the company that creates them. So bargaining power of buyers is very low. Substitutes : High Super heroes are very exciting, but they have a large number of substitutes. Normal movies are their biggest substitutes. Movies like The Matrix, for example, a fusion of technology and virtual human abilities, can be biggest substitutes for fictitious super heroes. These factors make the fantasy industry very unattractive, but Marvel, as a very well established player with numerous characters in its portfolio, has a clear ompetitive advantage over rivals. Risks The major risk of Marvel is its ability to attract and retain creative writers. As long as Marvel can create new, exciting characters in regular intervals, Marvels success is The comics and characters introduced by Marvel can be either success or failure. The success/failure is linked only to the character and the loss due to failure of a character is nothing compared to the profits Marvel generates by the success of the character. Marvel plays it safe, Blackjack style. Marvels Business units: Marvel has three business units. All the business units Marvel owns have excellent ynergy. All the businesses are based on the characters and stories they create, predominantly in the comic books. The success of the character in any of Marvels business vertical immediately results in the success of other business units pertaining to that character. The three business units of Marvel are: 1. Comic Book Publishing 2. TOYS 3. Licensing Comic Book Publishing Comic Book publishing is the core business of Marvel. The characters and their stories are created in comics and the success of those characters is transferred into other businesses. Comic books decide the success of the character and thereby the uccess of other business units of Marvel. Comic book publishing business comprised 21% of total sales and had a profitability index of around 34% in 2003. Attractiveness of Comic book industry: Porters 5 forces analysis gives the attractiveness of the comic book industry Threat of entry: High Entry into comic book industry is very easy. Anyone with an exciting story can get the support of numerous publishers and get the advantage of the established network of publishers. Bargaining power of suppliers: High Writers are the major resources/suppliers of comic book industry. Companies should e able to attract and retain various writers and should give them freedom to come up with new stories. Again, providing too much freedom to employees results in running the risk of producing nothing of substance. Bargaining power of buyers: Low If buyers like a comic story, they are obliged to buy that comic only from that company. So the bargaining power of buyers is very low. Substitutes : High Short stories for kids, novels, etc. can be substitutes for comic books. Due to the above factors, comic book industry is not an attractive industry for new entrants due to high rivalry. But Marvel being a well-established company, can make this a trategic advantage due to low number of competitors. Conceptualization of comic book publishing business Comic book business is a three dimensional concept. According to Abell framework, the three dimensions can be analyzed. Scope Costumer Group: People interested in fantasy, super human characters and comics Costumer Function: Generate excitement, thrill Technology: Color printing, art technology Differentiation Customer Group: Male kids, teenagers, and mid-30 adults Customer Function: Technology: Customer Group: Customer Function: Generate a bond between readers and comic characters and reate a craze for the character Technology: Toys Toys business is predominantly based on the success of the characters developed in the comic books. The success of toy business is dependent on the success of the respective comic books and the characters. Toy business comprised 24. 5% net sales and had a profitability index of around 25% in 2003. Attractiveness of toys industry: Porters 5 forces analysis gives the attractiveness of toys industry Threat of entry: Low Entry into toys industry is fairly tough. Due to high initial investment in plastic molds and plastics, new entrants into the industry can be restrictive. Bargaining power of suppliers: Low The suppliers of plastic, which is most used material in toys, are very high making their bargaining power very low. Bargaining power of buyers: High Due to large number of players in the toy industry, the bargaining power of buyers is very high. Substitutes : High Online games and video games can be substitutes for toys. Based on the above factors, toy industry is not an attractive industry for new entrants due to high rivalry. But Marvel being a well-established company, and most of its toys are based on the famous characters it created, Marvels toy industry is protected by opyrights making this a strategic advantage for Marvel. Conceptualization of toys business Toys business is a three dimensional concept. According to Abell framework, the three dimensions can be analyzed. Scope Costumer Group: People interested in fantasy Costumer Function: Fun, excitement Technology: Molding technology Customer Group: boys from four to 12 years old and adults who are crazy about action figures Customer Function: Competitive Differentiation Customer Function: Generate excitement while playing with the toys (Hulk Hands, Spider-Man web shoots) Technology: Licensing Licensing is the most profitable business for Marvel. Licensing comprised 54. 5% of net sales and had a profitability index of around 72%. Licensing derives its profits from the success of the characters in comic books and it in turn helps market the comic books. So licensing is extremely profitable and crucial for Marvels success. Marvel has a tight control on licensing its products and no product can hit the market without Marvels approval. Tight control, as previously mentioned, enables Marvel maintain the integrity of the action figures and preserve their story. Attractiveness of licensing industry: For any company to enter into licensing business, the company must first have a high brand equity and their products should be well-established in the market. This makes licensing industry very attractive for established businesses. Bargaining power of suppliers: Low The licenses are protected by strict copyright laws and company holds the rights on using the product. Bargaining power of buyers: Low Once the products are famous in the customers, buyers dont have to spend additional marketing money and they get the brand equity along with the license. This makes the bargaining power of buyers very low. Substitutes : High Normal movies, celebrities, etc. can substitute licensing super heroes. Based on the above factors, licensing industry is not an attractive industry for new entrants due to high rivalry. New entrants must be established first to license their products, which make it tougher for them. But Marvel being a well-established company, and most of its licenses are over well-established super heroes, Marvel has a competitive advantage in the industry. Conceptualization of toys business Licensing business is a three dimensional concept. According to Abell framework, Costumer Group: Business that use super heroes to promote their business Costumer Function: Promote business using famous fictional super heroes Technology: Copyright technologies Customer Group: Movie producers, apparel manufacturers, and advertisers Customer Function: Customer Function: Generate revenues for the licensees Marvel Industries based on the assessment by various strategic frameworks presented has perfect strategy and maintains excellent synergy within all the business units. Marvel is one of the most profitable companies in the world and its possible because of their perfect portfolio of businesses and new products planned over the timeline. Positioning Marvel for the Future Marvel executives realized two marketing challenges critical to Marvels future success. 1. Use its library of characters and continue the existing business model based on licensing the characters to third-party businesses 2. Venture beyond the current business model and take on capital-insensitive but potentially more profitable activities in value chain for entertainment products Id support option 2, which allows Marvel to further diversify their portfolio, mainly into content production and distribution business. This will open up a huge market movies, television, video games, etc. for Marvel. Besides, this market is not new for Marvel. Marvel has been one of the strongest players in the entertainment business and this industry: Movies are a major part of entertainment industry one of the biggest industries in the world. Marvel has a lot of experience with movies. Movie industry is one the major customer for Marvel and a key for Marvels success. Marvel entering the industry would be inline and synergetic to Marvels core businesses. Attractiveness of the industry Since movies are enjoyed all over the world, PESTLE analysis would be irrelevant to measure the attractiveness of the industry. Porters 5 forces model could be applied o interpret the attractiveness of the industry. Porters 5 forces model Threat of entry: Production High; Distribution Low Producing a typical movie is not very expensive. But distributing the movie is very expensive and only established players control the distribution market. Bargaining power of suppliers: Production Low; Distribution High Movie producers suppliers are production team, director, actors, etc. Marvel, an established creative company in entertainment industry can build a movie team easily. But distribution is the key for running the movies and they have high bargaining power since they control most of he theatres. Bargaining power of buyers: Production High; Distribution Low Distributors are the customers of movie producers. They control the market and they have high bargaining power with producers. Whereas theatres are the customers of distributors and they dont have a high bargaining power with the distributors. Substitutes : High Television series, Internet. Considering the above factors, Production is more attractive and easy to enter than distribution. Id suggest Marvel to enter the production business for its most famous characters. Marvel can estimate the success of the character based on the comic ook sales and surveys. A movie of a famous super hero generally has a natural hype and craze in the market. Most such super hero movies are at least commercially hit, if not admired by people. But this would affect Marvels comic book sales and characters reputation. Nonetheless, this risk persists even with the existing business model. Since distribution is tough to enter and most prone to risk, Id suggest Marvel to outsource the distribution of their movies to established players like Warner Brothers, Universal Pictures etc. Risks Diversification often increases risk. Marvel pursuing content production aligns to its usiness model and is a strategic and synergetic move. Both movies and comics are creative works. Marvel being in the creative industry for many decades, have writers that could script a very good movie. Or Marvel can use the comic books as script and reach wider audience. Types of risks Marvel has to encounter Demand Risk Super hero movies often have natural hype and craze. These movies are always most awaited and people are crazy about. Marvel line of movies will generally have a very good demand. Regulatory risk Movies have general regulation and movies/comics must adhere to the regulatory ramework established by the respective countries. Marvels main target is kids and Political risk As a well-known company, Marvel should not have any major political risk. Tax structure affects the profitability, but every industry/company has this risk Financial risk The fame of Marvel characters reduces the financial risk of Marvels movies. Marvel should go into production business, but not into distribution business at this time. Marvel can earn the profits entirely by producing a business, but is also liable to losses if the movie fails to run rather than having a minimum guarantee amount according to the existing business model.