From the success of Mickey Mouse, the cartoon character that helped to put Disney on the map, Disney diversified its portfolio, with a house of brands, moving from animation into the world of blockbuster motion pictures, creating timeless classics including Snow White, Bambi, Pinocchio, and Beauty and The Beast, among many others in the years that followed. To shift with the times and broaden the offering in line with Walt Disney’s vision of ‘The Happiest Place on Earth’, he founded and opened up its first Disneyland theme park in California, offering its family-led fan base a taste of the Great American Adventure and delivering a whole new level of interaction, thrill, and memory-making moments. Driven by the success of its original parks in California and Orlando, Florida, Disney expanded internationally, opening up cutting-edge experiences at iconic landmarks in Japan, Europe, and China. Through strategic licensing and development agreements, Disney has seen a sensational level of growth over the decades, introducing additional layers of depth to the ‘guest experience’, launching dedicated television channels in addition to a host of immersive digital initiatives that take the audience into a unique world, extending far beyond films, parks and collectibles.
Iconic Brand Image
The strategy of brand engagement across generations is brought to life with rich storytelling from the cradle when infants learn with fantasy characters that evolve into collectibles, box sets, apparel, and home décor. This forms the evolution of a world-leading company dedicated to storytelling, creative play, and (critically) shared adult-child experiences. Thus, the magic is born. These promotional images demonstrate the magic of the Disney brand. Source: Disney digital channels These promotional images demonstrate the magic of the Disney brand. Source: Disney digital channels The Principles of Disney’s Brand Strategy Extended Disney extends the brand carefully into relevant co-branding environments where it is commercially relevant for scale, while remaining authentic to storytelling brand values.
Disney’s Key Marketing Channels
The corporate alliance (not called sponsorship around tradition ‘badging’ precedents) carefully guards the role of brand, with peer global brands such as of Coca-Cola, General Motors, Nestlé, and McDonald’s all forming part of Disney’s extensive product and consumer insight which leads to innovation and memory-making globally. These rights management deals crucially have marketing budgets over multi-year agreements to keep the focus on multichannel marketing and minimum spending from partners. This dedicated, exclusive category alliance shapes, at its core, how the brand sees itself, its customers and the market through strategic planning, digital behaviors and insights, extensive research, and a passion for understanding its consumer base on a deep, personal level.
