Disney Company Term Paper

Introduction: Description of products or services for Disney Company

The quality of products of a company determines whether clients will buy from it. The study focuses on Disney Company whose high-quality products have attracted the attention of many clients as evidenced by its high-sale volume. Every department has its functions and products. The first division is the studio entertainment. The products of this department include films, theatre works, and recording of labels.

These products are targeted at fulfilling the need for therapeutic relief and entertaining viewers (Cruz 8). The other department is the parks and resort that harbors products such as parks and Disney cruise line. The parks fulfill the need for leisure in customers. The third department is Disney consumer products, which has products such as clothing and toys.

The department fulfils the basic need for clothing. The other department is the Media networks. According to Woodruff, the media department is divided into the television segment, which produces media programs, and the interactive media group, which produces products like social media contents, mobile contents, computer games, virtual worlds, and internet contents (104).

The media department aims at fulfilling the need for information, entertainment, and education while the interactive media provides socialization needs. The Walt Disney Company produces excellent products that are targeted at meeting specific customer needs. For example, its film department is the largest studio in Hollywood. It is also the best studio in the world in product rating.

According to Woodruff, the Mickey Mouse cartoon network that is adored across the world is a product of Disney Company (105). One can therefore infer that products from this company are above average. Customers that want excellent products should narrow down their search to Disney Company.

Disney Company Market Research

The Walt Disney Company conducts market research through questionnaires and focused group discussions. When using questionnaires, both closed-ended and open-ended questions are used to help the company to get information about the particular perception held by customers about the company and its products.

Open-ended questions enable customers to express their divergent opinions about the company and or its products. Disney Company also makes use of focused group discussions. In these discussions, a group that consumes a certain product from the company, for example a film produced by Disney films department, is given a topic to discuss.

The researcher stays aside to listen and makes observations. Focused group discussions enable the research to gain a view about the various perspectives held by the audience.

An example of the findings of such a research is the result of a research conducted on a five-scale rating of the Disneyland program on the ABC television in 1954. The research was conducted on a sample of 500 viewers. The results were as follows:

Table 1.0 Research findings on Disneyland liking on a rating scale of five

Pie chart 2.0 Audience liking of Disneyland program

Disney Company’s consumer base has subsets. For example, the products are targeted at various consumer divisions. The televised programs are targeted at the public audience including adult consumers, teenagers, and even children who constitute the subsets of the households that Disney targets. For this reason, Disney came up with various units to ensure that it could meet the needs of the diversified consumer base.

Disney Company targets consumers differently by their demographics. In the public audience, there are different demographics such as sex, age, race, and education levels. It is out of these differences that the television department produces programs for different consumers. For example, according to Woodruff, the Mickey Mouse was meant for children while Disneyland was meant for adults (104).

The content that goes into different films is filtered using gatekeepers in order to ensure that it is right for the target audience. Tailoring the product to meet specific needs of a certain audience enables the audience to appreciate the product. It also enables the company to avoid contravening the rules of public broadcasting. For example, some programs and films should not be aired during the watershed period.

The adverts that the Disney Company produces for various consumers are also filtered to fit the demographic elements. Such gate keeping ensures that no product is abusive to children or contains libel and or slander

. In most of products from Disney Company, for example films, there is always the display of film rating to guide the audience. Some products are for children, teenagers, while and others are for adults. All these are subsets of the household audience that Disneyland films and television department targets.

A Detailed Description of Disney Products

The Walt Disney Company comprises of five units with different products. Walt Disney studio’s products include films, theatre works, and labels. The department has produced hundreds of films that have both received acceptance and criticism. The department has also recorded for great artists in the land. Various theatrical works have been produced in the department’s theatre.

According to Woodruff, Disney Theatrical group is the major division in this unit (104). It is a renowned brand worldwide. According to Cruz, the Parks and Resorts department has products such as Disneyland resort, Tokyo Disney resort, Euro Disney S.C.A, Disney vocation club, Disney cruise line, Hong Kong Disneyland resort, and Disneyland Peris (9).

The Disney Consumer division offers products of different varieties including clothes and toys. This unit also markets the properties that Disney Company owns. The major department of Walt Disney Corporation is the Media Networks. The media network also produces the largest share of Disney products comprising two segments: the interactive media and television.

According to Sperb, the interactive segment produces contents for the internet, social media, mobile phone applications, and a variety of computer games (25). These products spearhead the interactive goal of the company. The company has built a worldwide known television segment. In fact, according to Woodruff, Disney media is the largest in the world (104).

The television segment comprises Disney ABC group of television for example ABC domestic international television, ABC television network, A+E networks, Walt Disney television, and ABC News. There is also the entertainment group under this division comprising of ABC studios, Times Square studios, and ABC entertainment. The other segment is ABC family comprising of ABC spark.

The television division also produces the Live Well Network, Regional sports, Regional entertainment, and does the National television sales.

According to Miller and Washington, the television division is also responsible for production of media content for worldwide channels such as Disney junior, Hungama, Radio Disney, Disney XD, Disney Cinemagic, and Disney Television animation.

All these are television network products from Disney Company (59). In addition, the television network division also produces Hyperion books such as Voice, ABC daytime press, and ESPN Books.

Life-cycle Stage of my Number one Product in Disney Company

According to Miller and Washington, the major product of Disney is mass media production, which is at the peak stage of its life cycle (58). Currently, Disney produces the largest portion of media content in the world. The product is also giving the highest returns in the world in terms of revenue. Pete (38) asserts that Disney’s media contents for example animations are the largest in the United States.

The company feeds very many television studios with media content. The product has also been widely distributed using film and social media. The content has also been spread through theatre works and animation.

One can therefore argue that development of media content in Disney is at its maturation stage. Miller and Washington argue that the ramifications of the media content of Disney company reaching its peak is that the company must now begin diversifying its focus into other products (59). The moment a product reaches this stage, it has to be diversified using the current technology in order to remain at the peak.

If the company does not diversify its products, the product is likely to become redundant hence losing its market value. Disney Company has responded quickly on to this issue. It is not creating new products. Rather, it is diversifying its products. For example, according to Woodruff, in 2006, Disney diversified its products by acquiring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (105). This strategy diversified its products in the animation industry.

Disney also purchased Pixar animation studios in 2006 with all its stock for $7.4 billion. According to Miller and Washington, the Chief Executive Officer of Pixar, Steve Jobs, also transferred to Disney as a member of the board of directors (59). This move aimed at diversifying the company’s product through the current information technology. Steve Jobs was an expert in information communication technologies.

In 2009, Disney also acquired Marvel Entertainment for $4.24 billion. After the acquisition, Marvel continued producing its products. Hence, the idea of product diversification was taken to another level. In 2011, Disney acquired UTV software communication. Acquisition of UTV diversified Disney’s product market to Asia and India. Finally, Disney also acquired Lucas film, which was worth $40.05 billion.

Acquisition of these media industries will further diversify the media content upon which Disney majors. Disney will therefore not produce new products. Rather, it will major on diversification of its products. Diversification will ensure retention of its huge customer base.

It will also save the company the cost of initiating, developing, and branding a new product. Some brands like the Mickey Mouse are almost synonymous with the company. Hence, they assist in personal selling, advertising, and branding.

Disney Company’s Communications Strategy

Disney Company uses open door communication strategy to reach its 166,000 employees, customers, and other publics. There is open communication that flows from the president to the Chief Executive Officer, the chairperson of the board, the vice chairpersons, chief operations officers, the supervisors, and finally to the employees. Disney is a mass media company.

Therefore, it promotes the freedom of communication amongst its employees and stakeholders. The employees and other stakeholders can therefore communicate through written communication, oral communication, and even via social media. However, when communicating to the public, Disney relays the information though the media.

For example, the chief Executive officer can send the information to television and radio newsrooms. They also use the social media segment to communicate to the people. According to Pete, the company prefers using the mass media due to the nature of its audience (98). For example, the company has a worldwide reach. Its customers are distributed across the world.

This strategy would therefore mean that, for Disney to reach is customers, suppliers, investors, and stakeholders, it has to use international media. The best international media is the international television channel and the social media.

It is for this reason that various undertakings by the company have been announced over the television. For example, according to Sperb, the company’s intention to acquire Lucas film was announced over the television, with the same information being put on the social networks (26).

Disney Company’s Internet Marketing Strategy

Disney has applied internet-marketing strategy for a considerable period. The online department does Disney’s online marketing. The department, which deals with e-commerce, comprises internet professionals. Cruz argues that a company is able to market its products to worldwide consumers through the internet (8).

It is worth noting that Disney company consumers are scattered across the globe. It is this reason that has made online marketing and communication work well for Disney Company. According to Sperb, the company use social media networks such as facebook and twitter to market its products (5).

Most of the consumers of media content are the youth. The youth are also the majority in the consumer bracket that uses the internet. This fact has made this marketing strategy very effective for Disney Company.

The company is also able to advertise its internet links, for example, its websites, facebook pages and twitter handles on the television, radio, and print publications. According to Miller and Washington, high rates of publications make the audience and customers familiar with Disney’s online activities (59).

The online department has also been very successful in advertisement of Disney products such as hotels and new channels. Online advertising and marketing begin by a conception of the idea by the operations managers or even the chief executive officer. After the idea is conceived, the creative director takes over and develops it with his/her creative team.

Sperb asserts that the creative team creates the advert and forwards it to the online department for placement on the internet (25). For example, it is placed on the social networks and on the company’s websites. This strategy has been very successful. In fact, it has increased the company’s market share.

Conclusion: Is Disney Company Ethically Responsible?

The question of whether Disney is ethically responsible is still controversial. However, Disney has always moved fast to correct any product that has been criticized as being morally wrong. For example, Disney recalled and corrected films like “The rescuers” of 1977 and “Who Framed Roger rabbit.”

Various activist groups have risen against some of the products by Disney. Such critics include the catholic league, the American Family Association, and the Assemblies of God. This League rated films like “Priest” of 1994 and the book “Growing up Gay” as unethical. Pete affirms that most of Disney’s products such as the animated films have been criticized as morally lacking due to their sexual appeal (110).

For example, the film “The Little Mermaid” of 1989, and “The Lion King” of 1994 were criticized as immoral. All these issues have made many people believe that Disney Company is unethical.

Works Cited

Cruz, Georgina. “Disney Fantasy.” Cruise Travel 34.5 (2013): 8-11. Print.

Miller, Richard, and Kelli Washington. “Part Ii: Market Profiles: 7. Market Leaders: Media Companies.” Entertainment, Media & Advertising Market Research Handbook 13.1(2013): 58-73. Print.

Pete, Martin. “Walt Disney Shoots the Works.” Saturday Evening Post 233.24(1960): 38-112. Print.

Sperb, Jason. “Reassuring Convergence: Online Fandom, Race, and Disney’s Notorious Song of the South.” Cinema Journal 49.4(2010): 25-45. Print.

Woodruff, Jay. “A Whole New World.” Fast Company 158.1(2011): 104-130. Print.