The genius behind Disney marketing messages

Added: 02/22/2006

Walking into Disneyland is like a entering the sweeping shot of a fantasy movie, with a town square reaching forward to a breathtaking castle. Disney never lets you forget where you are because the Disney brand permeates the site. Disney has always been exploiting children?s imaginations in its quest to create ever younger consumers.

Every aspect of the Disneyland amusement park was said to be planned ahead with the energy of one of the Disney animated features, with artists from various productions working on the look and style of the place. Actors from many Disney features appear as the voices of birds, announcers and narrators in the park. But all this wonder hides how extensive the Disney strategic planning really is. When you enter Disneyland, you are actually on the top floor of a gigantic complex of underground facilities with employee facilities, security, garbage collection and other administrative aspects hidden from sight. You don't see garbage stacked outside Disneyland waiting to be picked up. The park has even developed its own nomenclature to insulate gritty details from the public. The operations of Disneyland are mostly merged with that of its sister park, Disney's California Adventure, so both parks, as well as the other Disneyland Resort properties, are managed by one team of senior executives.
Disney marketing strategy permeates the park with Disney brand: mouse-ear silhouette is expressed in the macro (in the shape of the toddler pool for example) and micro (in the bend of the drinking straws and in the weave of the curtain tapestry). Disney works hard at ensuring that each member of its staff is friendly, helpful and personable to a fault. Disney marketing excels in repackaging its "content" in various ways. Disney cruise ships, for example, are little more than a floating version of a Disney resort. The evening entertainment is no more than a stage version of well-known Disney movies. Disney's photography studio prints each photo in a gorgeous five-by-seven glossy and displays them all in a gallery for sale.
Children?s everyday lives are literally being bombarded by Disney?s promotional messages. From broadcast channels to burger bars to classrooms, Disney is in the business of targeting the under-10s with its brand. Disney?s ?key pre-school property? is now worth up to $5 billion a year, thanks to everything from Pooh branded waffle irons to ?Roo Juice?.
Schools are particularly important in the Disney marketing drive. Walt Disney sold the rights to put Mickey Mouse on school writing pads in 1929 and it proved to be an important marketing move where they use the cartoons to push merchandise and theme parks. Now Narnia is transformed into some Disney marketing extravaganza. There are the displays in shopping malls of McDonald?s Narnia Happy Meals, the promotions on everything from toothbrushes to toilet paper.
Disney is exploiting online to serve up ?advergames? that have inbuilt Disney marketing messages. At online Virtual Magic Kingdom children are invited to chat, play and trade with friends while learning all about the benefits of persuading parents to take them to a Disney theme park. The company intends to launch a mobile-phone service targeted at children as young as eight so as to sell the branded ring tones and logos. Disney?s genius to take its brand far beyond conventional advertising via various Disney channels has really succeeded.

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