On Christmas morning we had the Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade on in the background as we relaxed at home.
Disney is a Comprehensive System
I am always impressed with Disney as a business juggernaut. I marveled as I watched my kids become more and more excited as each new character was introduced. As I considered what was happening, I realized how brilliant Disney is for hosting this parade.
1. It is not like Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. It feels the same, but it is a wholly owned Disney production. Macy’s gets to say “Macy’s” repeatedly. Disney puts one Disney product after another out in front of you over the course of the two-hour program.
2. Disney has mastered vertical integration for the human being. They start with a “commercial free” morning on the Disney channel, which is also one large advertisement. Then you grow into the after school segment (remember Hannah Montana when she was a harmless pre-teen?)
As you get older, you have warm fuzzies when you remember your childhood. When you have your own kids, you think the greatest thing you could do for your kid is take them to Disney for a vacation.
3. This integration was clear through the parade. Disney characters, movies, and resorts for various ages were highlighted. When the parade paused for commercials, Disney movies were front and center.
Disney Packages Advertising as Entertainment
4. Disney sells advertising as entertainment. We would never have sat and watched a two-hour infomercial about Disney resorts, but because the characters are dancing down the street singing our favorite Christmas songs, we perceive it as a free show. They have graciously provided us this valuable walk down memory lane.
5. My focus group: As I wrote this post, my children were cheering in the background “Oh, it’s Captian Hook!” and “Anna and Elsa, Anna and Elsa, Anna and Elsa!” (from the movie Frozen). Disney knows what it is doing.
Disney Uses Culture as Much as Systems
6. Everything my three-year-old daughter got for Christmas was in some way related to one of dozen or so Disney princesses. They own mind-share in the princess arena.
7. If you want to learn how Disney does it, I would recommend Lee Cockerell’s Creating Magic.
It is a great book that illuminates why Disney is so good at what it does.
Disney has a strategy, supported by a culture that produces iconic assets. Every movie adds to their portfolio that make them stronger.
Thanks for taking time to read my musings about an iconic brand on my days off for Christmas break.
-Darin Gerdes, Ph.D.
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Dr. Gerdes is the Director of Graduate Programs in the School of Business at Charleston Southern University. All ideas expressed on www.daringerdes.com are his own.