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Marvel's Five-Year Plan For The Avengers To Rescue The Movies
In order to understand Marvel’s approach in promoting the highly anticipated The Avengers movie, it’s necessary to step back in time to 2008.
Five years ago, Marvel executives developed a comprehensive plan involving four superheroes to culminate with one “uber” movie, says Marvel’s Paul Gitter. “We took the superheroes — Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, and Hulk — that we felt were the most relatable, relevant, and aspirational to build into one package. Every Marvel movie since 2008 was created with the full intention of this super franchise.”
Yet, promoting a movie with four spotlight-hogging superheroes is not without its challenges. “It’s definitely a complex brand,” says Marvel’s Paul Gitter. “Instead of just one, you have four ingredients [Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor] to brand merchandise and get SKUs [at retail].”
As a result, The Avengers emphasizes the “Core Four” rather than any one specific superhero in TV and print advertisements. And there’s a concentrated focus to showcase all members equally on Avengers merchandise.
Marvel is also releasing individual character merchandise in “waves” to help ensure superheroes receive their turn in the spotlight. For example, the first wave of The Avengers toys by Hasbro (which holds the toy license for the property) is heavy on Iron Man and Captain America. The second wave will see an increase in toys for Thor and the villain Loki, while the third wave will emphasize the least known characters, Hawkeye and Black Widow, says Hasbro’s Daniel Benkwitt. Retailers will also receive “surprise” boxes of Avengers toys in which the character SKUs are just randomly thrown together.
Nonetheless, fans inherently prefer certain superheroes over others. “It’s just like you would think — Iron Man and Captain America sell more than Thor,” says Gitter. However, The Hulk may soon surpass them all. Marvel executives have been “pleasantly surprised by the phenomenal response” to this green superhero, and expect this fan affinity to further strengthen once the movie opens. “His sales are up in a major way. We repositioned him from where he was always misunderstood to now depicting him in a more heroic and aspirational manner,” says Gitter.
If Hulk’s successful turnaround continues, Gitter says Marvel “will spin him off to a stand-alone program next year,” supported by a big budget franchise movie in 2015. The entertainment studio is also exploring ways to promote Hulk as a “corporate icon,” similar to MetLife’s usage of Peanuts’ Snoopy, where The Hulk’s image conveys a message about channeling strength to overcome workplace challenges.
Marvel’s multi-year strategy also played a role in amassing more than $100 million in promotional support for the Avengers film. Starting in 2008, Marvel approached partners with the understanding that relationships would be multi-year, multi-movie agreements. “There are many opportunities for brands to align with the big commercial in the sky [Gitter’s term for blockbuster movies], but we want to develop sustainable relationships [with our promotional partners].” As such, Harley-Davidson, Dr Pepper, and Acura are a few of the brands who initially supported individual Marvel franchises and are back again for The Avengers.
This hefty promotional support meant Marvel had to be proactive to avoid superhero oversaturation. “We looked at every retailer strategically to see how can we be different. We think we came up with a nice mix,” says Gitter.
Walmart’s program, for instance, centers on technology and the Marvel Avengers Super Hero Augmented Reality mobile app. Shoppers have instant access to Hawkeye, but can only “unlock” Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, the Hulk, and Black Widow in the aisles of the store. Comparatively, Marvel worked with clothing retailer Aeropostale to develop visually distinctive displays to catch the attention of “hip and trendy” teens. Target’s The Avengers initiative utilizes broadcast and traditional media, and Toys R Us is about the in-store experience, and has opened Avengers-themed in-store boutiques at 600 locations.
While The Avengers’ May 4 opening marks the end of the current multi-year plan, Marvel has already developed a detailed marketing strategy for the next five years. Whereas this approach saw the feature film as the finish line, the upcoming campaign will “synergize” the Avengers into a “multi-platform brand that can live 365 days a year.” To that end, Marvel is introducing digital initiatives, new print and comic book titles, and The Avengers animated TV series on the Cartoon Network in 2013. Iron Man 3 hits theaters next year, and Captain America and Thor sequels are in the works. Although the Black Widow isn’t yet scheduled for her own stand-alone movie, the character’s lifestyle will inspire a collection of athletic gear and beauty products.
It’s also likely that Marvel superheroes will soon be spotted in the theme parks of its corporate parent Disney, and in Broadway shows, similar to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark. Gitter doesn’t directly confirm these initiatives, only stating that Marvel is “exploring all land-based opportunities, including stand-alone shows and attractions.”
Reply With QuoteOriginally Posted by Patton
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