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Posted by Sherrie Thai of Shaire Productions.

Disney purchases Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. From a marketing perspective, this is a very interesting buy, as this will enable Disney to gain a wider (male) audience. Disney has a strong appeal to young girls (princesses and magic castles) through its depth of global licensing and technology. With the acquisition of Marvel, they could market to a older demo–Marvel has a “coolness” that Disney does not. “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Nightmare Before Christmas” were successful for Disney in reaching different audiences, but Marvel will be key to retaining the young audience through adulthood via the numerous well-loved superhero characters and depth of story-telling. For Marvel, the licensing and distribution of characters and products will be easier through different venues. I’m sure we’ll soon see the X-men or Spiderman as a theme park ride.