Media Transformation and Brand Reinvention at Marvel Entertainment in the Attention Economy

Abstract

In today’s digital era, news coverage is expanding and media companies will require the creation of more creative technologies to sustain their market presence. Especially the film and television industry, they are facing increasing pressure because these companies not only have to produce high-quality stories, but also generate more innovative experiences that can span between platforms. This paper adopts Marvel Entertainment as the primary case study and Legendary Entertainment as the contrast example and discusses the new brand image and content strategy brought by digital transformation. This study adopts a mixed methods approach, with analysis of industry reports, platform data and media theory. While Marvel creates a connected content world through data analytics and verticalised stories, Legendary is centred around flexibility, cross-border alliances and localised story themes. Both have responded to issues of content fatigue and unethical data. This study helps us understand how media companies could evolve into platform and ecosystem-type ventures by capturing the interest of their audiences.