Disney Stars, not always so bright

Most people remember a Disney movie back in the 1990's portraying two little girls who incidentally met at a summer camp and discovered they were twin sisters.  This movie, The Parent Trap, starred a girl name Lindsay Lohan.  This movie jump started her career and she soon starred in other hits such as Freaky Friday and Mean Girls.  Unfortunately, Ms. Lohan is currently known for her bad ways, numerous rehab stints, and recent jail time.  Even worse, this Disney star is not the only to have gone down a bad path.

Ask any tween who Demi Lovato is and you'll most likely get a 10 minute speech about how she's is a huge Disney starlet.  Having a history in not only singing, but acting as well, Lovato has had numerous outlets available to her in order to get in contact with viewers.  In 2007, she starred in a  Disney Channel show, As the Bell Rings and also sang a cover of a song from the movie Enchanted for Disney Mania 6. Her real fame didn't hit though, until 2008 when she appeared opposite the Jonas brothers in a highly successful Disney channel movie, Camp Rock.  Soon after the success of this movie, Lovato released an album, Don't Forget, which debuted #2 on the Billboard top 200.  Her success lead her to be awarded her own show on the Disney channel in 2009, Sonny with a Chance, and in 2010 Camp Rock:2 was released.  During all this, Lovato toured with the Jonas brothers, one of the members being her ex boyfriend, Nick Jonas.  Things were looking bright in her future when she shocked the world with an announcement she was heading to a treatment facility in November of 2010.

It was confirmed by Lovato's rep that she was seeking treatment for "emotional and physical issues."  It was said that a confrentation between Lovato and another female member of the tour was what sparked her desire to see help.  As always, the rumor mills started chugging away and reports of self inflicted cutting, eating disorder, drug usage, and partying ways were all beging to surface.  It was with this newfound information that people began to see this Disney star in a whole different light. 

 

Disney soon released a statement to People Magazine stating "We support Demi's decision to put her health first and we send her our best wishes."  During this time, rather then abandoning the darkening star, Disney chose to stand by her and show their support to her and the bettering of her health.   Disney has also decided rather than canceling her show, Sonny with a Chance, they are going to focus on another storyline within her show while he tends to her health, further proving their dedication to their stars.

While this is no where near as huge as a crisis as other companies have faced, this is a serious issue for the Disney company and their image.  Disney is known for being a family friendly company and tries their best to create positive role models for their viewers.  To find out one of their stars has a secret life that would be frowned upon by not only parents but most members of society in general is something extremley unnerving.  The backlash that could go along with sponsoring such a person could be detramental to the company's image.  I felt the way Disney handled the situation was extremely successful and classy.  They showed compassion for Ms. Lovato and her current sitatuation and did their best to assure she had nothing more to worry about during her time at the treatment facility.  They did not go overboard and blow this into something it didn't need to be.  Instead the addressed the most important part of the issue, Lovato's health, and ignored any rumors which could have possibly fuled them.  Overal, I think Disney handled this mini crisis flawlessly and wouldn't have changed their tactics one bit. 

Investor Relations

When most people think of Disney, they think of its movies and characters and how children love it.  One thing people might forget is that Disney is a huge company that makes a ton of money. While being such a successful company, Disney must also abide by the regulations and post their yearly earnings along with other information for investors.  This information can be found on a sub page of their usual site. On this page, anyone can find up to date information on how the company is doing financially.  

The last annual financial report was for 2009 fiscal year.  Disney also goes as far as to post their quarterly report for the period ending on July 3rd, 2010.  In both of these articles, Disney uses them as a way to not only make sure they comply with government regulations, but also give the shareholders updated information on the company.

Like most annual reports, the first few pages are a letter from the president of the company to the shareholders.  In this letter, Walt Disney president, Robert Iger, discusses the high and low points of the last year.  He talks about the huge success of movies such as Up and The Princess and the Frog as well as how proud Disney is to acquire Marvel Entertainment and the right to distribute movies from Steven Speilberg.  Iger also gushes about how excited Disney is to have acquired the rights to build a new theme park in Shanghai.  The letter then takes a more somber tone when discussing the economic hardship the country's economy has faced and how it has effected Disney sales and profits.  It is quite clear that from a PR standpoint, Iger is doing his best to put a positive spin on anything bad, make the company look as optimistic as possible, and hopefully negate a majority of the bad things with positive things.  If I was an investor reading this letter I would feel extremely good and optimistic about the success of Disney.  Iger did a good job highlighting the success of the company and even though he did discuss "economic hardship," $36.1 billion in profits is still a significant chunk of change.  He seemed very sincere in his excitement for upcoming projects as well as Disney's dedication to be the best company they could be.  Overall, this letter contained optimistic information covering all aspects of the Disney company (Movies, ABC TV, theme parks, ESPN, cast members, ect) proving Disney's dedication to keeping those interested in the company informed.

The latest news release I could find that had to do with the company's earnings was just information about when the company would be discussing the company's earning.  On Sept. 3, 2010, Disney released a statement informing anyone interested that on November 11th, the company would be discussing the fourth quarter as well as full 2010 report via webcast.  I was surprised that after searching this was the most recent thing I could find.  It provided me with no information about how the company was doing and the article itself was posted nearly 2 months in advance of the actual event. 

In August though, Disney did release a news letter.  Within this news letter, readers can find information on movies made by Disney, the TV stations ran by Disney, upcoming events, new products, and even information on traveling.  While I was unable to find a quote from the CEO, the information provided was easy to understand and was not only believable but also reaffirmed my faith in the Disney company.  I think the newsletter was done very well.  Not only was it simple enough for an every day person to understand, but it also provided me with a significant amount of information.

No company is free from possible economic hardship.  Disney has proved however, that a company can still have the trust and loyalty of its investors as long as the company is honest, does their best to keep the public informed, and does their best to remind them of its wide success.