Is Disney’s merchandising program in place simply to earn money, or is it part of a larger marketing structure?
.... General Motors sponsors the Test Track attraction. The other half of the park is the World Showcase, centred on the World Showcase Lagoon. Eleven countries have distinct pavilions located around the Lagoon. These countries are Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, the USA, Japan, Morocco, France, the UK and Canada. While the specifics of each pavilion vary, they all contain a sit down restaurant, a fast food outlet and some kind of attraction. For instance, the Norway Pavilion contains an attraction called the Maelstrom, an ‘adventure packed boat ride’ (Maelstrom 2003). The other area which will be discussed is the Downtown Disney recreational area, consisting of three sections, each targeting a different market. The Marketplace clearly targets families, having largely Disney character oriented shops and toy stores; West Side caters to upmarket visitors, with expensive shops and the Cirque De’Soleil show. The final section, Pleasure Island, caters to teenagers and young adults, offering night time entertainment in themed clubs and bars (Downtown Disney 2003). While this area is built in a manner more resembling a shopping centre, the rest of Disney world is built according to the standard of themed attractions. By taking a visit to Disney World, one can ascertain that there is a certain formula for all attractions. The area surrounding the attraction is built to create interest, such as Norwegian village constructed in EPCOT. Upon moving closer, guests’ attention is focused on interesting things, the background music subtly changes and a sense of tension is built. Upon coming to the end of the queue at the Maelstrom, the guest is addressed by a real Norwegian and asked to enter the boat. After coming of the ride, guests exit into a gift shop, and in some attractions it is common to have an information stand where guests can receive more information from a representative. The gift shop is invariably linked to the theme of the attraction. The Puffin’s Roost in the Norway pavilion, for instance, sells Helly Hansen apparel, troll figurines, Norwegian sweets and various knick-knacks and tourist books. Since each nation has its own food and beverage outlets, it is common for the gift shop entrance to feed directly into the area that these inhabit. When coming out of the ‘O Canada’ 360-degree movie guests walk straight past Le Cellier Steakhouse, and if customers do not stop there, they then walk past the fast food stand as they make their way to the main promenade. This whole system is clearly designed to accomplish exactly what Hsu and Powers (2002) claim merchandising is about; to increase guest spending in the parks. Guest spending is responsible for a large proportion of the Disney Resorts annual revenue. In 1934, the Ingersoll-Waterbury company sold the first Mickey Mouse watch (Disney Corporate Press 2003b). This was the first of many Disney products sold on licence. In 2003, Disney sold 1.1 billion US dollars worth of consumer products; this does not include products sold in the parks. In the four Disney parks world wide the company raised 6.4 billion US dollars, 1.8 billion in admissions, 1.9 in merchandising (Disney Corporate Press 2003a). Since more revenue is generated by in-park spending than on actual park admissions, it is reasonable to assume that that Disney’s system of merchandising works very well at generating money. Merchandising can, however, have a secondary function. The second part of Hsu and Powers’ (2002) definition is that merchandising should encourage repeat visits. A large part of the “magical experience” of going to a Disney resort is aimed towards ensuring that goal. The Walt Disney World resort is considerably larger than any other Disney resort, and there are numerous other things to do in the Orlando Area. The sheer size of the parks could encourage a guest to return; since there is a great chance there are still things they have not experienced. That is only the repeat visitors however; Disney spent 2.3 billion US dollars on advertising and promotion in 2003 (Disney Corporate Press 2003a). This money was spent on promoting more than just the parks, but some of it must have been direct park advertising expenses. Much of Disney’s marketing is, however, not financed by direct advertising expenses. The year prior to the opening of Disneyland, ABC Television, a major US television network, broadcast a TV series dedicated to the park (Disney Corporate Press 2003b). This was to be the start of a profitable relationship between Disney and the network. In the 1990’s, ABC Television increased commercial time in its broadcasting by over thirty four percent. In the same time, the Disney Corporation grew from a relatively small “theme park and cartoon company” into a company worth twenty five billion US dollars. The company owns ABC TV and Radio, three major film studios, at least ten cable networks and has holdings in everything from publishing houses to sports teams. This is a way in which Disney is able to influence the marketplace. Disney also has contracts with companies like McDonalds, with whom they have a 10 year contract to cooperate on product marketing (McChesney 1999, cited in Karp 1999). McChesney (1999, cited in Karp 1999, paragraph 11) further states: Two trends, “hypercommercialisation” and “synergy” describe how media conglomerates squeeze maximum profit out of their corporate bulk. Hypercommercialisation refers to the ceaseless effort to increase the reach of all forms of advertising. Synergy refers to the use of overlapping corporate partnerships to maximise product tie-ins, distribution and marketing schemes In training new cast members, Disney openly states that synergy is part of the reason the company is so successful. Everything the company does, impacts on other aspects if its activities. If Disney makes an animated movie, then toys based on that movie are sure to follow. Coordinated with this will be shows or attractions in Disney World based on that movie, such as the “Honey I shrank the Audience” 3-D movie in EPCOT’s Future World. While this attraction is based on a theatrical film, and not an animated one, a visit to any Disney park will show the evidence of linking films to attractions and merchandise. The majority of Disney movies heavily affected by the concept of synergy are animated films targeting the younger demographic. Karp (1999) states that the aim of this is to have the children influence their family’s purchases. The reason for this is not necessarily that pare...