Marvel or DC comics ain't work without brand anatomy!

What about having a look at Marvel and DC Comics’ brand anatomy?
A little homemade metaphor to being cannot hurt anyone isn’t it? A brand anatomy is like a human being anatomy, without its core parts, it can’t work. But if we get into further explanations, Jobber model constitutes the basis.
And if I told you what is behind Marvel and DC Comics’ current successes, i.e. lots of unobvious but determinant elements? Tempting right, so shall we go?

Brand domain: the brand’s target market, i.e. where it competes in the marketplace.


Marvel’s target market according to business segment:

• Publishing/Comics: 13-23 year olds (male teenagers and young adults) 
• Licensing/Consumer products: 4-12 year olds (boys) and collectors 
• Studios: young boys, teenagers and older generations were comics belong to their everyday life

DC Comics’ target market according to business segment:

• Publishing/Comics: 18-34 year olds (young adults to men) / Teenaged boys from 13 year olds and 25 to 35 year olds (men) 
• Licensing/Consumer products: kids and collectors 
• Entertainment: 18-34 (young adults to men) 

Brand heritage: the background to the brand and its culture. How it has achieved success (and failure) over its life.

Marvel: committed brand toward common and/or sensitive causes (as a reminder, it developed during WWII, characters are all together a sort of family (holistic approach), strong licensing business
DC Comics: superheroes representing hope (it also developed during WWII), early presence on multi-media supports: first actor to introduce a storytelling of a superhero in a comics’ magazine (Superman) and on TV (Batman) 

Brand values: the core values and characteristics of the brand.

Marvel 

• Core values - Entertainment, quality and family-friendly 
• Characteristics - Accomplishment, discovery and growth 

DC Comics

• Core values – Empowerment of boys and girls as well as men and women 
• Characteristics – Cross generational, boundless storytelling 

Brand assets: what makes the brand distinctive from other competing brands such as symbols, features, images and relationships?


Photo credit: comicsbeat.com

Photo credit: marvel.wikia.com

Marvel: Logo, brand reputation thanks to Disney aura, iconic characters Photo credit: comicsbeat.com
DC Comics: Logo, brand reputation thanks Warner Bros. aura, iconic characters

Photo credit: fr.wikipedia.org

Photo credit: cinetrafic.fr

Brand personality: the character of the brand described in terms of other entities such as people, animals or objects.

For both, characters are expressed through superheroes of all kind. Behind all characters, there is a familial history with its conflicts that contributes to shaping their future. Some of them come from another planet or environment and accomplish their mission on Earth (Superman, Aquaman, Thor), others belong to Earth and get super powers from unexpected circumstances (Spiderman, Dardevil, Flash).
The major different between Marvel and DC Comics lies in the fact Marvel’s characters are more down-to-earth than DC Comics’ ones. In fact, Batman lives in Gotham City which is pure fiction same for Superman in Metropolis. On the contrary, superheroes like Superman to which it is easier to relate to (Spiderman leaving in New-York and being a regular photographer).

Brand reflection: how the brand relates to self-identity; how the customer perceives him/herself as a result of buying/using the brand.

Marvel: 
“True believers” – believe in heroes and in spectacular action
Performing
Belonging to a community
Feeling understood in case of non-conformists

DC Comics: 
Surpassing oneself
Charismatic
Brave
Self-confidence

By Wonder Elsa

Sources: 
http://prezi.com/oxpkvjqfh4qq/marvel-presentation/ http://www.google.fr/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CD8QFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.missouri.edu%2F~xdz54%2Fcar%2FMarvel%2520Enterprises.doc&ei=YPVRVMfOIc3aaKTrgaAI&usg=AFQjCNFdGMJ95XoebGozDJXepgMjeDeH9w&sig2=TgFy5O0qM2CoUMKp1884hw http://prezi.com/d1bhg17pcgn1/marvel-studios/ http://prezi.com/oxpkvjqfh4qq/marvel-presentation/ http://www.forbes.com/2010/02/01/peter-cuneo-marvel-leadership-managing-turnaround.html http://prezi.com/d1bhg17pcgn1/marvel-studios/ http://marvel.com/news/tv/17929/disney_xd_to_launch_marvel_universe http://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/aug/31/marvel-superheroes-true-believers http://www.france24.com/fr/20131107-islam-super-heros-miss-marvel-kamala-khan-bande-dessinee-comics-culture-populaire/ http://www.themarysue.com/dc-nielsen-survey-results/ http://comicsworthreading.com/2011/06/23/dcs-new-target-audience-is-younger-still-male/ http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/news/warner-bros-consumer-products-names-mattel-master-toy-licensee-dc-comics http://www.forbes.com/sites/markhughes/2013/10/29/why-marvel-is-defining-the-modern-superhero-film-genre/ http://www.le-toaster.fr/99-euros/bd-marvel-et-dc-comics-entre-heritage-culturel-et-guerre-des-licences/ http://www.inaglobal.fr/edition/article/de-quel-acier-sont-faits-les-succes-de-dc-comics http://www.vox.com/2014/10/1/6879859/dc-comics-sexist-tshirts-wonder-woman-batman-wife http://landor.com/#!/work/case-studies/dc-entertainment/ http://www.futura-sciences.com/magazines/sante/infos/actu/d/medecine-science-decalee-fans-superheros-sont-mieux-leur-peau-41395/ http://www.maxisciences.com/super-h%E9ros/psychologie-les-super-heros-aident-reellement-leurs-fans-a-se-sentir-mieux_art26728.html

Every brand has its kryptonite or adamantium!

It has been years now that DC Comics and Marvel are settled. But like their heroes, our two brands have their strengths and weaknesses and have to deal with their environment. In this article, I will focus on this analysis that is fundamental if you want to understand the main problems that are faced or why it is working well or not.

If DC Comics is as big as Marvel, they seem to have more weaknesses but to improve lately. Nothing surprising when you read their story. As a reminder, Marvel is now owned by Disney while DC Comics belong to Warner, which just realized that DC Comics products and stories were not consistent and not competing enough with Marvel's. DC Comics has been through many negative feedbacks on their casting and their choices of stories, but it seems to get better since Man of Steel that came out in 2013 and the last Batman movies by Christopher Nolan.

Both Marvel and DC Comics have a strong range of recognizable sub-brands and products, but DC Comics on its own isn’t as well-known as Marvel. They also have a strong fan base but Marvel is better at being interactive on social medias with their community. DC Comics still have to improve to get the best of community management.

Nowadays, comic books and movies are a huge market and science-fiction is very popular. It appeals to everybody and it is not a male thing anymore. Female customers are becoming a large portion of comic books sales.

If they both face the same threat of the independent comics gaining a large following such as The Walking Dead or Hellboy which respectively did a TV Series and a Movie. People are waiting for new characters fitting with our time, even if they are attached to old ones.

Marvel and DC Comics competing together represent a threat to each other. Actually, as you can see on the previous schedule, Marvel has planned many movies for the next five years. In 2015, three Marvel’s movies will be in theaters while DC Comics won’t be represented. But DC Comics is coming back in the competition in 2016 with at least two movies per year. Also DC Comics has to be careful with Marvel filling the female readers’ market.

To sum up, you will find the two SWOT tables behind.

Marvel and DC Comics have the same points of parity, they're both american comics publishers known worldwide with a wide range of superheroes and releasing films.

What differenciate DC Comics is that the characters were created earlier and they are living in a more magic environment. DC's prices are low compared to Marvel's.

On the other hand, Marvel is in a "realistic world" with real cities such as New York. The brand can also be differenciate thanks to the strategy of having only one writer on a serie to make it consistent. But the main thing is that Marvel is paying more attention on the team stories, as the Avengers, X-Men....

By Super Morgane

Sources:
http://www.dcplanet.fr/cinema/reviews-cine/
http://www.newsarama.com/15576-10-worst-things-about-the-current-marvel-universe.html
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2011/12/28/the-best-of-independent-comics?page=2
http://www.cracked.com/funny-6460-marvel-vs-dc/
http://www.superheronation.com/2010/11/09/differences-between-marvel-and-dc-comics/
Picture from
http://9gag.com/gag/ad68vw2

Marvel and DC Comics vs THE VILLAINS

Howdy space cowboys!

Here we are, back for some new and exciting adventures!
Today, we’re going to talk about Marvel and DC Comics competitors.

The companies behind the comic books are the publishers; without publishers big and small, there would be no comics for all of us to read and enjoy.

It is therefore quite easy to establish a list of the top five most popular comic book publishers on the market.

Number one on our list is of course Marvel Entertainment, which we do not need to introduce anymore.

Number two is DC Comics, not far behind but still not quite as influential as Marvel.

The third best publishing company right after our ‘giants’ is Dark Horse Comics.
Mike Richardson founded it in 1986; it publishes many licensed comics and was first known for its licensed properties such as movies (Alien vs Predator, The Mask, Hellboy and Sin City to name a few) and Comics (Conan, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Wars and Avatar).
In 2011, they launched their iOS app and online digital comic store. This is a pro compared to DC Comics and Marvel; indeed, smaller groups are more likely to concentrate on their websites and offer better online deals.
It is a great opportunity to start at the same level as the ‘giants’, Internet being a recent means of communication available to all.
Dark Horse Comics acquired the rights to make comic book adaptations of many popular films and series such as Indiana Jones, Robocop, The Terminator and Planet of the Apes.
Dark Horse Entertainment became part of Twentieth Century Fox after being bought over.

Image Comics is the fourth biggest comic book publisher in the United States; Erik Larsen founded it in 1992.
It remains one of the largest comic book publishers in North America.
Its best known series include: Spawn, Savage Dragon, The Darkness, Invincible and The Walking Dead.
Image Comics acquired the rights to make movie adaptations of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from 1990 to 1993 and recently in 2014. They also adapted the movie G.I Joe in 2009 and 2011.
Image Comics burst onto the scene with a group of hotshot artists; they found quick success with the previous series we talked about above and they were soon rivalling sales of Marvel and DC Comics.
They eventually lost some of the steam they had with comics not being issued on time and other different issues.

Last but not least, number five on our list is IDW (Idea and Design Works).
It is an American publisher, which issues comic books, graphic novels, art books and comic strip collections.
It has over 80 titles appearing on the New York Times best-seller list and in addition to its printed comics; it has 3000 books in digital distribution across multiple partners and platforms.
It was created in 1999 by a group of entertainment executives and artists.
In February 2013, IDW Publishing announced a partnership with Cartoon Network to publish comics based on the network’s television series and reprint older Cartoon Network Comics.
In addition, 30 Days of Night has been adapted into a film of the same name in 2007, starring Josh Hartnett and Melissa George, directed by David Slade and produced by Spiderman director Sam Raimi; it is distributed by Columbia Pictures.
The motion comic version of Transformers is included in the Transformers DVD.
IDW has quickly come on the radar lately with top quality creator owned comics and smart licensing properties that have made their sales solid.
They have revitalized the Transformers and Star Trek lines, one of their top performances being 30 Days of Night, which put them on the map of the comic book word.

Nevertheless, other smaller and newer publishing companies keep appearing and disappearing; Quality Comics for example was founded in 1939 and disappeared in 1960 due to high competition as well as Charlton Comics (founded in 1946 and ended in 1985), to name a few.
It is also very interesting to see that a lot of, and even most of the small companies have sold their rights to DC Comics, not to Marvel.
Even if there is some competition, both Marvel and DC Comics are still the most popular publishing companies, their heroes are almost as famous or even more famous than the companies themselves; the real competition is still the one raging between Marvel and DC Comics.

There you have it! Marvel and Dc Comics’ ‘major’ competitors!
See you soon for another article on a new exciting topic!
I hope you have enjoyed the ride!

By CatJulia

Sources:
Dhentertainment.com
Comicbooks.about.com/od/comicbookpublishers/tp/toppublishers.htm
Imagecomics.com
Wikipedia.com
Idwpublishing.com