Brand Marketing In The Marvel Universe

By Jeff Beer

It would be tough to argue against Marvel being one of the strongest, most recognized brand names in the world. And with that strength, comes . . . responsibility? Sure, but also requests from other brands to partner up so they too can warm themselves on your white hot brand halo. Right, Geico?

OK, movie tie-ins are no surprise, but as native advertising has become a common part of seemingly any and every publishing venture, it also lives under the same roof that Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man, and so many more superheros live. Marvel Custom Solutions is marketing unit that helps lends brands a little of Marvel’s comic book magic, whether by weaving ads around existing Marvel characters, or creating new standalone characters and IP for the brands.

“The goal for our group is to provide marketing solutions for our clients based on their own needs and goals. Those things may include Marvel characters, they may not,” says Jon Ennis, Marvel’s director of business development, partnerships. “Certain brands want to work with us that don’t actually need our characters, but leverage our resources, the brand recognition, our art and writing talent, all these other things. Marvel has a wealth of characters–up to around 9,000 now–which is a big selling point, but it’s not the only thing we do, and we’re able to work around what a client wants.”

One thing that does differentiate this group from other native ad groups at places like the New York Times or the Atlantic, is that brands do have access to any of the comic giant’s legendary writers and artists, like Brian Michael Bendis (Spider-Man, Guardians of the Galaxy), Clayton Henry (The Avengers), and Brian J. Glass (Thor), depending on their availability.

Now, people can be a tad skeptical when it comes to native advertising (or as John Oliver calls it, “repurposed bovine waste“), and comic book fans are a breed more sensitive than most when it comes to messing with their favorite characters and stories. Just ask Zack Snyder. Ennis says that Marvel Custom Solutions is able to safeguard those characters and stories, while still working to achieve a client’s goals.

“While Marvel owns these characters, it’s the fans who really own them, they’ve lived with them for so long, and been invested in their stories. So if those characters do something that feels counter to their brand or who that character is, they will react, and our company is very sensitive to that,” says Ennis. “We do understand that there’s a way we can help a brand get a message across, that will resonate with our fans without being too heavy-handed or turning them away because it smells too much like marketing or sales.”

They make sure characters aren’t interacting or endorsing a product, or if it’s a comic, say, for Verizon, that the integration into the story feels organic, and comes from a real place within the story. “It’s not Hulk all of a sudden deciding he needs high speed wifi,” says Ennis. “Or Luke Cage isn’t on the Avengers anymore, so if you want an Avengers story, Luke Cage will not be in that story. If you want Luke Cage, then maybe it’s a Defenders story, and that’s the kind of nuance our team knows the fans will know instinctively.”

Here are a few of the various brand integrations Marvel Custom Solutions have created over the last few years:

The Guardians of The Galaxy and Visa

Visa

Guardians of the Galaxy: Rocket’s Powerful Plan

Avengers and Western Union

Western Union

Avengers Presented By Western Union

“What The–?! Western Union Special”

IBD unmasked by Takeda

Takeda Pharmaceuticals

The Unbeatables

Luke Cage and Magic Shave [Photo: courtesy of Magic Shave]

Magic Shave

Luke Cage In A Close Shave!

Operation: Recruitment at Comic-Con 2015

We’re scouting #SDCC in the official Marvel’s #AgentofSHIELD Lexus vehicles. Check out our latest recruit!

Posted by Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. on Friday, July 10, 2015

Lexus

Operation Recruitment

7-Eleven

What The–?! Thor Joins 7-Eleven

Captain America and Kiehl’s

Kiehl’s

Captain America: Transformation & Triumph

Benefit Cosmetics

“SpyGal”

Florida Department of Citrus

“Captain Citrus”

Fast Company

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