Disney: A Brand People Need
Nov 4th, 2011 by monicamoran
I once wished that I could one day live in Disneyland so everyday, I could wake up to happiness.
I have been exposed to Disney my whole life and it’s no surprise that it has sustained such a strong presence in the market for this long. It’s a company that has penetrated the minds and hearts of many people across the globe through its association with happiness, dreams and possibilities. The strong impact and the stability of consumer relationship is because of the brand it has built for decades, and the way they have always constantly lived up to it. People don’t just want to go to theme parks or watch Disney movies; they need it. With such a harsh and complex reality, people need to escape it at times and feel like a kid where the world was filled with possibilities and hope.
Disney started off as a basic cartoon studio consisting of its iconic character, Mickey Mouse. Over the years, it grew into something more than just a cartoon, with various product extension strategies such as movies, theme parks, merchandise, apparel and clothes. It has been first targeted to young children but has now grown into a family-oriented brand. People of all ages visit Disney Land as a means of escaping reality, enjoying the fleeting moments of childhood again before reality comes knocking on their doors again. In fact, Disney’s recent marketing campaign on Disney theme parks focused on well-known celebrities posing as famous Disney characters from Snow White, Pocahontas and Aladdin, illustrating the sense of stepping into these fictional lives when entering Disneyland.
Disney has effectively captured the essence of this through the way they have positioned themselves in the minds of consumers. The constant themes that appear in movies of hope, courage and dreaming big are the concepts that the brand revolves around, further extending its brand to a brand personality; it inspires and triggers certain emotions in people. For Disney, its a mixture of happiness, love and sadness.
I love Disney; always have and always will.
**Picture above: Zac Efron as Prince Charming and Vanessa Hudgens as Sleeping Beauty