Marvel Enterprises
... Of course, due to the nature of these products, and the appeal of the superheroes, Marvel's target market is heavily males 18 to 34 years old. They are now expanding into new sectors on the internet that have never before been possible for Marvel, but seeing the demands of this target audience makes the impossible seem possible! (Stanley, 2000) Significant Type(s) of Technology in Marvel: Marvel is paving the road in terms of technology in their field. To begin, never before has a company been so successful in turning their products into movies. Plans for Marvel "include creating special animation and other original content for the Web." (Stanley, 2000) In the movies, Marvel is using computer generation in new and improved ways that never before were possible for anyone! Avi Arad, CEO of Marvel Enterprises and the mastermind behind their movies, says of the Incredible Hulk, 'You've never seen anything like this creature. He looks so real and does things that no movie character has done before. Even we couldn't do it with the technology we had just two years ago" (Bowles, 2003). Marvel became aware that video game lovers also tend to be comic book lovers. So much time and energy is spent in developing new games. In the past, superhero games were seen as lacking because of their 2-D graphics. Marvel has once again shown its strength by using computer generated technology to create new 3-D effects which were never before seen in video games. Their graphic design department is on the cutting edge of technological advances, with new ideas and concepts used everyday! (Croal, 2003) Course Concept(s) Illustrated: In looking at some of the key concepts that have been discussed in the course, the most obvious one is the Technology Life Cycle. There have been very clear marks at each point in this cycle. The first step, early problems, were apparent when Marvel slowly declined and eventually was in the pit of bankruptcy before emerging. Then, the second step, emergence of a dominant design, was reached when the company realized the gold mine they have in their characters. They worked on their first movie, and then a second, and so on. Now, Marvel has seen six number one films already, and is looking for at least another three more in years to come. The final step, development slows as limit is approached, will be reached when Marvel runs out of characters to make their movies. It also creates a problem in the fact that society gets sick of things…fast! Marvel has hit the jackpot, but only for now. Development will naturally slow, but not for several years down the road. Marvel has no doubt become a high tech firm. They are now free to spend millions of the research and development which goes into the planning of their products. (Marcial, 2003). Marvel has also made huge steps in terms of the environment of technology that they live and deal in. The service providers that Marvel has used to become successful are huge names, such as New Line Cinemas and Universal Pictures. (Bowles, 2003). Does this firm's technology "Add Value" and/or provide competitive advantage? Why? Marvel Enterprises seems to always be on the move in recent years, as is seen in the previous paragraphs. In making the movies they have made, in producing the video games, action figures, and even comic books, technology is used in so many ways. In thinking in terms of the jobs supplied due to their technology, we can see that the new technology in the movies will of course require more men on the job who are skilled. Thinking along the lines of faster, better, and cheaper, we can see obvious reasons that Marvel is contributing to this idea. In the making of comics and video games, we can see that advances in computers alone allow for output much faster than before. Bulk quantities can be made at a cheaper rate than in past years, due to the advancemen...