How to Keep Your Positive Brand Equity
By: Kimberly Grant
Capturing the attention of consumers is getting harder and harder. You practically have to trick consumers into paying attention long enough to know what you’re advertising. Although, having positive brand equity helps with the struggle. Brand equity is a measure of the brand’s ability to capture consumer preference and loyalty.
Imagining the Preference and Loyalty
When a brand has positive brand equity, consumers react more favorably toward the brand. Negative brand equity is the opposite of that. Not to mention, positive brand equity can be lost if a brand does not nurture itself. For instance, Marvel Entertainment has generated a high amount of brand equity by releasing quality content that brings consumers back to them time and time again.
After lots of Avengers, X-Men, a Deadpool or two, and more, Marvel Entertainment (owned by Disney) seems to only release blockbuster films. That wasn’t always the case when the first Iron Man hit movie theater screens in 2008. At the time, Paramount Pictures had taken a big risk in bankrolling a comic book hero film when comic fatigue took hold of audience members the previous year. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and The Incredible Hulk failed to earn or made little over their pricey budgets at the time; according to Box Office Mojo.com.
Dreaming a Big Dream
However, Kevin Feige and Marvel Comics’ Stan Lee had bigger plans. Plans to put together an ensemble of major Marvel characters to make a big, financial splash in movies and TV. Their dream was realized some years later. It translated into multiple successful film franchises, made the careers of quite a few actors, sparked beloved television series, made room for non-Avengers Marvel characters, spawned many a license deal, and reinvigorated what was considered a dead movie genre.
Their dream also turned into a major deal with Disney that saw the Mouse Company purchase the Marvel Cinematic Universe for $4 billion dollars in 2009; after the moderate success of Iron Man. This kickstarted a complete brand overhaul for Marvel Comics into Marvel Entertainment. Now, this post is about positive brand equity. How much more equity can Marvel Entertainment get? Every film is a guaranteed blockbuster.
The Negative Side of Equity
Marvel Entertainment’s positive brand equity has grown over the years. Unfortunately, recent events of the past few months have painted Marvel and its parent company Disney in a negative light. The advent of Disney+, same-day streaming and movie theater releases of their blockbuster films, and Disney pocketing streaming surcharges has culminated into a real-world battle. On one side of the battle line is Disney. On the other side of the battle line is Scarlett Johansson. (You can read a little more about it in my previous post.) In the middle are the consumers who love the Marvel and Disney brands, but are wondering what shady things the companies are doing.
This negative brand equity, if unchecked, will continue to erode the positive equity that has been cultivated over years of providing quality entertainment to so many viewers around the world. At this point, Disney’s and Marvel’s brand awareness (recognition of the brand when its attributes are viewed) and brand recall (consumers’ prior exposure to the brand) are not at issue. It’s their brand image that is taking a beating. For that matter, Ms. Johansson’s brand is taking a beating, as well.
With this level of bad image-making and bad press, all parties stand to lose. Equity in a brand and the belief of its consumers are a major component to any brand’s success. With all of the great things that Marvel Entertainment has accomplished, it would be a sad day to see all of that ruined because their parent company could not come to a brand-saving conclusion that put the positive back in their brand equity.
Looking for more positive spins on Marvel? You can see my last post here.
