Lesson #1: Stretch Your Brand

Article Overview: “It's something that will never be finished,” Disney once said of Disneyland. “Something that I can keep developing and adding to.” Disney was a management mastermind, a pioneer in the field of branding and merchandising. Constantly thinking of how far he could stretch the Disney brand, Disney set new industry standards for his ability to capitalize on his name.

Lesson #1: Stretch Your Brand

“It's something that will never be finished,” Disney once said of Disneyland. “Something that I can keep developing and adding to.” Disney was a management mastermind, a pioneer in the field of branding and merchandising. Constantly thinking of how far he could stretch the Disney brand, Disney set new industry standards for his ability to capitalize on his name.

From his promotional techniques to his merchandising campaigns, Disney broke new ground and used his imagination to open up his way to the top. He frequently made use of a wide array of advertising strategies to keep his message in front of audiences: print ads, television commercials, direct mail campaigns, and even grocery store coupon cut-outs. He saturated the market so that people found it next to impossible to forget who he was.

Disneyland first opened its doors on July 17, 1955 with an invitation-only gala hosted by celebrity guests, including Ronald Reagan. But, Disney was determined to share this experience with as many Americans as he could in order to generate interest. He invited 11,000 people, most of whom were celebrities and other dignitaries. In fact, almost 30,000 people showed up. He then decided to have it broadcast live from coast-to-coast on television. With 29 cameras and 63 technicians, the 90-minute program cost Disney over $11 million. But, it was worth it. An estimated 90 million people tuned in to watch the event – that is, 90 million more people who were now aware of whom Disney was and who were interested in seeing Disneyland firsthand.

“When we consider a project, we really study it – not just the surface idea, but everything about it,” Disney said. He was a merchandising machine whose genius lied in his ability to capitalize on the potential for cross-market promotion. For instance, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was not only the first full-length animated feature film, but it was also the first ever film to have a complete merchandising campaign in place upon its release. Since that time, over 25% of the company’s revenues have come from selling merchandise to consumers.

Disney used his films as leverage: not only did they allow for the creation of additional products, such as dolls, toys, and games related to the movies but they would also attract visitors to his theme parks. Disneyland quickly became an ideal venue for cross-promotion and Disney was clever in exploiting all the opportunities. He even made the centerpiece of his park the Sleeping Beauty Castle, named after a Disney animated film that was still four years away from being released.

And Disney’s vision never ceased; he never stopped looking for opportunities to expand his operations. After the success of Disneyland in California, Disney had the foresight and business savvy to realize that not only could he take this venture national, but also global. Although construction of Walt Disney World began one year after Disney’s death, he was nonetheless the driving force behind the project and it continues to be a success; today, the Disney theme parks and resorts bring in billions in revenues each year for the Walt Disney Company.

Related Articles
  Should All CEO's Blog?
  Stretch beyond what you think you can
  The Power of a Brand Name and how to make your own brand powerful
  Let Me Tell You About A Truly Great Brand
  Network Marketing? You Can Only Go So Far on "Stretching the Truth!"
  The Brand Provides The Key ... or You Have What It Takes!
  Sales and Marketing is 24/7
  Hiring Former Fortune 1000 Employees
  A Clear Goal Creates Momentum
  Who Is Your Proud Family?
  Strategic Branding Questions
  Do Bean Counters Understand Brand Value?
  The definition of branding
  How Branding Can Lead to a Business's Success...or Failure
  How to use brand bidding
  Branding Techniques
  3 Ideas To Ick-Proof Your Brand
  3 Steps to Achieving Your Goals Sooner Rather than Later
  Everything You Do
  Are You Hiding In A Schlumpy Brand?

Article Tags: advertising strategies, animated feature film, brandit, celebrity guests, cross market, cut outs, dignitaries, direct mail, disneyland, mail campaigns, market promotion, mastermind, merchandising campaign, merchandising campaigns, new ground, print ads, ronald reagan, snow white and the seven dwarfs, store coupon, television commercials



Related Forum Posts
Dan Kennedy Marketing Methods - We haven't sent out the physical letter yet as the person owning the list wanted to make modifications to the letter that we knew would work well but the List owner had a point - it didn't reflect her personality so her clients would know it didn't come from her. Lesson learned for me. We're back to the drawing board with the list owner more involved in the development of the letter and emails. I should have known better being a Business Analyst in my day job that you never leave the end-user out. So Evan we haven't had the opportunity to test any of it yet but it's been a fun process for me to stand back and look at.
Re: Partner with Sony Pictures.Coca-Cola and Toyota - I've truly always been amazed by small businesses who have big name company's listed on their websites with whom they have done work for or partnered in the Past. Has anyone on the Forum has such a partnership with large organizations or Brand name companies? Would you mind sharing how you were able to set up the partnership without giving away names of people you work with?
Brand Babble - I recently read another great book called "Brand Babble" The book debunks a bunch of branding 'myths' that have seem to get passed around as conventional branding wisdom. The authors are Don E Schultz & Heidi F Schultz. ISBN 0-538-72714-4
Book: Secrets of Six Figure Women - Secrets of Six Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to up your earning and change your life Barbara Stanny, 2002 Jacket: Maybe you've noticed - a subtle trend is gathering steam. Quietly and steadily, the number of women making six figures or more is increasing, and it continues to rise at a rate faster than for men. From entrepreneurs to corporate executives, from white collar executives to free lancers and part timers, women are forging careers with considerable financial success. Through extensive research and hundreds of interviews, including dialogs with more than 150 high earners whose annual incomes range from $100,000 to 7 million, Stanny discovered that ...they all had certain traits in common: 1) a profit motive 2) Audacity 3) REslience 4) Encouragement 5) Self-awareness 6) Non-attachment 7) Financial knowhow She amplifies on these in the book itself. Table of Contents Intro: Welcome to the era of the six-figure woman 1. The Queen in the Countinghouse 2. The Lowdown on low earners 3. Raising the bar 4. Strategy 1: The Declaration of Intention 5. Strategy 2: Letting go of the ledge 6. Strategy 3: Get in the Game 7. Strategy 4: Speak Up 8. Strategy 5: The Stretch 9. Strategy 6: Seek Support 10. Strategy 7: Obey the rules of money 11. Claiming our power Appendces: Resources and websites Tips for getting out of dent Investing Basics: Wealthbuilding 101
Franchise Support. What is it to you? - I do a lot of due diligence on franchises that we work with. Most of the time I call up existing franchisees and act like I am interested in buying a franchise in their system. I ask a ton of questions just like any normal buyer, they do not know that I am an experienced franchise consultant. My question for this forum is: What do you consider support from the franchisor? Is it: - Communication? - Brand growth? - Advertising? - Assistance? - Or something else? The reason I ask this is that some franchisees tell me that they don't get enough support from the franchisor and when I ask them what support they would want, they don't have an answer outside of "helping me get more business". So I thought I would throw this out to the group and ask you what you consider would be support to a franchisee. .


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

How to develop the best lateral thinking skills

How to sell a business

Why Small Businesses Don't Survive

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.