Marvel is a subsidiary company of Walt Disney Studios
Walt Disney Studios is one of the largest conglomerates in the world (it is a global conglomerate)
Marvel is vertically integrated and can distribute as well as produce products
able to use Disney to distribute their film, meaning they have a large budget and resources to create a detailed marketing campaign
Disney being a global conglomerate helps distribute the film globally too
Marketing
Disney always aim to create 360 degree marketing campaigns for their films to really ensure all audiences are familiar with their firms
a 360 degree marketing campaign is one that has the intention of whatever direction you turn you will see pictures of their movies
the film was marketed through:
posters
trailers
social media pages
merchandise
chat show appearances
magazine features
the intention was for audiences across the world to encounter the branding of Black Panther and the ideas of the film and the characters wherever they went raising awareness of the film and hopefully resulting in an increased profit
Hasbro
Disney worked with Hasbro on synergetic products (merchandise) to create toys/action figures for the film
action figures and toys are great ways of targeting young children and family audiences
also appealing to adult superfans of the franchise who are often interested in collectable items
Lexus
Disney also partnered with car manufacturer Lexus, who released two limited edition Black Panther themed cars
Lexus partnership was a great way of targeting an adult male audience interested in technology and status
Kendrick Lamar
Marvel released a soundtrack with Disney and Kendrick Lamar, targeting his fans and young black males in general
brings his presold fanbase onto board to the films as well
Trailers
Disney produced several trailers for the film, which they released on television, in cinemas and online
trailers are good at showing off the best parts of the film, teasing the audience with the narrative, special effects, actors, etc
they also used the trailers to emphasise that the film was part of the Marvel universe/franchise, targeting their pre-sold fans
the trailer was broadcast in the ad break of the Superbowl in America, one of the most expensive advertising slots in the world
excellent at gaining an immense amount of publicity, and targeting global mass audience
Release
the film was released in Black History Month, meaning that the release was marketed as a 'cultural event' to celebrate black culture
members of the public created the crowd funded 'Black Panther Challenge' to buy tickets for young children to see the film, to be inspired by the black artists
these crowd funding campaigns were shared online and in the media and so they acted as unofficial marketing for the film
they worked with New York Fashion week to create a 'Welcome to Wakanda' fashion catwalk show, inspired by the film
this was great at getting national and global publicity, but also for targeting a female audience
Social Media
YouTube was used as an effective global marketing technique, allowing audiences to like/comment/share the trailer
Disney also used Twitter to market the film using hashtags, posts, teasers, etc
the film became the most tweeted about film of the year, and now (at the moment) of all time as well
Twitter was also used to do Livestream Q&A sessions with the cast & crew, creating anticipation for the film worldwide, and encouraging fans to get involved
the exclusive snapchat filter for the film was a great method of targeting a young audience
TV Shows
actors taking part as guests on chat shows and other TV programmes is a great way of marketing the film to older audiences
ComicCon
the actors and crew appeared at ComicCon, a globally recognised event for fans of big franchises in film, gaming, TV, etc
famous conventions like this are a great way of targeting 'super fans' of a franchise or shared universe, ensuring they spread the word
even though Walt Disney bought out Marvel Studios, Marvel retained a lot of creative control over their films. The Walt Disney company often leave creative decisions in production to Marvel
Marvel is a diversified company, making comics, graphic novels, films, animations, TV, etc
Marvel has a pre-sold fan base of their products. People who like their other media texts will go to see whatever they release next
Sometimes Marvel sell the rights to one of their characters to raise money for their production work
they chose to retain the rights to Black Panther as a character because they knew they wanted to make a film about him at some point
some argue that Marvel simply make similar films over and over, having found a working formula for financial success
the use of a successful formula/genre/universe helps to reduce risk and maximise profit
this reflects Hesmondhalgh's ideas about companies striving for maximised profits
reasons for it being low risk:
shared universe/existing franchise
pre-sold audiences
global conglomerate involvement
famous actors
popular genre
detailed marketing campaign
elements of risk/niche nature:
lesser known Marvel character
predominantly black cast
it costs a lot to make
perhaps Marvel took these 'risks' to appeal to modern youthful audiences
maybe Marvel and Disney chose to make the film to 'cash in' on the current social and cultural context of people wanting more diversity in the media
commonly, films that offer lead roles for black actors are social realist in the genre, and based around crime and poverty
the diverse and positive representations in the film make the film stand out as different in Hollywood, and may make it appealing for audiences
perhaps Black Panther reflects the current social and cultural desires for stronger female characters in movies
some think that Black Panther was an attempt by Disney to change their reputation for representing ethnic minorities poorly in films
Black Panther could be seen as part of Disney's strategy to improve its reputation for the way it treats ethnicity/gender in films
Black Panther was given a 12A certificate in the UK by the BBFC
some people argued that Black Panther had a lot of violence in it for a 12A certificate
there is an argument that audiences should expect a certain level of violence in a Marvel superhero movie
some also might argue that the violence in the film is 'fantasy based' which qualifies it for a lower certificate according to the BBFC guidelines
the violence also exists within a moral universe, where it is supposedly not glorified or senseless
Regulation is challenging when you are trying to distribute your film globally, and you want to try and follow different regulations of different countries
producers also have to bear in mind the different regulations in other countries for the marketing materials as well as the film itself
the range of posters produced with different characters on helps to target a diverse range of audiences
a separate poster was specifically designed to market the film in China, which some say reflects the country's different attitudes towards race
this could be seen as an example of a film company self censoring their marketing materials to target specific global audiences.
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