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