DISNEY

Few companies have been able to connect with a specific audience as well as Disney has. From

its founding in 1923, the Disney brand has always been synonymous with quality entertainment

for the entire family. The company, originally founded by brothers Walt Disney and Roy Disney,

stretched the boundaries of entertainment during the 20th century to bring classic and memorable

family entertainment around the world. Beginning with simple black-and-white animated

cartoons, the company grew into the worldwide phenomenon that today includes theme parks,

feature films, television networks, theatre productions, consumer products, and a growing online

presence.

In its first two decades, Walt Disney Productions was a struggling cartoon studio that introduced

the world to its most famous character ever, Mickey Mouse. Few believed in Disney’s vision at

the time, but the smashing success of cartoons with sound and the first-ever full-length animated

film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, in 1937 led, over the next three decades, to other

animated classics including Pinocchio, Bambi, Cinderella, and Peter Pan, live action films such

as Mary Poppins and The Love Bug, and television series like Davy Crockett.

When Walt Disney died in 1966, he was considered the best-known person in the world. By then

the company had expanded the Disney brand into film, television, consumer products, and

Disneyland in southern California, its first theme park, where families could experience the

magic of Disney in real life. After Walt’s death, Roy Disney took over as CEO and realized

Walt’s dream of opening the 24,000 acre Walt Disney World theme park in Florida. By the time

of Roy’s death in 1971, the two brothers had created a brand that stood for trust, fun, and

entertainment that resonated with children, families, and adults through some of the most moving

and iconic characters, stories, and memories of all time.

The company stumbled for a few years without the leadership of its two founding brothers.

However, by the 1980s, The Walt Disney Company was back on its feet and thinking of new

ways to target its core family-oriented consumers as well as expand into new areas that would

reach an older audience. It launched the Disney Channel, Touchstone Pictures, and Touchstone

Television. In addition, Disney featured classic films during The Disney Sunday Night Movie and

sold classic Disney films on video at extremely low prices in order to reach a whole new

generation of children. The brand continued to expand in the 1990s as Disney tapped into

publishing, international theme parks, and theatrical productions that reached a variety of

audiences around the world.

Today, Disney is comprised of five business segments: The Walt Disney Studios, which creates

films, recording labels, and theatrical performances; Parks and Resorts, which focuses on

Disney’s 11 theme parks, cruise lines, and other travel-related assets; Disney Consumer

Products, which sells all Disney-branded products; Media Networks, which includes Disney’s

television networks such as ESPN, ABC, and the Disney Channel; and Interactive Media.

Disney’s greatest challenge today is to keep a 90-year-old brand relevant and current to its core

audience while staying true to its heritage and core brand values. Disney’s CEO Bob Iger

explained, “As a brand that people seek out and trust, it opens doors to new platforms and markets, and hence to new consumers. When you deal with a company that has a great legacy,

you deal with decisions and conflicts that arise from the clash of heritage versus innovation

versus relevance. I’m a big believer in respect for heritage, but I’m also a big believer in the need

to innovate and the need to balance that respect for heritage with a need to be relevant.”

Internally, Disney has focused on the Disney Difference—“a value-creation dynamic based on

high standards of quality and recognition that set Disney apart from its competitors.” Disney

leverages all aspects of its businesses and abilities to touch its audience in multiple ways,

efficiently and economically. Disney’s Hannah Montana provides an excellent example of how

the company took a tween-targeted television show and moved it across its various creative

divisions to become a significant franchise for the company, including millions of CD sales,

video games, popular consumer products, box office movies, concerts around the world, and

ongoing live performances at international Disneyland resorts like Hong Kong, India, and

Russia.

Disney also uses emerging technologies to connect with its consumers in innovative ways. It was

one of the first companies to begin regular podcasts of its television shows as well as release

ongoing news about its products and interviews with Disney’s employees, staff, and park

officials. Disney’s Web site provides insight into movie trailers, television clips, Broadway

shows, virtual theme park experiences, and much more. And the company continues to explore

ways to make Mickey Mouse and his peers more text-friendly and virtually exciting.

According to internal studies, Disney estimates that consumers spend 13 billion hours

“immersed” with the Disney brand each year. Consumers around the world spend 10 billion

hours watching programs on the Disney Channel, 800 million hours at Disney’s resorts and

theme parks, and 1.2 billion hours watching a Disney movie—at home, in the theatre, or on their

computer. Today, Disney is the 63rd largest company in the world with revenues reaching nearly

$38 billion in 2008.