Bob Iger and the Walt Disney Company Brand

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Thanks Yvonne, for finding this!  This article discusses the impact and legacy of Bob Iger, the evolution of the  Disney company and brand, and where it may be headed in the future...

 

Disney CEO Readies Magic Carpet for Exit

 

You know them well. Perhaps too well.

 

The Fab Five and their friends.

 

From Kermit the Frog to Buzz Lightyear. From Iron Man to Darth Vader.

Among the stable of American cultural touchstones, they stand emblematic as a cross-generational binder of a people and a product. More a symbol of America in its minted-by-Wall-Street and cemented-on-Main-Street role as a global ambassador than Lady Liberty herself, the Walt Disney Company has risen from a cartoon maker of its eponymous animator to a warehouse of media brands unrivaled in its sheer breadth.

 

And it is that last part that might well be a big part of why the 'remaking' of Disney under the direction of outgoing Chairman and CEO Robert A. "Bob" Iger may well signal the decline of the brand itself. Mickey Mouse is Disney. Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck are Disney. As are Pluto and Goofy. But, once we move beyond the endearingly drawn and meticulously marketed page jumpers sketched by Disney -- the man and not the brand -- and his Nine Old Men, the marquee becomes harder to define as being Disney.

 

Full article here...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-snyder/disney-ceo-iger-readies-m_b_6520290.html

 

I thought about putting this on the Debate board, as I'm sure there will be some strong opinions but I figured I'd give it a whirl here first.

 

 

[Travisma 1,317]

Interesting article.

 

I was shocked and disappointed at how crappy the Disney channel has become.

 

We had it when the kids were growing up,and it was a great family channel full of Disney cartoons and Disney movies.

 

Fast forward to when my granddaughter started watching it.

 

Gone were the beloved Disney movies and cartoons, replaced by shows about smart assed tweens ruling their homes (when you even see parental figures), or just living their lives the way they want with no adult influence whatsoever.

 

The kids are always right, the adults are always stupid or wrong.  I hate their entire lineups.  Every show is the same, just different kids and locations.

 

The Disney Channel went the same way MTV and HBO did.  From their core concept they branched out to things that weren't even in their original programming/concept.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

As a follow up, this is from Variety...

 

 

Disney Promotes Tom Staggs to No. 2 Post, Positioning Him as Iger’s Successor

 

February 5, 2015 | 09:16AM PT

Cynthia Littleton

Managing Editor: Television @Variety_Cynthia

 

Disney’s long corporate runoff has come to an end with the promotion of Tom Staggs to chief operating officer.

 

The Walt Disney Parks and Resort chairman has long been seen as the front-runner for the post that  squarely positions him as the heir-apparent to Bob Iger as Disney’s CEO once the chief executive’s contract expires in mid-2018. Although Iger said last fall that he would be naming an exec to COO post in early 2015, Staggs was only officially informed of his promotion on Wednesday.

 

“Tom is an incredibly experienced, talented and versatile executive who has led Parks and Resorts during a time of unprecedented growth and expansion, including the construction of Shanghai Disney Resort. His proven ability to lead a business as well as his successful tenure as Disney’s former CFO make him an ideal Chief Operating Officer, expanding his portfolio into all the company’s businesses,” Iger said in announcing the promotion.

 

Staggs will continue to head the parks and resorts division for the time being until a successor is named. Most of Disney’s division heads will now jointly report to Iger and Staggs, with the exception of CFO Jay Rasulo as well as the Jayne Parker, head of human resources, communications chief Zenia Mucha and general counsel Alan Braverman.

 

“It’s a privilege to step into this role, and I am humbled and honored by the opportunity. I look forward to working more closely with Bob and the talented senior management team across the company to continue to build Disney’s future through unparalleled creativity, innovative technology and global expansion,” Staggs said.

 

Staggs and Iger declined further comment on the promotion and what it means for Disney.

 

Disney sources emphasized that Staggs’ promotion to COO does not give him a lock on inheriting the top job from Iger. His strategic vision and leadership skills will be closely evaluated by the Disney board during the next three years. “By no means is this a guarantee,” said a source close to the situation.

 

Iger consulted with Disney directors on Staggs’ promotion at the most recent board meeting, on Jan. 29, but the final decision was Iger’s alone.

 

For the past five years Staggs, 54, has been in a contest with Rasulo for the No. 2 spot. The horse race began in earnest in January 2010 when the two executives swapped jobs — a move seen as Iger’s effort to give Staggs operational experience to complement his background in strategic planning and finance. A 25-year Disney veteran, Staggs spent 11 years as Disney’s CFO prior to taking the reins of the parks division.

 

Rasulo, who is well-liked on Wall Street for his straightforward manner, raised eyebrows recently with his decision to not sign a new contract with Disney even after his previous deal expired at the end of January. That was a clear signal that Rasulo was hedging his bets against the outcome of the bake-off with Staggs.

 

At present Rasulo is working on an at-will basis without a contract, and sources said there are no indications that he will set a new deal. It is widely believed that he will leave Disney.

 

Rasulo is likely to be a prime candidate to be recruited to fill CEO vacancies. His background in finance for the world’s largest media company, coupled with his operational experience at the parks, makes him an appealing hire for all manner of brick-and-mortar and online retailers.

 

Although Iger’s departure date has been twice postponed with contract extensions, he is set to retire from Disney in three years. By multiple accounts, Iger has not been ready to move into retirement mode, especially after flirting with but ultimately rejecting the possibility of seeking political office in New York or California.

 

Moreover, under Iger’s leadership Disney has reached new heights of size and success. On Wednesday, the company’s stock price closed at over $100 dollars per share after Tuesday’s stellar quarterly earnings results that saw Disney’s profit rise 19%.

 

By many accounts, Staggs is an executive who is very much in the Iger mold, notably by keeping a low-profile in the media and in the broader entertainment biz. He’s well-liked and described as “warm” by Disney insiders. He grew up in the small town of Excelsior, Minn., about a half-hour outside of Minneapolis. He’s been married to his wife, Melanie, for nearly 20 years and is the father of three boys.

 

“He’s a very good dealmaker. He’s smart as hell and he is very personable — that’s a good combination,” Michael Eisner said of Staggs in an interview last week, prior to Disney’s formal announcement on Thursday. Eisner, who was Disney CEO from 1984 through 2005, identified Staggs as a comer early on.

 

Staggs came to Disney because of his background in investment banking at a time when the Mouse House needed an experienced dealmaker to handle complex transactions like the launch of the Mighty Ducks NHL team and the acquisition of Capitol Cities/ABC. Eisner noted that Staggs could have left Disney years ago for a CEO post at another company.

 

“He’s a major piece of talent who has hung in there and been patient,” Eisner told Variety .

 

Staggs’ track record at the parks and resorts unit has been mostly strong. He inherited a number of initiatives that were put in place by the Rasulo regime. The jury is still out on the effectiveness of the “My Magic Plus” fast-past system enacted in an effort to combat overcrowding on key Disneyland attractions. But Staggs’ stewardship has generally been well-received by Disney’s legion of parks workers (aka “cast members”).

 

The boss earned high marks with Disney’s foot soldiers by surprising beloved Disney Imagineer Tony Baxter during his session at the 2013 D23 conference for Disney-philes in Anaheim, Calif. Staggs made an unplanned appearance on stage to praise Baxter’s decades of service in developing attractions for the parks. He also unveiled the highest tribute that Disney has to offer — a dedicated window on Main Street, with Baxter listed as the “inventor” for a company dubbed “Main Street Marvels.”

 

By his own admission, Staggs has made an effort to stay removed from the high life that comes with working in the entertainment industry.

In 2012, while accepting the Distinguished Alumni Award from Minnetonka High School, Staggs noted that showbiz was “the most self-congratulatory industry there is on the planet” and told the crowd that in his then-22 years in entertainment, he’d never once attended a major awards show such as the Oscars, Emmys or Grammys.

 

“I don’t get caught up in all the Hollywood glitz and glamour,” Staggs said. At the event, Staggs’ former band teacher, Dan Geldert, described him as being genuine,” “bright,” “a gentleman” and one who strove for “excellence,” even as a teenager. He was a trumpet player back then, landing first chair in the orchestra as well as playing in the marching band and jazz ensemble.

 

Staggs earned a B.S. in business from the University of Minnesota in 1982 and went on to get his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. He worked in investment banking at Minneapolis’ Dain Bosworth and for Morgan Stanley before joining Disney in 1990 as manager of strategic planning. By 1995, he’d advanced to senior VP. He was 37 at the time then-CEO Michael Eisner named him exec VP and CFO.

 

As CFO Staggs generally got high marks from Disney investors and Wall Street for transparency and responsiveness in reporting the company’s financials.

 

Staggs has played a more public role during his time at the parks division, which is akin to the company’s storefront operation. He oversees a global workforce of 130,000 spread among six theme parks, including the one under construction in Shanghai; the Disney cruise line, comprising three ships; the vacation ownership program and the Disney-themed vacation resort in Oahu.

 

Running the division has meant that he’s frequently on stage addressing employees and park guests. It’s a job that requires gut instincts on what consumers will respond to, and meticulous attention to detail on all aspects of the “guest experience.” All told, the parks division is an arena that is vital to maintaining the aura of the Disney brand in the eyes of the average consumer — an advantage that the Mouse’s showbiz competitors simply do not have.

 

Disney insiders have long said that Staggs has the right demeanor and the people skills to handle the job, but there’s still questions about whether he has the strategic vision to lead a media colossus as sprawling as Disney.

 

Staggs’ biggest operational challenge to date undoubtedly has been riding herd over the Shanghai park, where the opening has been pushed to the spring of 2016.

The park has the potential to harness the rising tide of the middle class in China and be a huge moneymaker for Disney — one that could drive plenty of other Mouse House biz in the world’s most populous nation. But it could also become a political minefield, given the trickiness that foreign firms have in dealing with the Chinese government and local investors. As Disney learned the hard way from the 1992 launch of Euro Disney (now Disneyland Paris), ensuring that the Shanghai park is attuned to local tastes and customs will be crucial to generating a good first impression.

 

Plans for the Shanghai park were under way long before Staggs took the parks job from Rasulo, but he has presided over the final planning and construction phase. The reception of the venture, from both its target Chinese consumers and from Disney investors, will amount to a major report card on Staggs’ management skills. Other big initiatives include the collaboration with James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment on the creation of an “Avatar”-themed Pandora land at Disney’s Animal Kingdom park in Florida. It’s targeted for a 2017 opening.

 

Staggs’ time at the parks has given him one skill essential to all Disney CEOs — the ability to banter with ease with costumed Disney characters. At the 2011 opening of the revamped “Star Tours” ride at Disneyland, Staggs, cloaked as a Jedi knight, engaged in a strenuous lightsaber battle with Darth Vader before cutting the ribbon, with a lightsaber.

 

At the 2012 opening of Cars Land at Disney’s California Adventure park, Staggs shared the stage with John Lasseter. Lasseter said after giving it some thought, he decided that Staggs’ personality would best be represented as an automobile with an ice cream truck, to signal the exec’s natural “intelligence, grace and good humor.”

 

Staggs talks the talk of a future Disney CEO in his public appearances. He frequently cites the guidance in the Disney corporate culture that comes from Walt Disney’s legacy as an innovator and risk-taker. He also calls the late Disney president Frank Wells as a mentor during his earliest years at the company.

 

Wells, who died in a 1994 helicopter crash, taught him the importance of humility in business, Staggs said in his commencement speech last year to the graduating class of his undergraduate alma mater, the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

 

“Humility is not the same as self-doubt,” Staggs told the crowd.

 

“The dangerous thing about success is that it can kill your interest in introspection….It takes confidence to admit you don’t have all the right answers. …Humility is just as important to long-term success as self-confidence.”

 

Staggs surely will get to practice what he preaches in the next three years. Iger’s most recent contract extension keeps him in the chairman-CEO post through June 2018. Despite the promotion, Staggs’ is not assured of advancing to the CEO post — rumors persist that some Disney board members are leaning toward other options including persuading Lasseter to take the top job after Iger steps down.

 

Iger, however, is likely to be sympathetic to his lieutenant’s situation. He endured a long apprenticeship under former Eisner after being promoted from ABC chief to president of Disney’s international wing in 1999, and then to Disney president-chief operating officer in 2000. Iger further suffered through widespread rumors that Eisner didn’t think he had the chops to be CEO in the two years leading up to the Disney board’s decision in 2005 to give him the job.

 

In his 2014 commencement speech, Staggs gave an example of what he called Iger’s keen ability to balance confidence and humility. The two were standing together watching the parade at the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland in 2005 when Iger remarked with concern that none of the passing characters had been created by Disney within the previous 10 years. Iger realized then that Disney Animation was in need of a big injection of creativity.

 

“That difficult, clear-eyed assessment led to the acquisition of Pixar” in 2006, Staggs told the grads. “It looks like an obvious decision, but at the time it took tremendous confidence and courage for a new CEO.”

 

Clearly, Staggs has been taking notes.

 

(Marc Graser contributed to this report)

 

 

http://variety.com/2015/biz/news/disney-promotes-tom-staggs-to-no-2-post-positioning-him-as-igers-successor-1201423601/

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

This video from the 2011 D23 Expo, with Staggs in various CM roles, is pretty great...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEbIltfqdZE

[Seals 111]

"The jury is still out on the effectiveness of the “My Magic Plus” fast-past system enacted in an effort to combat overcrowding on key Disneyland attractions. "

 

Huh?

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

"The jury is still out on the effectiveness of the “My Magic Plus” fast-past system enacted in an effort to combat overcrowding on key Disneyland attractions. "

 

Huh?

 

:rofl2:

 

As his first official action, Tom should make sure people that write articles about him know the difference between WDW and Disneyland.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

This video from the 2011 D23 Expo, with Staggs in various CM roles, is pretty great...

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEbIltfqdZE

 

Thanks for sharing that video.  I had never seen it before.  I love the Tinker Bell part.

 

"The jury is still out on the effectiveness of the “My Magic Plus” fast-past system enacted in an effort to combat overcrowding on key Disneyland attractions. "

 

Huh?

 

Seriously.  That's a pretty major error.

 

TCD

[Seals 111]

:rofl2:

 

As his first official action, Tom should make sure people that write articles about him know the difference between WDW and Disneyland.

 

and know the difference between pass and past !

[Seals 111]

And if the jury is made up of certain Fiends, I'm pretty sure it's not out.

[Memphis 105]

Well no wonder they are having trouble with MDE and MBs they are doing it in the wrong parks. 

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Well no wonder they are having trouble with MDE and MBs they are doing it in the wrong parks. 

 

:bellringer:

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Bobby's legacy will be forever tainted by having no one on staff that can fix canvas.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Bobby's legacy will be forever tainted by having no one on staff that can fix canvas.

 

That is a brilliant comment.

 

LOL.

 

TCD

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

An interesting opinion posted on FB by Orlando Theme Park News...

 

 

Orlando Theme Parks News

11 mins ·

 

PERSONAL OPINION:
In the theme park race, Eisner was the reckless driver, Iger is the driver that goes 30 miles under the limit, Universal is the Ferrari.

 

Eisner (reckless driver): He has done incredible stunts in the past, but sometimes they came at a price (DCA, WDS, Stitch, Imagination...)

 

Iger (careful driver): He is undeniably doing quite a few things for the theme parks, but going too slow eventually becomes a problem...

 

Universal (Ferrari): Just like a Ferrari, the Universal Parks are fantastic, but they need wealthy and capable owners to properly function.

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Orlando-Theme-Parks-News/139138469436695?fref=nf

 

I wonder what Staggs will be?

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

WDWMagic is reporting that Bob Chapek has been named to replace Tom Staggs as Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts...

 

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/walt-disney-company/news/23feb2015-bob-chapek-named-new-chairman,-walt-disney-parks-and-resorts.htm

 

 

The Walt Disney Company has today named Bob Chapek Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts - the successor to recently promoted Tom Staggs.

 

BURBANK, Calif.—Bob Chapek has been named Chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, it was announced today by Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Thomas O. Staggs, Chief Operating Officer, The Walt Disney Company.

A 22-year veteran of The Walt Disney Company, Mr. Chapek has served since 2011 as President of Disney Consumer Products, driving a technology-led transformation of the Company’s consumer products, retail and publishing operations. He assumes his new role effective immediately.

“Under Bob’s leadership, Consumer Products has seen great success, focusing on brands and a franchise-driven strategy while launching new products and retail experiences that combine technological innovation and creativity,” Mr. Iger said. “He is an experienced and versatile executive well-suited to lead Parks and Resorts into the future.”

As Chairman of Parks and Resorts, Mr. Chapek succeeds Mr. Staggs, who was named Disney’s Chief Operating Officer earlier this month. Mr. Chapek will report to both Mr. Iger and Mr. Staggs.

“Bob is stepping into this role at an incredibly dynamic and exciting time for our Parks and Resorts business,” Mr. Staggs said. “The ongoing construction of Shanghai Disney Resort as well as the new Avatar-themed land at Walt Disney World continues an era of unprecedented growth and historic expansion.”

“I am grateful for the many opportunities I have had during my years at Disney, and am thrilled to join the incredible Disney Parks organization,” Mr. Chapek said. “I look forward to working with the remarkably talented team dedicated to creating magical memories for millions of guests around the world.” A successor to Mr. Chapek at Disney Consumer Products will be named at a later date.

Prior to leading Disney Consumer Products, Mr. Chapek served as President of Distribution for The Walt Disney Studios from 2009 to 2011, and was responsible for overseeing the Studios' overall content distribution strategy across multiple platforms including theatrical exhibition, home entertainment, pay TV, digital entertainment and new media. He also served as President of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, where he spearheaded the successful “vault strategy” for the company’s iconic films and transformed the primary format of home entertainment from DVD to Blu-ray.

Before joining Disney in 1993, Mr. Chapek worked in brand management at H.J. Heinz Company and in advertising at J. Walter Thompson.

Mr. Chapek earned a B.S. in Microbiology at Indiana University Bloomington and an MBA from Michigan State University.

[shoreline99 137]

Interestingly, the Disney company squashed a rather unflattering HuffPo article about the company's opening of Disneyland China -

 

I'm trying to find a copy of the cached article that I read the other day.

 

Nope. Totally gone.

 

Wait, found a cached copy:

 

 

Disney CEO Fumbles Entry to China
Posted: 02/18/2015 4:45 pm EST

Sorry Mickey, they're just not that into you. Minnie, you either.

For that matter, you can take the whole stable -- the "Fab Five" of Walt Disney's animated creations -- and, despite a media machine that churns a very different story, China has largely been a land where the fabled wishes, dreams and magic of the Walt Disney Company and its brand have virtually no connection with the consumer. As valued as that consumer is in the economic theater of globalism, the iconic brand synonymous with America has little appeal and less traction among the newly seated audience in the Chinese mainland.

To its 'vanilla on toothpaste' helmsman, Robert A. "Bob" Iger, who has shown himself to be an able cobbler of assets but a less than visionary leader of the media colossus that is the Walt Disney Company, this troubling if known and growing headwind threatens to undermine the content-heavy but culturally aloof purveyor of demographically unshackled product. For in his zeal to expand its library of content, Bob Iger has drop-kicked the Disney moniker to enter new and expanding marketplaces only to position a product that runs well afar of the expectation of the Disney bounce.

In so doing, the once unrivaled status of the Disney brand has become a catch-all for entertainment and its associated byproducts that are increasingly a strange and sometimes conflicted ragbag of franchised acquisitions presented as some sort of media mélange for all ages and all palates. Or, as John Dreyer, the longtime and immediate past head of corporate communications for the Walt Disney Company, said upon the publication of the column Disney CEO Readies Magic Carpet for Exit, "Disney losing its Disney way."

With the company making its grandest play for a market that dwarfs all others, Disney has found itself adrift in a crisis of identity that breaches the foundation of the castle upon which an empire was built. For as turrets were raised, wings were added and a moat of meticulously positioned whimsy was filled in to expand the Disney footprint, something that looks decidedly more pedestrian than the fantastical inspiration for one of the world's most coveted brands has emerged.

Leverage has become the arch of entry into the Disney-verse, while the brand has been marginalized into a holding vehicle for assets that are worth more separately than that vested in the castle itself.

As Mr. Iger said at the 2013 Fortune Global Forum held in Chengdu:

I think the first thing you have to do is you have to obviously be aware of what your most significant brand attributes are. What makes your brand your brand? Why is it great? You have to focus on quality and on those attributes that, again, created the value in the first place. You can't look to cut corners. You can't look to make something with your brand on it that's any cheaper simply because it's going into a market that may not be able to afford it the way another market may have. You can't compromise in that regard. So it starts with what I'll call quality and a respect for an allegiance to the very brand attributes that created the value in the first place.

Now, considering Shanghai Disney is preparing to make its 2016 debut as Disney's first foray into the renminbi rich Chinese mainland after a less than stellar arrival in the former British colony of Hong Kong in 2005, there are lessons aplenty to learn from that delayed embrace and the long stalled entry into the single largest consumer market on offer to the world -- the whole of China.

Under Mr. Iger's stewarding, Disney has partnered with the Shanghai Shendi Group, an umbrella name placed on a panoply of government-owned companies created to facilitate Western investment as a massive anti-graft campaign is just now rattling Beijing and beyond, to introduce a Disney 'branded' park to those consumers. A flag in the ground for Disney. A flag that has been in the works since the prime of Michael Eisner's reign at Disney and one that nearly collapsed entirely by the summer of 2006.

Indeed, Mr. Iger had to leave the annual Herb Allen retreat for media moguls, tech tycoons and other scripters of society in Sun Valley for an unscheduled trip to Shanghai that day in 2006, scrambling to save face and leading to a denouement worthy of great scrutiny by any company -- especially those entities whose trade is in intellectual property -- wanting to enter China.

Or, as Dalian Wanda Group Chairman Wang Jianlin, whose real estate and entertainment empire is building its North American headquarters adjacent to the Beverly Hilton at 9900 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, said on the same panel at the Fortune Global Forum:

[W]e have so many Western companies in China, but you cannot simply replicate the Western ideas and philosophies in China. They need to adapt to the Chinese realities... So for Fortune 500 companies in China it's very important, it's imperative for them to learn traditional culture in China and how is it interrelated with the modern business culture.

Curiously though, the world beyond the berm is told the 330 million or so Chinese within a three-hour trip to the site on the other side of Shanghai's Pudong International Airport cannot wait to queue up for a boat ride on "It's a small world" or whatever Disney is offering up for its reported $5.5 billion marker. As, no, there will apparently be no attraction of that name at Shanghai Disneyland.

Not in China. Not in a country where Mickey, Minne and the rest of the gang are barely known. In a country where Disney might as well be Smith or Jones or Johnson. Well, maybe not that last one as Johnson & Johnson is actually a reasonably well-known brand throughout China.

The Walt Disney Company has a history of stumbling if not outright tumbling in its efforts to export Disney's brand of Americana. For reference, look no further than Euro Disney -- now known as Disneyland Paris -- and Hong Kong Disneyland. Of the latter, it is worth note that Disney has been known to Hongkongers from the early days of the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. Yet, to this day, with a direct link by MTR line to points throughout Hong Kong, Disney is barely able to keep up with the brand devoid, geographically hemmed in and animal exhibit heavy Ocean Park in Aberdeen.

Over lunch earlier this month at Neptune's in the Grand Aquarium, Ocean Park Hong Kong CEO Tom Mehrmann, who began his career as a street sweeper at Knott's Berry Farm just up the road from Walt's original Disneyland, said, "Disney still has to explain to some of its guests exactly what a 'Disney Park' is. We don't have that problem."

To further illustrate this point, visit Disney's outpost on Lantau, a parcel of reclaimed land near Hong Kong International Airport, and you will notice a different Disney. Some call it 'Disney-lite'. Others refer to it as 'McKingdom'. Regardless, there is a definite feel of a diminished product -- of a diminished brand -- on stage for the public's consumption.

For, on a spit of land with an audience topping seven million attached by subway line having a familiarity and a kinship with the West, sits the real experiment of Disney's entry into the Chinese market. And there, on a recent day, at a performance of The Lion King in a theater designed for Disney's Animal Kingdom in Orlando dropped into the Walt Disney Company's first Disney branded park in China, the actors sought to lead the audience in a rendition of the hit tune from this classic of Disney's second golden age of animation: Hakuna Matata.

Hakuna Matata.
What a wonderful phrase.
Hakuna matata.
Ain't no passing craze.
It means no worries.
For the rest of your days.
It's a problem free philosophy.
Hakuna matata.

Arms raised high in the air, cast members -- on stage and off -- encouraged the capacity crowd to sing the infectious chorus. With lyrics blasting through the speakers and flashing on screens in the theater, they sought a simple singalong to the catchy and commercial hit written by Elton John and Tim Rice. Unmoved, the audience sat stone-faced. Child and adult alike.

Considering most individuals reading this are likely humming the tune or hearing it play as part of the soundtrack of their lives, that speaks poorly of Disney's penetration into the far less foreign landscape of Hong Kong. As for Shanghai, Mr. Iger continued on at the conference in Chengdu:

We're a brand that is viewed as good for me and good for my family. There are values to the Disney brand and what it stands for that have interested people all over the world. But, it's very, very important that while we bring Disney to a market we make sure that in that market it feels like, for instance, China's Disney.

In leaving the park on that recent evening, the dressed by and for Disney MTR cars filled with tired visitors exposed to, saturated in, that which is the Disney Parks experience offered up in Hong Kong. Looking to the left, to the right, all around, not one visitor had that uniquely American rite of passage positioned upon their head. Mickey ears. Not one.

And, in the second largest market for its product and the largest consumer market on the planet, Disney's Frozen, the highest grossing animated film ever having delivered over $1.27 billion in ticket sales and the fifth-highest grossing film of all time, earned little more than $48 million. Less than four percent of its global box office.

Welcome to China, Bob.

Gary Snyder is a member of the Redstone family, whose company, National Amusements, owns Viacom and CBS, among other media assets. He is an advisor on Western media and culture to China.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Any company, big or small, needs to decide what it wants to be.  They need to decide what to focus on, or else efforts will not be made in a unified, goal driven manner.  And under Bobby, it's been clear that the focus is on returning value to shareholders.  In his defense, that's not unlike most companies in America these days.  I really can't fault them for that.  But our problem is that we all have memories of a time when that was NOT Disney's chief focus.  They used to be different.  They were Walt, and Walt was part of them.  The guest experience seemed to be the primary driver.  The shift over the past decade or so away from that has been very painful for many of us to accept.  I know I struggle with it to this day.  But I don't think there's any going back.  I really don't expect the change from Bobby to Staggs to alter that.  They may shift some things around to accomodate Staggs' desires, but the bottom line will still be the bottom line. 

[lightbikes 73]

"But our problem is that we all have memories of a time when that was NOT Disney's chief focus.  They used to be different.  They were Walt, and Walt was part of them.  The guest experience seemed to be the primary driver.  The shift over the past decade or so away from that has been very painful for many of us to accept.  I know I struggle with it to this day.  But I don't think there's any going back.  I really don't expect the change from Bobby to Staggs to alter that.  They may shift some things around to accomodate Staggs' desires, but the bottom line will still be the bottom line. "

 

 

DaveinTN - Absolutely perfectly said - you hit the nail exactly on the head and summed up what I've been struggling with all this year.  Thank you 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

 

"But our problem is that we all have memories of a time when that was NOT Disney's chief focus.  They used to be different.  They were Walt, and Walt was part of them.  The guest experience seemed to be the primary driver.  The shift over the past decade or so away from that has been very painful for many of us to accept.  I know I struggle with it to this day.  But I don't think there's any going back.  I really don't expect the change from Bobby to Staggs to alter that.  They may shift some things around to accomodate Staggs' desires, but the bottom line will still be the bottom line. "

 

 

DaveinTN - Absolutely perfectly said - you hit the nail exactly on the head and summed up what I've been struggling with all this year.  Thank you 

 

 

Agreed.

 

DIT hit the nail on the head.

 

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

Nostalgia can be a powerful tool. 

 

Look at all the items  that are being revived from our childhoods at modern day prices.  Or look at the originals that are going for astronomical prices. Have you priced a 70's Muscle Car lately?

 

Nostalgia can also backfire.  People remember the good old days and the good old prices, and balk at what the same (or nearly the same) item costs now.

 

I think the biggest problem for us older generation that have been visiting Disney for years, is that our income has not kept up with any of the theme park (not just Disney) prices, so we feel like we are getting a lot less bang for our buck.

 

I know there are fiends and others out there that to them $$$ is no object, but to the solid middle classers it's getting harder and harder to grin and bear it.

 

And I know it's because of these memories that we cherish the good old days at the Fort and the parks.

 

Newcomers expect to get fleeced and be treated like cattle, but we remember a calmer more affordable Disney experience.

 

I don't expect management to take us back to the good old days, but it would be nice if they did start embracing Walts philosophy again.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Great post, Mark.

 

I don't really have a beef with their prices.  Disney has always been expensive.

 

What I miss is how pristine the parks used to be, and how everything used to work.  You wouldn't see garbage blowing around the parks or find so many rides and attractions boarded up.  There was once a time when Disney cared very much about "The Show."

 

TCD

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Interestingly, the Disney company squashed a rather unflattering HuffPo article about the company's opening of Disneyland China -

 

I'm trying to find a copy of the cached article that I read the other day.

 

Nope. Totally gone.

 

Wait, found a cached copy:

 

Can somebody please tell me what this article says?

 

I got stuck on this sentence in the third paragraph:

 

"To its 'vanilla on toothpaste' helmsman, Robert A. "Bob" Iger, who has shown himself to be an able cobbler of assets but a less than visionary leader of the media colossus that is the Walt Disney Company, this troubling if known and growing headwind threatens to undermine the content-heavy but culturally aloof purveyor of demographically unshackled product."

 

I consider myself to have above average reading comprehension, but I had to read that sentence three or four times to try to figure out what the author was trying to say.  After that, I could not go on.  What the heck is "vanilla on toothpaste" supposed to mean?

 

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

If I comprehended the article properly, Iger goofed big time going into China.

 

Mickey may be know worldwide, but isn't necessarily embraced worldwide.

 

Not in China. Not in a country where Mickey, Minne and the rest of the gang are barely known. In a country where Disney might as well be Smith or Jones or Johnson. Well, maybe not that last one as Johnson & Johnson is actually a reasonably well-known brand throughout China.

The Walt Disney Company has a history of stumbling if not outright tumbling in its efforts to export Disney's brand of Americana. For reference, look no further than Euro Disney -- now known as Disneyland Paris -- and Hong Kong Disneyland. Of the latter, it is worth note that Disney has been known to Hongkongers from the early days of the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. Yet, to this day, with a direct link by MTR line to points throughout Hong Kong, Disney is barely able to keep up with the brand devoid, geographically hemmed in and animal exhibit heavy Ocean Park in Aberdeen.

 

Maybe they should have built in Brazil.  Seems like 1/2 the country is at the MK on any given day.  Building down there would give us some breathing room.

 

They have lost Walts way of doing things, like TCD said in the previous post, of keeping the parks clean and in running order.  If things are breaking down, figure out what is causing it and fix it. You have to spend $$ to make $$, but they are trying to take over the world with their acquisitions and expansions and ignoring their original core philosophies.

 

Did buying ABC, Star Wars, the Muppets, etc make the parks a better place?  Only time will tell, but at the moment I would say NO.  They are spread too thin and sooner or later the rubberband is going to snap and it's going to be a mess.

[lightbikes 73]

"And I know it's because of these memories that we cherish the good old days at the Fort and the parks.

Newcomers expect to get fleeced and be treated like cattle, but we remember a calmer more affordable Disney experience.

I don't expect management to take us back to the good old days, but it would be nice if they did start embracing Walts philosophy again."

 

Yes !!!

 

ˆWhat I miss is how pristine the parks used to be, and how everything used to work.  You wouldn't see garbage blowing around the parks or find so many rides and attractions boarded up.  There was once a time when Disney cared very much about "The Show."

 

AND Yes AGAIN !!!