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Franchising The Magic

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

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 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 lion
The recent changes at the top of Disney put new blood in charge of
safeguarding the brand for next generations. New CEO Bob Iger, Ap-
Children now grow older
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-
younger than ever before
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
221 meet in the years to come:
Further Internationalisation Disney’s 50-percent turnover on American
soil means that the foreign markets can be expanded considerably
Embracing New Technologies Place the brand in the driver’s seat when-
ever cutting-edge technological developments like iTunes, Blu-ray or
Coolbrands: Jorn in discussion with Hong Liem
Video-On-Demand arise
Investing 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 after
Franchise 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
Film & Home Park & Resort Television Consumer
Entertainment a.o. Disneyland, a.o. Jetix, Products
Disney World, Disney Channel,
Disneyland Resort ABC, ESPN
Paris
1 2 3 4
Most likely to succeed – High School Musical
A 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
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 stones
Quality 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 appeal
Brand-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 other
Guidelines – 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.