Today we are going to examine more closely Marvel and DC Comics through brand elements, marketing and communication programs, pricing and distribution. Are you ready? Let’s go !
Marvel logo has had many changes since the creation
of the brand, but a recurring motif is red and white. The main change is that
the word “comics” has gone: this happened after Marvel became Marvel
Entertainment and it means that the brand is now about more than comics.
Nowadays, le logo is very simple and highly recognizable with the capital
letters and the red color.
Spider-man is one of the most popular and commercially successful superheroes and it is the mascot of Marvel, which makes him an extremely important brand element. Marvel fans love to share the quotes of their heroes. One of their favorites is from Steve Rogers (Captain America): “I’m just a kid from Brooklyn”.
In the same way as Marvel, DC Comics has
changed its logo many times though the years. The last one was created in 2011;
it is very different from the previous one which was blue and white with a
star. The new one is black and grey, with a page being turned in “D” shape.
Without any surprise, the most famous DC Comics superhero is Superman, followed by Batman and Wonder Woman. Superman is considered as an American cultural icon and has even been labeled as the greatest comic book hero of all time by IGN (Imagine Games Network).
You may already know that Marvel is a well-oiled marketing machine. First, they have a huge audience, as the fans of comics are likely to see any film adaptation featuring the characters they like. Then, they distinguish from DC Comics as they have a great branding power: “The Avengers” isn’t just “The Avengers”, it Marvel’s “The Avengers”, there is no doubt about who is making these movies as it is clear in the public’s mind.The brand also knows how to create the buzz: in each of its movies, they play extra scenes from the next movie just after the end credits in order to give the public a taste and make them curious. Last, the social media strategy of Marvel is really robust and associated to constant engagement: the digital team often publishes news and responds to questions of fans. They also have a Twitter account for the brand (@Marvel - 30.6 tweets and 1.98 million followers) and for some characters (ex: @Iron_Man); the digital team answers to all the queries with humor, this creates a deep fan interaction and loyalty. Of course, the brand also has a strong community on Facebook with its official page and its 7.9 million likes and many updates about the next comics releases.
Contrary to Marvel, whose marketing strategy essentially focuses on the movies, DC Comics chose to concentrate on its comic books sales and digital strategy. Indeed, even if DC Comics is owned by a movie studio, they didn’t take advantage of the burgeoning pro-comic book film market and most of its movies can’t compete with Marvels, except Batman trilogy from Christopher Nolan.To go back to DC Comics marketing strategy, in 2011, they relaunched all of their most popular comic book titles with a fresh, modernized feel — along with resetting issue numbering to 1 — to make them more accessible to newer readers, who probably wouldn’t be familiar with stories from the several hundred back issues of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and others. This gave DC a huge boost in digital sales, and digital itself boosted overall sales. To grow up into the digital comic books market, they chose to sell their comics to a variety of digital stores (Apple’s iBookstore, Barnes & Noble’s Book store, Amazon’s Kindle and ComiXology). They also decided to lower the price of their comics to $1.99 after a month. The company also produces some comics which are only available in digital version. Furthermore, DC is also active though social networks : they count 2.5 million likes on their Facebook page (publishing news about the next releases, in the same way as Marvel), and 936.000 followers on Twitter, which is great, but can’t rivalize with Marvel’s 1.98 million followers.
Talking about pricing, the two brands have adopted different strategies as follows.
Marvel’s price for a standard comic book is $3.99, which is higher than DC Comics (see below) and the industry norm. This price can go up to $19.99 for a longer or a special edition.
Related products prices also depend on the category: approximately $24.95 for an adult spider-man t-shirt, $20 for a DVD, and from $9 to $600 for a collectible figure.
In January 2011, DC Comics announced a lowering of prices of all standard length 32-page ongoing comic book titles from $3.99 to $2.99. This decision was made because fans found the price too expensive and were more and more reluctant to buy new titles. The price can go up to $34.99 for a graphic novel such as “Zero Year”, the new Batman launched in October 2014. Related products prices also depend on the category: $26.95 for an adult Superman t-shirt, from $4.69 to $22.39 for a DVD, approximately $35 for a Batman watch and from $15.95 to $399.95 for a figure.
For both Marvel and DC Comics movies, prices vary by the location, 3D showings and IMAX showings of the movie.
To end up with distribution, Marvel and DC Comics books can be purchased in bookstores, specialized comic book shops and digitally on both brands websites and media stores such as Apple iTunes, Amazon… Related products (clothing, DVDs, figures, toys…) can be bought on both brands websites and in a variety of retail stores and shops (ex: FNAC). Movies can be viewed in theaters or on home entertainment.
All in all, even if Marvel benefits from an excellent reputation as a comics movies producer and a buzz creator, DC Comics is still a great competitor with its different marketing strategy. Indeed, the brand revealed in October the list of 10 movies to be produced through the year 2020. Marvel should beware of villain DC Comics…
By Bat Laurie-Anne
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Pictures sources (in the same order):
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