The Walt Disney Company is traditionally associated with its origins producing animated entertainment. Beginning with the original production of animated shorts such as the Silly Symphonies, Disney continued to develop its technique. It created its ubiquitous mascot, Mickey Mouse, following a copyright dispute that saw the loss of its previous mascot, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Following the refinement of the animation process, Disney continued to develop its brand by branching into feature length animated films, beginning with the film classic, Snow White. Since that film, Disney has continued to branch out. It diversified first by expanding into traditional films, and later leveraged its film properties by creating the Disney resorts. Beginning with Disney Land in California and later embodied by the massive Disney World in Orland, Florida, Disney has continued to develop and establish these theme parks globally. It continues to capitalize on its strong, identifiable mascots, film properties, and “Princess” line of characters through merchandising that includes everything from toys to school supplies and video games It has further diversified its holdings by entering the television market through its acquisition of ABC, ESPN, and local television stations.
The choices Disney has made during its expansion exhibit a generally good strategic fit. Disney’s core properties are in its film division, both live action and animated (digital and non-digital). On the basis of these divisions it has been able to produce a reliable line of entertainment products aimed primarily at the child and teen market, while also playing on the nostalgic sensibilities of adults. Younger consumers have access to a wide variety of physical toys and other merchandise. Disney licenses costumes and other merchandise as well. Meeting the needs of the 21st century, the company has also continued to diversify its toys by expanding into the video game market. Since the early Sega Genesis o the 1990s, Disney has ridden characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, who featured prominently in their own titles. Video games became a vector for introducing gamers to properties. It also leveraged its strong animated films, such as Aladdin, in order to sell significant numbers of games. The theme parks it owns appeal to both adults and children, and utilize widely popular properties in order to generate staggering yearly revenues. These parks combine traditional theme rides with lodging, food, and other form of entertainment. The chance to experience beloved films proves to be a yearly incentive for park goers and brings in millions each year for the company. Through its management of television stations, it also maintains a vector for the distribution of its media through TV networks. These stations are not always intended to be vectors for existing properties, such as Mickey Mouse, but because of their widespread appeal generate significant yearly revenue. ESPN, operated by the company, plays host to yearly, highly popular sports such as American football, baseball, and basketball.
Use your promo and get a custom paper on
"Walt Disney’s Impact On American Culture".
The nature of Disney’s compounding entertainment investments make for an effective value-chain matchup. At each step in a chain, a product gains value. For Disney, the chain begins in the animation production or general film production unit. These units are responsible for the creation and development of entertaining stories, however, it is inherently the characters that push the media. People remember characters even more than stories. This short phrase is demonstrated in the compounding value of the characters over time even when divorced from the original media itself. The Princess line of products is an example of how the product takes on an independent value across a chain. Cinderella began as an on-film character. However, her value has compounded through her presentation at Disney operated theme parks, acting as a lure to park goers. The introduction of her character to a park also warranted some merchandise or memorabilia for visitors leaving the park, leading to the development of everything from toys to baubles and snow globes. As each Princess independently developed, Disney arrived at a stable of reliable characters they could collectively label the Princess lineup. Today, this lineup is marketed to young girls and used to push merchandise across a variety of formats. When Disney wants to introduce a new Princess, it begins with a film, moves toward widespread familiarity, then introduces supporting merchandise. A more recent example of this is Tinkerbell. Not properly a princess herself, Tinkerbell was utilized in a series of direct-to-video short films after over a half century of neglect. This created the avenue for further merchandising. The Princess lineup also becomes the basis for illustrating how Disney goes about brand sharing.
Skills transfer in the company is more limited, but not impossible. John Lassiter, head of the highly profitable Pixar division of entertainment, began his career as a traditional animator in the Disney Company before later engaging the emerging media of computer entertainment. He independently put his skills to work in developing a new computer animation company, which ballooned into the Apple-acquired Pixar. This same division later reverted back to Disney ownership when the company purchased it back from Apple. While he did not begin his career working in computer technology, the basic skills he learned at Disney combined with a vision for computer application led to some of the most profitable properties on the planet, including the highly revered Toy Story.
