Iron Man and Captain America may soon become regular sightings on slopes and skate parks around the world with Marvel pushing into the action sports category. The Disney-owned company, which is best known for its comic book superheroes and blockbuster movies, is making a “concerted push into the outdoor and lifestyle-related segment,” said Disney Consumer Products’ SVP of Marvel Licensing Paul Gitter. Marvel took advantage of its affiliation with ESPN -- which is also owned by Disney -- to showcase its first line of action sports products, both summer and winter, at the last two X Games events. “X Games and that consumer sub segment felt like it was the right way to stretch the brand,” Gitter said. “And partnering with X Games really helped to authenticate our efforts and stretch into this aspect of the business.” Marvel decided to collaborate with a number of different companies that are already established in the action sports space, such as Santa Cruz and Burton, to boost its credibility. Gitter said that those relationships are important as Marvel looks to extend its product offerings into the adult segment. The company has always produced Marvel-branded sporting goods for young children, Gitter said. In phase two of its plan, the brand is looking to broaden its consumer base. “We are looking at what we can do to be more socially responsible to help kids move from that adolescent stage into adulthood, and what categories can we use to help that movement in the adulthood direction,” he said. This will also include other non-sports related products in the outdoor segment such as camping gear.
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Santa Cruz skateboards.
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POTENTIAL RISKS: Marvel is targeting both genders, six and older, as it expands its product catalog, Gitter said. With that in mind “action sports made good sense,” he added. “All those kids that are participating in X Games and action sports were actually Marvel fans,” Gitter said. “We are using that to identify what other areas, consumer sub segments may make sense for Marvel.” The company will stay away from big budget broadcast commercials and print media campaigns. Instead, it will focus on social media, co-branding and grassroots initiatives. “Grassroots meaning showing up at events like X Games,” Gitter said. “We are evaluating what other venues exist outside of X Games that we can participate in.” Another marketing option that Marvel will shy away from is athlete endorsements. The reasoning behind it, Gitter explained, is the potential downside of an athlete misbehaving. He pointed to Marvel’s relationship with Under Armour as the furthest the brand has gone. The collaboration with UA went beyond just product creation. It also included extensive film integration and product placement. “But beyond that we don’t get really involved with paid endorsements because we do want to manage the potential risk,” he said. Last year, Marvel teamed up with five National Rugby League clubs in Australia. For round 21 of the ’15 season, the teams traded their regular jerseys for Marvel character-inspired strips. Gitter told SBD Global that those types of initiatives will continue and new ones are currently being developed.
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Burton snowboard jacket.
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GOING GLOBAL: While the focus of the effort is on North America, Marvel is also evaluating Europe and Latin America. Gitter explained that the company traditionally takes its initiatives abroad once they have proven to be successful. “If a program such as this is developed here, we then take the formula and we share that with our international regions, and we let them decide how to best localize it,” he said. Marvel’s most recent Avengers movie, “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” has grossed more than $1.4B worldwide. The figure shows the global appetite of consumers for Marvel and its characters. The question is, however, will they spend money on more than films and comics that have the Marvel logo on it? Moving forward, Gitter said, Marvel will look to depend less heavily on its superheroes.
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“As we look to move into some of the more authentic sporting goods categories, we are using the big brick and the Marvel brand as the driver as opposed to the individual character,” he said. The company declined to talk about financial numbers but said it plans to double the business over the next five years through new product categories like retail partnerships, in particular sporting goods retailers. “We are planning to do that by growing the business a little further in terms of the categories that we participate in as well as extending into retailers that make sense,” Gitter said. “In order to double or triple the business it’s not only about new product categories but new distribution channels and collaborations for those products.”
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NRL sides St George Illawarra Dragons and Newcastle Knights play in Marvel-inspired jerseys.
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