Marvel Enterprises has acquired the New York-based Cover Concepts, a small company that specializes in the distribution of free sponsored materials to a network of 43,000 public schools with a potential audience of 30 million school children in grades 1 through 12.  Cover Concepts, which is forecasting advertising income of $4 million this year, produces book covers, bookmarks, posters, and calendars, all of which feature advertising from organizations as diverse as Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and The Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Cover Concepts, which employs only twelve people and expects only a modest profit this year, won't add much directly to Marvel's bottom line, but the company's database does enable it to target specific demographic or age groups with branded products and samples -- something that Marvel could find extremely useful in launching comics (or films) targeting a younger demographic.