Disney's Brand Image

Disney’s brand image is based around Mickey Mouse. Every where you look either on their website, commercials, or even submerged in their theme parks; Mickey Mouse is all over everything like a stamp.
http://home.disney.go.com/travel/index
Disney promotes itself as a very family-friendly company. The way that the PR professionals enhance Disney’s brand image is that they make sure that they get their name out there in lots of different sources of media. Also, they associate their company with other companies like non-profit organizations like Make-A-Wish Foundation among others. Disney also has a lot of different types of promotions such as the Year of a Million Dreams as well as many others.

Disney has other things that serve the purpose of a main image of advertisement. Disney princesses are popular items that boost Disney’s image. They get recognition because people watch the movies that the princesses are from and now there is a whole Disney princess line. http://disney.go.com/princess/html/main_iframe.html

The PR people help boost the brand image of the Disney Company because they get their name out there and everyone knows who Disney is and they keep all of their involvement positive and it helps boost the company’s sales and recognition as a great and friendly company. Disney has numerous ways to enhance their brand image and they are also easy to access on their website.
http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/business.html

Disney's Crisis Communications Work

The crisis that my company dealt with that I decided to focus on was a death that occurred on the Everest roller coaster in Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Since Walt Disney is an enormous company, they have to deal with crises such as accidents and deaths regularly. In December of 2007, Jeffery Reeb died of natural causes, but he had an enlarged heart. The major issue of the death was that only three of the 500 defibrillators on Walt Disney’s property were at Animal Kingdom and the location of the closest defibrillator was not close to the Expedition Everest roller coaster.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/attractionDetail?id=ExpeditionEverestPage

Even though that is a very serious problem, Disney at least took responsibility and cleared the air of the defibrillator issue. They are doing things to prevent any more issues like this unfortunate one and are working hard to keep all of their parks and attractions safe. Although not having a defibrillator as close as can be, the paramedics that worked on Mr. Reeb said that it’s possible that using a defibrillator may not have made a difference because of his pre-existing condition. Disney also has signs in front of every ride and attraction explaining that if you have certain medical conditions, you should not ride; and heart problems were written on that sign and Mr. Reeb decided to ride anyway.

Disney spokeswoman, Andrea Finger, said that they try to put the defibrillators in a consistent place where both the guests and cast members can easily find them and they rely on professional paramedics to respond to emergency situations. According to the Orlando Sentinel Finger also said that “the resort plans to train 500 more employees in CPR even as it adds the 200 defibrillators to the 500 already on resort property.”

I think that Disney handled the situation well, but I think they could have at least expressed their condolences for the family of the deceased. I believe that Disney should definitely add more defibrillators and to have them at all rides and attractions to take the necessary precautions. I also think that some of the wording that was used could have been said differently so it wouldn’t come off as rude or as if they didn’t care about the family and loved ones of the man who passed away.

Disney's Investor Relations Work

Disney’s annual report is definitely a slick marketing piece because it has the cast of High School Musical 2 on the front and it’s very colorful and animated. I feel as though the annual report is much more than just informational and just making the qualifications of what needs to be written. I think that at least to Disney, they wanted to include every detail that they thought was important within the past year and that they want to go over the top so that the investors aren’t bored when they thumb through it. Therefore, I feel as though the annual report gives Disney more of an opportunity to expand on its company because so many people already know about Disney, so it’s used to give more background information on topics that investors may not be aware of. The annual report is also very easy to find and access on the website which is below:

http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/annual_reports.html

The messages that are coming through the letter to the shareholders are that Disney is a very strong company with high standards and good ideas. Throughout the letter, Disney discusses all of the different aspects of their company and how they are thriving in different areas. They highlight the success of High School Musical 2 and some of their television shows such as Desperate Housewives, Dancing with the Stars, and Grey’s Anatomy. They also talk about the rising success of Hannah Montana and working on a way to re-vamp some of their many websites. Additionally, Disney’s financial performance is added to keep the letter more business-worthy.

I think that when the investors read the shareholder letter they will feel gratified because their company is very successful. They are constantly finding ways to improve The Walt Disney Company and make every aspect of the company better. Throughout the letter, Disney makes the shareholders feel glad that they are part of the company and the shareholders have pride in the company because they are doing so well.

The tone of the letter to the shareholders is very uplifting. It contains information about all of Disney’s strong points in the past year and that they had yet another outstanding year. I believe that it is credible because the letter to the shareholders highlights specific examples of the success that Disney has had throughout the past year. I also think that it is credible because it was written by the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. Even if a public relations professional wrote the letter, the CEO would not have signed off on it unless he truly believed in everything that was written, so that’s how I know it’s credible.

The most recent news release that is related to the company’s earnings is reader-friendly for the most part. Throughout the release, all of the topics that are addressed are explained in layman’s terms. Even though most of the release is easy to understand, some of the charts that are attached to the release are somewhat complicated without a thorough definition. However, each section goes into detail about every aspect of The Walt Disney Company.

The quote from the CEO is nothing but positive feedback from the previous year. It is well-written with some powerful choice of words. I believe that it would instill confidence in the investors because it mentions what a good company Disney is and the progress they have been making. I also think that it is a credible quote because it is from a high authority figure; and because it’s all positive information it would probably make the investors believe him. I think that the way the news release could have been done better is if all of the release was easier to read and understand. Also, the quote could have been better if there was a little more detail to it; if the CEO highlighted specific reasons as to why it was a great year for Disney. The attached link is where you can find all of the earnings reports dating all the way back from the year 2000 through the beginning of 2008.

http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/quarterly_earnings.html

Disney's Work with Community Relations

Disney is doing a lot of things to support the community. They have several projects in the works that help the community in numerous ways; just about hitting all of the different kinds of people that could use some help or at least some cheering up from the “happiest place on Earth.” Therefore, there is not a single thing that Disney focuses its community support on; there are a lot of things that Disney focuses on, which I think is why they excel in community relations.

There are lots of ways that Disney does to show community support. They have different types of programs and shows such as Extreme Makeover and Extreme Home Makeover among lots of others. Disney also reaches out to a lot of companies and non-profits organizations to donate money and other things to help them help others.

There is a Disney Dreams program, which anyone can enter to win an array of prizes such as a Disney Cruise to a stay in Cinderella’s castle. Everyone is able to enter, but priority is usually given to those who need it most. http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/index?name=HomePage

Disney also implemented a Disney Princess Heart of Gold Campaign, which helps the community as well. It is a program in which people donate either money or toys, that is then donated to Toys for Tots for children who normally don’t receive gifts around the holiday season.

Additionally, Disney does a lot of work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which I believe is Disney’s biggest contribution to the community. Disney has been helping the Make-A-Wish Foundation since 1980 and is the most requested wish, with the Foundation granting over 5,000 Disney wishes per year. For the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s 25^th anniversary, Disney had a celebration for Make-A-Wish in Disneyland, where they granted their 50,000^th Disney wish. Also, in late 2007, Disney donated around 3 million dollars to Make-A-Wish. For the third installment of Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney had an open premiere to anyone who wanted to pay 1,500 dollars a ticket which was then donated to Make-A-Wish as well. http://www.wish.org/supporters/current_sponsors/mission_champion/the_walt_disney_comp
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Disney has more than one mission statement, but I would definitely say that their community relations programs support what they stand for as a company. Disney is always concerned about helping everyone and keeping smiles on people’s faces. Therefore, I believe that Disney is doing a great job with their community relations programs.

I don’t think that Disney would have to do much to better their relations with the community, but if they do, I would say that they should have more publicity. I would make sure that Disney would write more press releases so that everyone can see what Disney is doing to support the community and so that more people can also help the community as well.

Disney's Newest Corporate Announcement

The announcement that Disney recently made is that they have opened a place called the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique where young boys and girls ages three and older can get makeovers to look like “young princesses” and “cool dudes.” Even though boys and girls can both get makeovers, it is geared more to young girls; especially now because they are featuring a make over of Miley Cyrus (better known as Hannah Montana).

Disney has a lot of short articles written about the Boutique and they have articles constantly showing up on the RSS feed such as http://wdwnews.com/viewimage.aspx?imageid=109233&siteid=1

The original Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique is based in Downtown Disney Marketplace, and now there is a new one inside of Cinderella Castle at the Magic Kingdom.

I think that Disney did a good job getting the articles out continuously, but I do think that they could have done a lot more with getting this announcement out. If you search for Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique on Disney’s main website, you are directed to another site. On the Boutique’s website, it gives you an in-depth description of what the Boutique entails and there is also a short video that you can watch. You can find that website at http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/moreMagic/shoppingDetail?id=BibbidiBobbidiBoutiquePage

I think that Disney could have created commercials about the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique or they could at least have a link from Disney’s main website. They also could have had another form of an advertisement like a newspaper or magazine ad. They can also run an article or a news release in a newspaper or magazines geared toward Walt Disney World customers.

Disney's Usage of New Media is Effective

I think that Disney’s doing a really good job using new media. From their website, they have an RSS feed that you can click on to subscribe to for all of Walt Disney World. You would just have to go to the Walt Disney World link on the Disney homepage and click on the RSS feed. From there you will have a list to choose from and there are over twenty specific topics to subscribe to.

For example: http://www.wdwnews.com//RSS.aspx?SiteID=1

Disney also has a lot of different interactive websites and videos to view and some of them also use flash. Along with that, there are plenty of pod casts that Disney has to offer for you to subscribe to and there are a few video casts that you can watch. I-tunes has all of the pod casts and video casts that Disney has to offer.

The following is an example of a video that Disney has on their website which is a great example of new media because it is one of the newest videos that they have on their website and it is also very detailed.

http://www.wdwnews.com/viewvideo.aspx?videoid=109132&siteid=1

In my opinion, I feel as though Disney is doing a good job taking full advantage of new media, but I think that they could have more of an interaction with their customers. If anyone has questions or concerns, they can e-mail a particular person or department, but I think that they could have either a blog or a place where Disney’s customers can make comments to Disney’s employees or board of directors. If the customers were able to have a closer interaction with Disney’s corporate board, then Disney may be able to make a more effective use of new media because they would be getting feedback directly from their customers.

Introduction to the Walt Disney Company

I chose Disney because I have always had a strong love for Disney and Walt Disney World. I wanted to work with Disney because I thought that it would be a great opportunity to work with Disney in a different light that I am used to.

Disney has a very intricate website which is full of different links to each corporate section of the website. Disney’s website also has links to each of the corporations that Disney owns, which is listed under the media network links.

One of the major aspects of the Public Relations side of Disney’s website is that they have news releases and annual reports that you can access directly online. Since Disney is such a big corporation, the website is split up into different sections. Each section has plenty of information to fulfill the needs of an inquiring customer.

Additionally, the Walt Disney Company has lots of pages dedicated to their corporate information. Under the page for standards of business conduct, they explain what their reputation is and how they go about maintaining it and handling issues.