On 31 August 2009, Disney bought Marvel Entertainment for $4 Billion and made the best purchase the company has made in the past 25 years. By purchasing Marvel, Disney gained access to a large and significant demographic that had previously eluded Disney for years; Boys. Boys, teenagers, and even men read Marvel Comic Books, they identify with the characters and the stories, feel nostalgia over them, and who are eager to pay for their merchandise. Disney's attempts to target boys had largely fallen flat (see Disney XD's lineup of shows including "Kick Buttkowski" and "I'm in the band"), but the purchase of Marvel outright gave them a headstart and a competitive advantage necessary to maintain success. They are complements rather than competitors. DISNEY NEEDS MARVEL'S ESTABLISHED HISTORY AND UNIQUE DEMOGRAPHIC. Marvel had been so poorly run for years and with so little direction in its film division that ultimately MARVEL NEEDS DISNEY'S EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT, LEADERSHIP, AND DEEP POCKETS. Disney appears to have laid out a strategic framework, that if followed correctly (and with some adjustments) will better both businesses.
- Consumer Products. This division can have the most immediate and profitable impact by leveraging all of Disney's resources to make all sorts of consumer products. The transformation has already begun with increased apparel and posters.
- Television and Media Networks. Disney should start generating lots of new television shows for Disney XD using Marvel's characters. Some of the most popular television shows of the 90's were Spiderman, X-Men, and other Marvel cartoons. Disney needs to seek to recreate those shows, but in a more contemporary form.
- Movie studios. Disney taking over Marvel is perhaps best for their film division because their bankruptcy and mismanagement had seen all the major characters film rights sold to other studios and had profits in a freefall. Since Disney took over, Marvel's movie quality has seen a distinct improvement. Movies such as Iron man 2, X-Men First Class, Thor, and Captain America all came out on Disney's watch and make the Marvel brand appreciate in value. Disney can also take advantage of live action theater, such as the cursed Spiderman musical, and turn the familiar characters into charming musicals.
- Parks and resorts. Though Universal Studios Florida does have the theme park rights to some of Marvel's characters, that lease arrangement likely will not last beyond the near future. Marvel characters provide a strong story for many attractions and TRAVEL WELL ACROSS ALL CULTURES. Though Universal Studios Florida will still run Marvel Superhero Island for a while, Disney can create a Marvel area at Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Hong Kong Disneyland. I don't just mean a section of a park, i.e. Carsland at California Adventure, but these characters and stories could make up an entire park. Marvel had the idea for this prior to the acquisition for a Marvel theme park in Dubai. How would Marvel's management team had run this? It probably would have been a significant disappointment, but with Disney's knowledge of how to run a park, such an idea would likely be a huge success. Eventually, after Marvel Superhero Island is re-themed, Walt Disney World could open up a fifth park that focuses on all the main characters and has corresponding attractions.
With Marvel, Disney got the shot in the arm it needed to reach the coveted boys demographic. This along with the other strategic demographic tools, such as ESPN and Disney Princesses, will help Disney to reach all of its target audiences.
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