Whether you’re a die-hard Marvel fan or not, I think we can all agree that Marvel is one of the most iconic brands of their time. Marvel amassed $1.2B from worldwide box ticket sales for “Avengers: Endgame” during its opening weekend. Although this broke national records worldwide, it’s only one success on Marvel’s very long list of accomplishments. In the first six days, “The Black Widow” crossed over the $100 million marks in domestic box offices. This made it the fastest to do so during the pandemic, yet another breaking record for Marvel.
When it comes to their brand identity, Marvel stands out as one of the boldest companies that have made daring moves with their publicity. Marvel Studios has given new meanings to words such as ‘Captain’ ‘Spider’ and thousands of other terms that have trademarked the film studio to loyal fans. Marvel Studios has not only published an artist’s resignation letter online, but they’ve also pulled some other pretty crazy stunts in the past that have left even the most long-term fans in shock.
Although to some it may seem like the brand’s legendary superheroes, enticing graphics, and one-of-a-kind characters are what draw us to the studio, there’s actually a series of actions combined with that lead us to love the iconic Marvel Studios. We can learn a lot from seeing what Marvel has accomplished and how they’ve built a platform that’s loved by billions of fans.
They’re A Meaningful Brand
When we think about the brands in our lives and the products or services that we use from them, we have to ask ourselves exactly how important they are to us. Many of us take for granted the brands around us and that they’ll always be providing us with high-quality content. To realize just how important a brand is in your life, ask yourself how much it would affect your life if it disappeared tomorrow. For brands, knowing how to get your fans to care enough about your brand that their world would be changed if you left is beyond difficult.
Maybe you can get viewers for your franchise, but building a franchise that people care so deeply about that they’re genuinely affected when it leaves is a different story. Marvel is one of the few studios that have managed to accomplish this in their time and create a franchise that has loyal fans who genuinely care about them and their characters. Marvel Studios has done that art of not only creating movies and characters that fans watch but also creating the studio itself into a brand that people truly care about.
How did Marvel Studios accomplish this?
Marvel didn’t only respect their viewers, they respected their characters. Instead of rushing to create a few good movies and make a profit from them, they’ve taken it slowly. They’ve taken the time to give each character the moment that they deserve, with their own movie and their own solid amount of screen time. By doing this, they allowed watchers to grow with the characters and build relationships with them. They were invested in their story and were able to feel truly close to the character.
Marvel didn’t cut corners by producing too many movies at once or rushing release dates. They showed fans that they cared about the characters themselves and were equally invested in creating the best product possible. By doing this, fans became invested in the characters and the movies as they grew. They put their heart and soul into the characters and were willing to wait if it meant giving the characters what they deserved and fans saw that.
Marvel Moved First
Being the first at something always has its pros and cons. Samsung may have impressively been the first to launch the flip phone, but they didn’t do it as successfully as they could have.
On the other side, Airbnb may not have been the first to have the idea for online home rentals, but they’re most certainly the most widely used now. Although it may seem an impossible feat, Marvel has managed to do it all.
Marvel Studios has successfully been the first to establish successful interlocking films and they’re the best there is. The brand was the first to successfully do what their industry is known best for and do it incredibly well.
Marvel Has Taken Risks
No one can deny that the brand has taken risks in its time to get its brand to where it is now. In our time we’ve seen many brands take calculated risks, pull publicity stunts, and do crazy things, but to fully understand what this means and how it benefited Marvel Studios, let’s take a look at what they’ve done over the years.
Change In Genre. When Marvel decided to bring do a drastic change in genre and explore more action comedies they took a big risk. This prompted bringing movies like “Ant-Man” and “Guardians” into their universe and seeing how fans responded to it.
Building A Storyline. If you were to watch Marvel for the first time and start a random movie of choice, you would probably be very confused. Marvel has built a storyline that continues to build with every movie that they release, so that you may feel blind if you were to watch one movie randomly. This is risky since it could potentially reduce the number of viewers.
These are only two of Marvel’s many risks that the studio has taken. However, it’s important to know that Marvel never blindly rushed into anything. Each risk was calculated and the brand weighed whether or not it was worth it. Although to viewers it may have appeared as rash decisions, Marvel calculated each one.
What Have We Learned From The Brand?
Is it possible to build a brand as strong as Marvel Cinematic Universe? Although it may not be easy, it is possible. Through characters that have fallen flat on their face and picked themselves up when it seemed nearly impossible, more than anything the studio has consistently shown us relatable characters. Through superheroes that seem invincible, there are heartbreaking backstories and real friendships. There’s friendly banter and inside jokes and relatable drama.
To create a brand that endears itself to customers and builds trust, you need relatable traits for your brand. You need a brand that is inspiring, consistent, and relatable that reaches customers straight to the heart. You may not have superhero powers to back you, but people respect a brand that puts its customers first and is upfront and authentic with its audience. Don’t rush the process and focus on building a solid brand that makes itself meaningful to customers.
