The Toy Story Land - Free Essay Example

Take Toy Story 3. The family-friendly film itself is signature Disney. After a global marketing campaign, the movie opened June 18, earning $1 billion at the box office, more than any other film this year and any other animated film in history. But that was just the beginning. Disneys well-oiled consumer-products division had prepared to sell action figures, apparel, books, magazines, collectibles, and more, all featuring the movies popular characters. By August, Disneyland Paris was ready with Toy Story Playland, a new attraction years in the making but opened the same summer the hit movie was released. Walt Disney World already had a Toy Story Mania! attraction, but revamped the rides 3-D experience to include one of the new characters. The companys interactive division pumped out videogames for Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation, and PC. It also produced apps for the iPad and mobile phones. And when Disney wants to generate additional buzz on TV, it can do so through its network channel, ABC, or cable channels such as the Disney Channel, which is known for being a star maker on its own. Add to this Disneys knowledge of its audience around the world, and you end up with a company that knows at what price Japanese consumers will buy the most Mickey Mouse hats and how to efficiently distribute Winnie-the-Pooh-themed English-learning kits in China. This is valuable [information] thats not so easy for other companies to obtain, says veteran media analyst Howard Vogel, an adjunct professor at Columbia University. Thats largely because Disney has honed this knowledge over decades through a series of firsts in its field. The 1928 Mickey Mouse cartoon Steamboat Willie was the first cartoon with sound to be an international hit, giving the company domestic and overseas distribution experience. Five years later, when few in Hollywood were willing to believe that audiences could stomach feature-length animated films, Disney found a hit with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which also helped it develop its approach to family-friendly franchises. In the 1950s Disney was among the first studios to produce television programs. The series The Wonderful World of Disney provided ample experience in promoting properties across different media, and its TV series Davy Crockett proved that a single TV character could do well in a large U.S. merchandise market. Then there is Disneyland, the theme park that created the theme-park business when it opened in 1955. Not only did it give existing franchises new life by providing a space for rides like Snow Whites Scary Adventures, but it monetized that engagement. Theres also the Disney Channel, which provided a platform for cross-promotion on cable, and the Disney Stores, which offer international merchandising options. Simply put, when it comes to taking a franchise global, Disney has a much more robust, mature, well-built-out global licensing operation than the rest of the industry, says DiClemente.