Disney: Family friendly

If you ask just about anyone to describe the Disney company, a majority of the descriptions would put Disney is a positive light, stating how not only successful the company has been, but also how 'magical' of a place it is.  Ever since the Disney brothers started the company in 1923, Disney has continued to expand and build their image.  This little animation company has now turned into a huge empire, offering services including movies, TV shows, live shows, travel destinations, and even more products.  While most people would consider an empire to be bad, Disney has done their part to make themselves extremely family friendly and a huge asset to society.  Disney's PR people have done a great job to assure an impeccable clean brand image. 

One thing discussed earlier is Disney's dedication to community service work and helping the community around them.  As stated, they are extremely involved in the development of children, providing numerous activities to help them grow and learn.  They also have created numerous after school programs which allow children to have a safe place to spend their time.  When dealing with the community they're involved in, Disney goes out of their way to make contributions to the improvement and success, whether it be through monetary or physical donations. During crises such as the oil spill in the Gulf, as well as the earthquake in Haiti, Disney made a significant contribution, proving their dedication to be a family oriented and positive company.

The Disney Company has also done a great job to ensure there are no huge crises.  They've experienced things such as deaths and resignations of high powered members of the company put there has been very few, if any scandals.  Through my research, I was unable to find any documentation of such incidents.  When any form of scandal happens with any of their actors, they do their best to minimize the damage and stay supportive of any positive growth the person might seek to complete.

Overall, Disney has proven time and time again their number one priority is to create a happy environment for their consumers and do their best to not only be but also create great role models for children all over. They do their best to support the people who work for them as well as the people who consume their many goods as well as provide aid to those in need.  By doing so and doing so on a consistent basis, they maintain one of the cleanest and most family oriented images in the industry.

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.

Disney says "Shine On!"

One thing great about the Disney company is how much it gives back to the community.  Their main focus, as one might guess, is children. 

 On their site, Disney highlights four main goals when working with children.  Their first, is that they create an atmosphere which will garner a positive relationship between children and adults.  The second, is to provide children with a constructive use of their free time.  In other words, Disney hopes to create activities which will be a positive way for children to spend their free time.  The third goal, is to help the children build character and the fourth is to encourage them to demonstrate compassion. 

In order to accomplish these goals, Disney does a huge amount of work with the community.  This past August, Disney donated 2 million school supplies to the schools in Central Florida.  Outside of school, Disney recently sponsored a local teen center at the Central Florida Boys and Girl's Club, providing another place for children to develop and grow.  In 2009 alone, Disney cast members clocked in 251,000 voluntEARs hours, the equivalent to just under 3 years of work with local schools and programs.  They also contributed $28.5 million to their community.

Along with children, Disney also makes significant contributions to the local non-profit organizations. 

These acts are all things which support Disney's goal to make people happy.  This is also good for the company because it not only makes them look great, but makes people want to contribute to their cause.  People can see how much not only just children, but other members of society mean to Disney, and can clearly see the hard work and dedication Disney puts in to bettering others.  I feel these reasons alone are why Disney's work with the communities is great for their image and prove they are doing more than enough. 

Wine and Dine anyone?

One of the great things about the Disney corporation are the numerous events they hold throughout the year.  In order to make these activities successful though, they need to go through numerous steps to assure that.  When it comes to the food and wine festival held October 1st- November 14th, a lot of work went into it's hopeful success.

Now, if you met my sister, you would quickly realize she has a near unhealthy obsession with Disney. Because of this, she knows next to everything going on in Disney and usually relays the message to me.  This is why I have a 10 page booklet in my bedroom convincing me of why I should go with her to the food and wine festival along with a calendar and pricing...this is not a joke.  Fortunately for other siblings in the world and unfortunate for Disney, my sister is a rare breed and this form of information is not always as easily accessible to the rest of the public.  This is where good media relations comes in. 

In order for an event to be successful, a corporation needs to properly use different media aspects.  In Disney's case, on their site alone, there is an entire page dedicated specifically to the festival.  On the page, Disney provides more information to consumers, hopefully giving them a desire to book the trip and maybe spread the word.  Disney also has video's with more information posted on the web.  That particular video features the delectable food offered at the 15th annual festival, the various beverages offered, and other new things added to this year's menu. 

Along with their personal website, Disney has been tweeting on their Parks' twitter about the occasion.  Various posts reference the actual event along with linking the reader to more information.  On the Walt Disney World Facebook page, they also have tidbits of information, again, with links to other pages.  One thing they have done, is create a Facebook game.  This allows someone to have some fun online while Disney still publicises the event.

Along with pages created and ran by Disney, there are also loyal bloggers who follow Disney events and post information on their personal pages.  Dis, a page they declare to be "the internet's largest online guide" to everything Disney, features information on the event.  The personal blog called Disney Blog at Magic Kingdom also has information and tips about the food and wine festival. 

If asked to review Disney's efforts to promote this event, I would have to admit I'm not really impressed.  In my eyes, I don't feel this is one of the more promoted events, and I feel it very will should be.  Disney World for the most part is geared towards children.  The fun rides, the silly characters, and 'wonder of it all' atmosphere is something children love.  Unfortunately, kids grow up and some people find it hard to find reasons to head back down to the amusement parks.  This food and wine festival is a great way to get an adult crowd to attend Epcot and hopefully travel over to the other parks.  Seeing as this is an event lasting from the 1st of October to the 14th of November, that allows a large amount of time for people to enjoy the experience. 

In my opinion, I feel they should have done a better job promoting this event on the networking sites adult use.  Twitter and Facebook are huge among the desired demographics and a simple tweet or post is something that could reach not only thousands, but millions of people instantaniously, and it's FREE!  People literally troll these sites when they should be doing numerous of other things which is why I do give kudos to Disney for creating the Facebook game.  There's no better distraction then a silly mindless game.  I have not seen one commercial for the event which is unfortunate because I feel most adults would love the idea of a vacation centered around great food and booze.  At the end of the day, I feel the 15th Annual Food and Wine Festival is a fun event most people would have a great time at; I just wish Disney had done more to spread the word about it.

The Wonderful Web

"So what did you do today?" This is a common question each of us have not only asked but have also been asked.  A majority of the time we say something like "oh nothing." Well in reality, most of us spent our day roaming the Internet.  According to The New York Times, as of January 2010, people age 8-18 spend on average 7.5 hours, doing just that on numerous devices.  Because of this astonishing fact, companies, including Disney, use the Internet as a way to interact with their customers.  Not only is there a main site, but they also offer numerous other sites, geared to things from health tips to online games. 

You can look up information on their numerous movies, TV shows, and even go shopping.  Disney's site is filled with click able icons, leading you to even more fun. 

When just focusing on their shows, Disney has a separate site dedicated to providing more information.  The page is covered in icons leading to each show, clips from shows, a TV guide, online games, and even full length episodes. The site is visibly dedicated to informing anyone who reads it; ads are very limited. 

 Aside from just using their personal website to not just inform but entertain, Disney also takes full advantage of social networking sites.  Searching Disney on Twitter will produce a handful of certified Disney pages, all of which are filled with news, behind-the-scene posts, and other little tidbits about the company.  Searches on Facebook will also result in numerous groups and pages solely produced and centered around all things Disney.

While there are numerous online options Disney uses, I will admit that I'm not the biggest fan.  While their main webpage provides a vast amount of information and is aesthetically pleasing, I found it a little overwhelming to navigate through.  There was a lot going on and could only imagine how difficult it could be for a younger child to navigate through.  I also do feel as though I'm quite good at navigating through social networking sites, but I did find that Disney didn't seem to have one single Facebook homepage.  Everyone and their mother (seriously, my mother has a Facebook) has a page and look at it numerous times a day.  I feel that if you are looking to reach a significant amount of people and do it in a convenient way, Facebook is how to do it.  A little update on someone's news feed or even those little, sometimes annoying, reminders on the right side would be a great way to catch someone's attention about a new movie, TV show, product, or even a sale.  I mean overall though, Disney is doing a great job getting themselves out there and creating things that have the fun Disney feel that is guaranteed to get people to check back again.

So much more then a wonderland...

Every little kid dreams of the magical world that is Disney World.  They think of the castle and all of the smiling and friendly characters.  I was one of these children.  It wasn't until I was older though that I became aware that this 'wonderland' was actually just a piece of a huge and widely successful company, which has stood the test of time. 

While I was correct as a child to think of Disney as a prime travel company, having numerous parks as well as cruise lines, Disney also produces movies, TV shows, as well as numerous products.  They are known for going above and beyond the call of duty when it comes to customer service as well as product standards.  They push the boundaries in every aspect of the company, keeping up with the newest technology and entertainment.  It is with this work ethic that the company has such a great reputation among families.

Through this blog, I hope to analyze the many factors which have created such a successful and well rounded company and see, as impossible as it may seem, any ways to improve the legacy that is the Disney company.