What the MCU has to teach the rest of the world about business and marketing

Marvel and Marketing 

Even if you’ve never picked up a comic book in your life, chances are high that you’ve seen — or the very least, heard of — some of the films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Avengers. Black Panther. Iron Man. These aren’t just movies anymore — they’re events.  

For the audience member, Marvel has created a source of entertainment that is notable for its prolific abundance, as well as its artistic excellence. For the business analyst, Marvel has provided a case study for the ages: how to leverage marketing strategies into a billion-dollar media empire.

In today’s newsletter, I’ll provide some context for Marvel’s climb to the top, followed by a handful of lessons that marketers can learn from adults wearing masks and capes. 

Let’s begin with last week’s bombshell. An article in Deadline broke the news that Sony and Disney reached an impasse over the rights to Spider-Man movies:

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige won’t produce any further Spider-Manfilms because of an inability by Disney and Sony Pictures to reach new terms that would have given the former a co-financing stake going forward. A dispute that has taken place over the past few months at the top of Disney and Sony has essentially nixed Feige, and the future involvement of Marvel from the Spider-Man universe, sources said.

In case you’re not the kind of person who attends comic book conventions, here’s a quick primer on how Marvel rose from bankruptcy to supremacy: 

• In the 1990s, Marvel Comics found themselves in dire financial straits. 

• To generate cash, Marvel sold the movie rights to many of their characters. Among the highlights: X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Daredevil to 20th Century Fox; Hulk and all theme park attractions east of the Mississippi River to Universal; Iron Man to NewLine; and Captain America to Artisan.

• Most of these contracts expired, allowing Marvel to regain control of the movie rights for most of their second- (and even third-) tier properties. Flagship franchises like X-Men and Fantastic Four were still held by 20th Century Fox.

That brings us to 1998 and a negotiation that changed Hollywood forever. 

Marvel — still strapped for money — offered Sony the movie rights to nearly ALL of the remaining characters under their control. The price? $25 million.

A 2018 article in the WSJ shared the details of that pitch: 

In 1998, a young Sony Pictures executive named Yair Landau was tasked with securing the theatrical screen rights to Spider-Man. His company had DVD rights to the web slinger but needed the rest in order to make a movie.

Marvel Entertainment, then only a famed name in the comic-book world, had just begun trying to make film deals. The company was fresh out of bankruptcy and desperate for cash, so its new chief, Ike Perlmutter, responded with a more audacious offer. Sony, he countered, could have the movie rights to nearly every Marvel character — Iron Man, Thor, Ant-Man, Black Panther and more — for $25 million.

Mr. Landau took the offer back to his bosses at Sony, whose response was quick and decisive, he recalled in an interview: “Nobody gives a shit about any of the other Marvel characters. Go back and do a deal for only Spider-Man.” [Emphasis mine]

Worst decision in the history of the entertainment industry? It surely ranks high on the list.

Click here to read the full article, including the five lessons:
https://marketingbs.substack.com/p/marketing-lessons-from-spider-man