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Why Disney's Marketing Strategy is so Successful (from a former employee)
I am a Florida escapee who used to work for The Rat, so I've been all up and down and around the nasty underbelly of the Disney thing. I'm not anti-Disney. I'm just saying that because they think of it as a kids thing, as you seem to do, they absolutely miss the fact that Disney has been cultivating itself as a lifestyle brand for almost a CENTURY.
Disney is absolutely a total lifestyle choice for those who are willing to be caught up in it. What they sell is "magic". How many parents do you know that sit their toddlers or infant children down in front of Disney movies EVERY DAY? I want you to know that that sort of infinite-rewatch Disney experience has been carefully curated since the origin of VHS back in the early 80s. The argument can be made that the "Hero's Journey LITE" Disney story has been the primary means of teaching American and other children how life works for decades.
I think it should be equally telling that Disney has purchased Marvel and the Star Wars franchise. If it is a narrative universe that can be used to structure the lives of its children viewers, and therefore can be a lifestyle choice that makes Disney money, it is EXACTLY the kind of intellectual property they want. How many superfans do you know? Adults who collect figurines, who watch superhero movies over and over, who play the games, etc, etc, etc?
The simple answer to your question is this: Many modern adults learned what they know about life from their Disney childhood, and will do ANYTHING and spend ANYTHING to continue to be swaddled in the sterilized, perfect, "magical" Disney environment.
Do you know what it is like to work for the Rat? To work in one of those parks? Disney's magic is actually just a form of perfection. They sell control over your environment. Every flower is perfectly in place. Every surface sterile, a cast member at every corner, carefully pointing with the WHOLE HAND, not the finger, so as not to ever cause offense.
And they KNOW it. That's why there's a place called Celebration. You know about that place, right?
http://gizmodo.com/celebration-florida-the-utopian-town-that-america-jus-1564479405
You'll see a link on that Gizmodo page to a shot from The Truman Show. Disney is champing at the bit, hard-core ready to sell you EVERY BIT OF YOUR LIFE IN A DISNEY EXPERIENCE. Yes, you can get married in Cinderella's castle. Yes, you can have costumed cast members show up to celebrate your birthday. And out of all of this, I think what it is is a comfort that these superfans get out of their ability to spend their money. They spend, and spend, and spend, and all the while, they know that they are spending money on something that is unquestionably world-class. Everyone knows Mickey Mouse. He's more recognizable than Jesus.
And let's not fucking forget! If your poor, benighted ass happens to live in a state that is NOT Florida, god forbid, in a place that snows, Disney has an ad campaign rooted deeper than a stage 4 brain tumor in your state to remind you of how much it SUCKS TO LIVE THERE. I moved to Pennsylvania, and people looked at me like I was fucking CRAZY to leave Florida! Then I started watching the TV, and it was just Disney ad after Disney ad. Ads showing the kids crying, snowplows, fighting couples, and then SUNNY FLORIDA AND DISNEY AND EVERYONE IS HAPPY. I was SHOCKED.
Disney has sold themselves as a status brand. If you live in fucking Minnesota, and you collected the $10,000 or so for a really good Disneyworld trip, what are you going to do, hide that as a secret? FUCK NO. You and your kids are going to get a suntan and expensive Disney shirts, and you're going to parade your asses around Duluth or whereverthefuckever WEARING that shit so everyone else knows you escaped the frozen hellhole.
Disney owns the fucking world, basically. You're confused by adults TODAY. Sheeeeiiiiitttt, Disney is now buying up all the superhero intellectual properties and the Star Wars shit... they are working to corner the ENTIRE childhood fantasy market. Just give it 20 years, man. Disney is a total lifestyle brand, and they are NOT content to have just 80% of the market.
I swear, travel around the country, and look at the Disney ads, then spend ONE SUMMER in Orlando, working for the fucking Rat. Visit Celebration. Get on I-Drive. See the sheer global power of this brand. Talk to the locals. You'll get your answer, and it will shock you. |
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| Roald Dahl |
I find that the only way to make my characters really interesting to children is to exaggerate all their good or bad qualities, and so if a person is nasty or bad or cruel, you make them very nasty, very bad, very cruel. If they are ugly, you make them extremely ugly. That, I think, is fun and makes an impact. |