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CEO Bob Iger | Number of employees 120,000 | Brand Values Family, Fun | Brand promise Fun Entertainment With Heart, Movies Magic More | Company revenues worldwide $38b revenue, $30b Brand Value | Main target group Families with kids

Franchising The Magic

Walt Disney’s motto said it best: “Always exceed expectations”. His brand has never done otherwise. Even after a hundred-plus years of entertaining the masses, Disney is still the number-one entertainment brand out there. Now you don’t get to where Disney is without break-ing some barriers. Hong Liem only has to point to its legacy, a legendary story that’s as full of wonder and excitement as any movie classic the brand has given the world. “Walt Disney was never one to falter in the face of adversity. Take ‘Snow White’, for instance. People said in 1937 a feature-length animation film couldn’t be done, but here it is today: still a smash hit.” That’s not to say it was all smooth sailing for Disney. With the production of ‘Snow White’, as well as its theme parks Disneyland and Disney World, Walt Disney and his determined team had to risk it all to make everybody believe. Thankfully, his brilliance prevailed.

The mouse becomes a lionThe recent changes at the top of Disney put new blood in charge of safeguarding the brand for next generations. New CEO Bob Iger, Ap-ple’s Steve Jobs and Pixar’s John Lasseter have been appointed to take the brand even higher, by cresting the waves of new media and pack-aged entertainment. Corporate Creative Officer Lasseter, director of ‘Toy Story’ and ‘A Bug’s Life’, is Disney’s conscience, making sure that all future content really adds something to the brand. Quality and the potential to become a profitable franchise are the key drivers here. The new management also set three strategic goals, which the brand should meet in the years to come:

Further Internationalisation Disney’s 50-percent turnover on American soil means that the foreign markets can be expanded considerablyEmbracing New Technologies Place the brand in the driver’s seat when-ever cutting-edge technological developments like iTunes, Blu-ray or Video-On-Demand ariseInvesting in State-of-the-Art Content Whether the brand launches mov-ies, games, music, theme parks or TV shows, it all starts with having the best content. Make it stick, and develop characters that have the potential to be franchised.

The brand is eager to shift its image from being nostalgic and classic to a warm glow of innovation. And more importantly, Disney is ready to turn its kids-only status into a broadly-positioned family brand. Chil-dren now grow older younger than ever before, hitching a bumpy ride with social networking, new media and the wonderful world of instant messaging. Hong: “Disney sees the imminent danger of kids distanc-ing themselves faster from everything that reeks of childishness. And counters it with a positioning that covers all ages.” By growing with its audience, Disney stays in the loop, willing and able to create content for every age group imaginable. The brand’s communication is a fine exam-ple of this: brand icon and long-time logo Mickey Mouse has stepped down for the more neutral Disney Castle. The spectacular release of the very adult ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ trilogy under Disney’s wings was another giant step towards maturing the brand, reeling in a multi-mil-lion audience of young and old, one swashbuckler at a time.

Happily ever afterFranchise management is one of Disney’s true fortes. Supported by all Disney divisions, successful content and characters can be nurtured to grow into real sub-brands. Take the movie ‘Cars’, that had franchising written all over it from the beginning. Its box-office success was even outdone by the numbers pulled in by games, TV shows, merchandise and its own theme park attraction. It just goes to show that if the con-tent is good, a concept can go a long way. Disney’s powerhouse strength lies in its multiple options to deliver and feed content, through four components that cover the markets almost entirely.

Disney’s four pillars

Most likely to succeed – High School MusicalA great example of Disney’s talent for franchising is the movie ‘High School Musical’, with content directed at the challenging demographic of 8-14-year-old girls. Think ‘Grease’ for kids, with all the singing, com-edy and drama transferred to a present-day school environment. Here, two unlikely partners face the music to become the celebrated stars of – you’ve guessed it – the high school musical.

Originally a made-for-TV movie for the Disney Channel, the film al-most immediately hit it off with its target audience. After America, the Netherlands were sure to follow, with multiple airings on Jetix and SBS6. Research showed that Dutch kids loved the movie, in spite of its very American theme and backdrop. Disney then released a sound-track CD, and the film on DVD hot on its heels. From there it was only a small step to creating multimedia platforms, where fans could meet each other - and the brand. Identification with the talent was next, forg-ing a personal bond with the movie’s actors and actresses by having them appear on TV shows and charts doing their own thing. This paved the way for the merchandising rollout, which had licensed partners like Mattel launching a wide range of movie-related must-haves. Add a dash of in-house live events – Disney On Ice, park parades – and ‘High School Musical’ was Disney’s next smash-hit franchise.

Which begged a sequel, of course. Part two wasn’t just a standard re-hash of the original, but had its characters and storylines grow with the audience that made it great. The second outing came with a second cycle of franchise bliss, with even more licensed partners extending the line aboard the ‘High School Musical’ choo-choo. Which for the mo-ment has no intention to stop anytime soon, according to Hong Liem. “Joop van den Ende has plans to release his own version on the Dutch

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market as a stage show, while part three will be the first to hit the cin-emas before it goes to the small screen.” HSM will be a multi-million dollar franchise… Not bad for a little TV movie, eh?

Sticks and stonesQuality content obviously comes with certain standards. Disney has de-fined several criteria for franchising potential, making it easier to sepa-rate the mouse from the dogs.

Target-group fit – The brand’s target group must match the content’s target group, with universal appealBrand-value fit – Disney’s brand values must match those of the con-tent, it’s about ‘telling archetypal stories’Cross line-of-business fit - the franchise must have potential in multiple product categories, where each category supports the otherGuidelines – Strict criteria for any derivatives or promotions of the con-tent. No alcohol or tobacco, for instance, but endorsing with healthy products only. That meant doing away with Disney figurines in Happy Meals, a daring move that parents still appreciate very much.Added creativity - nurture the local entrepreneurial spirit in countries

In the same vein, viable licensed and promotional partners should have a snug fit with the brand as well. Disney likes to think ahead and mainly selects those brands with the potential to partner up for several fran-chises to follow. “Every country has its own different set of partner brands and promotions, strategically maximising exposure and sales by thinking global, but acting local. A cliché, but hard to really follow through.” Hong explains. Media partners are invited to the table too. Veronica entered the ‘Pirates’ franchise when it got to throw the official ‘Pirates of the Caribbean 2’ party with Disney’s approval. In return, the magazine banged the drum when the DVD was released, successfully repeated with Pirates 3.

Some promotional partners, like Albert Heijn with its Albert Heijn Disney Weeks, but also Sara Lee, Unilever or Nestlé, have a structur-ally open line with Disney, while others start as one-off, content-driven partners. One example is Q-Park, the brand that loved to pair ‘Cars’ with its clean, family-friendly parking garages. Disney loved the idea too, and was happy to see that both brands clicked on all criteria. By hanging character banners on all levels and printing DVD-discount cou-pons on the parking tickets, the ‘Cars’ franchise added extra exposure of three million parking movements a month. Vroom!

The possibilities within Disney’s vast and diverse content catalogue are truly endless. In the spirit of Walt Disney himself, the brand has created a world where it can play to its heart’s content. Where it can exceed expectations without risking it all. Mice, princesses, pirates, toys, cars and high-school stars alike; in Disney’s magical kingdom all stories and heroes roam free, in reach of everybody who’s willing to dream. And you know what? It’s a big world after all.

Children now grow older younger than ever before

Film & Home

Entertainment

1

Park & Resort

a.o. Disneyland,

Disney World,

Disneyland Resort

Paris

2

Television

a.o. Jetix,

Disney Channel,

ABC, ESPN

3

Consumer

Products

4

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