So let’s talk about something no one will see in the middle of the night (PST): Marvel’s end of year marketing iceberg:

Shang Chi
Ms. Marvel
The Eternals
Hawkeye
Spider-Man: NWH

5 projects hitting within 4 months! Is that… too much? Kinda.

Now, I’m excited for each - especially those first 3. Ms. Marvel is a fave. But Marvel has never faced a marketing challenge like this before: how do each of these properties thrive when they’re all desperate for the same airspace & attention?

Before you say: movies and Disney+ don’t compete - remember that they haven’t had to UNTIL NOW.

Marvel’s hidden weapon is that the anticipation-examination-and “what’s next?” window that has almost always been spread out. Sony’s 2 MCU Spidey flicks being the only films that heavily piggybacked a Disney/Marvel film. They both did just fine.

But now Marvel has to 3 “new to most audiences” properties in the span of 4 months AND keep momentum up for Hawkeye on D+ & Spidey: NWH on top of that. Also, Doctor Strange 2 comes out in February! This will be Marvel’s ultimate test of market dominance.

Marvel benefits from what’s called “earned media” - basically free advertising and promotion it doesn’t pay for. It’s YouTube deep dives, podcast discussion, TikToks - even this thread. People talk about Marvel cause people wanna hear about it. It feeds itself.

But can there be too much of a “good thing?” When 5 properties start taking up all that airtime over 4 months, will people start tune out? Without a few months of anticipation for a new thing, will it all feel less special?