Archive for November 2011

DC Entertainment is the largest and most diverse English language publisher of comic books in the world. Founded in1934, the company that would one day become DC Entertainment was actually born as National Allied Publications. It virtually created the comic book, publishing the first comic of all original material. Then, in the spring of 1938, the first super hero story appeared in ActionComics #1, introducing Superman. Other soon-to-be icons would follow, including Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash and many others. Today, DC Entertainment publishes more than 80 titles a month and close to 1000 issues a year. Since DC brands and trademarks directly stem from fictional characters they naturally acquired some of their characteristics that are soappealing to the targeted audience of each character and manage to display them in a wide range of official merchandise positioning itself as part of a specific fictional universe. In this context, it seems obvious that Batman qualifies as a personality brand.



Over the past decades, a considerable amount of attention has been given in consumer behavio r research to the construct of “brand personality” which is formally defined as “the set of human characteristics associated with a brand”. In her article “Dimensions of brand personality” (Journal Marketing Research, August 1997), Jennifer Lynn Aaker shows that researchers have focused on how the personality of a brand enables a consumer to express his or her own self (Belk, 1988), an ideal self (Malhotra, 1988), or specific dimensions of the self (Kleine, Kleine, and Kernan, 1993) through the use of a brand. Practitioners view it as a key way to differentiate a brand in a product category (Halliday, 1996), as a centraldriver of consumer preference and usage (Biel, 1993), and as a common denominator that can be used to market a brand across cultures (Plummer, 1985).
At this point you are most likely wondering what on earth the link between the two first paragraphs might be.Well here we go. Using Jennifer L. Aaker’s work about brand personality, one can identify Batman as an effective personality brand that relies on excitement because it is daring, spirited and it belongs to a whole – fictional – universe in consumers’ minds.
Aaker’s analysis provides us with a useful tool to assess Batman’s brand identity. Indeed, as a well-managed, personality-driven brand, Batman is branded and therefore positioned through a tri-dimensional strategy:
- Communication (to make the brand recognizable and visible),
- Competitive Advantage (to make the brand unique),
- Relationship (to create emotional bonds between the brand and the consumers).

The three aforementioned dimensions are present in all Batman products and because they are consistent with the values of the brand Batman (see article “An Overview Of Batman’s Values”), they make it possible to build equity at different hierarchy levels: company brand level, family brand level and individual brand level.
In other words, to try and make it simple, Batman as a brand can be applied to a wide range of product categories simultaneously and still be consistent with its identity and its values. This ability is a “personal trait” of Batman Trademark. At the same time, each new movie can be marketed as an individual brand which makes it possible to customize the brand at the individual level as well as all its supporting marketing activities to meet the needs of a specific customer group. For instance, The Dark Knight uses a different logo, different gadgets and has a different style from the ones featured in previous Batman movies.

Batman has developed such a strong personality as a brand that consistency between brand values, products and marketing activities can no longer be a problem. The personal traits of Batman make him a likeable character and a likeable brand for a growing audience,thanks to a wise brand management through communication (presence of the logo on everything), competitive advantage (he is the only super hero who has no other power than his human intelligence and physical force, which allows the public to identify to him) and relationship (organization of events at comicon). Since Batman has such a key positioning via his brand identity, he is like no other character and his uniqueness attracts more customers who, otherwise, would be interested in another character if at all.


The American market is packed full of superheroes from the Marvel and DC universes that nobody had ever heard of in the rest of the world before they were turned into movies (Thor, Green Lantern, Green Hornet, I'm looking at you). Internationally though, the title of best liked superhero character would probably rest on the outcome of a battle between Spider-man, Superman and, of course, Batman. All three have spawned countless Comic Books, numerous films and video games, incredibly diverse consumer products, and millions of fans.

If competition can be controlled and limited between the Batman and the Superman Brand (both belong to the same company: DC Comics), the fight between Batman and Spider-man is only beginning. Both have become the flagship brands of their mother company and the very similarities between the two characters that embody them have resulted in very close positionnings. Indeed, Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker are both Orphans whose family members have been murdered by low-life thieves and have since vowed to rid their city of violence and crime. They abide by a very strict moral code but they are so driven by guilt and demons that they are not without a dark side.



Both have tremendous strengh, agility and the ability to move from skycrapers to skycrapers (Batman through gliding, Spider-man through his spider-webs), but their powers are limited compared to superheroes like Superman or Thor which makes them appear more human and therefore more accessible to fans and customers. The darker, more dangerous universe in which the latest Batman movies and video games are based, can make it seem as if the brand appeals to an older audience than Spider-Man, but its wide range of products means it can hit most age targets in the male demographics. 

This year, both brands are scheduled to fight it out with the releases of the latest installment of their critically acclaimed movie franchises, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises.




IT seems so obvious now. With the success DC Comics has enjoyed developing the Batman brand, it was only a matter of time before they settled on a single,  uniformized logo for all their products. Looking at the equation, one wonders why they did not think of it before.




Batman Arkham City - video game - was the last Batman products allowed the freedom to change the proportion, the aspect and even the color of the logo to this:
From now on, the official Batman logo will be a rounder, Yellow & Black version with an old school bend in an effort to go back to the roots of the brand and act as a reminder of Batman's original outfit:















Two million copies of Batman: Arkham City were sold in its first week on sale, according to publisher Warner Bros.

The LA Times reports that the publisher shipped 4.6 million copies to retailers. Arkham City tops the UK chart this week, after doubling predecessor Arkham Asylum's launch sales.

Source: LA Times

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