Disney’s Magic on Social Media

 About Walt Disney Company:

The Walt Disney Company, most commonly known as Disney, is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. It is the world’s second largest media conglomerate in terms of revenue, after Comcast. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, and established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and theme parks. Later in 1986, Disney expanded its existing operations and also started divisions focused upon theater, radio, music, publishing, consumer products and online media.

One of the division is the Disney Consumer Products (DCP) which is responsible for various merchandise and licensing for different Disney properties — including leading franchises like Cars, Toy Story and Disney Princesses.

DCP operates its social media presence under the name “Disney Living” and has managed to gain more than 300,000 Likes on Facebook, 29,000 followers on Twitter and 8.8 million views on YouTube in just under two years.

Disney Consumer Products (DCP) Division Objectives:

To deliver innovative and engaging product experiences across thousands of categories from toys and apparel to books and fine art. To be informational rather than super commercial. DCP is focused on franchise growth and product quality and innovation. This focus enables DCP to deliver compelling merchandise at retailers around the world enriching consumers’ experience with the Disney brand and its characters.

DCP is comprised of three business units: Licensing, Publishing and Disney Store.

Social Media Strategies Adopted By DCP:

The contents that are shared on the ‘Disney Living’ Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages are not always product-driven but many of the communications are casual and focused on interaction with fans.

Campaign 1- Toy Story:

YouTube video posted to the Disney Living channel shows behind the scenes with a LEGO Master Model Builder, portrays what goes into designing and creating life-size LEGO models of Toy Story characters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33x4NV4tvV8

YouTube videos featured Toy Story and Toy Story 2 director Jon Lasserter discussing the origins of each Toy Story Character.The Disney Living team found footage of John Lasseter talking about a new line of toys and uploaded it to YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yy9eFBm_ug

Campaign 2- Disney Baby:

Disney Baby, an initiative designed to engage with parents of infants, launched its social media presence in January 2011.

With Disney Baby, one of the newer social brands, the community itself is the focus, not the product.

Parents share photos of their babies in Disney onesies. When a new product is released, if it’s posted to the Facebook Page, the community will talk about where to find it, who has the best price and what they think of the product.

Parents and moms also use the Facebook Page as a way to share stories with one another and ask questions. What’s bringing people together might be shared love for a brand — in this case, Disney — but the community goes beyond that.

Campaign 3- Alfred Angelo Fairy Tale Weddings Launch

When Disney Living decided to change the designer of its line of Disney Fairy Tale wedding gowns, it was unsure of how the fans would react. The new line was more accessible — less expensive and less exclusive — and the team worried that existing fans would be upset with the change.

So, the Disney Living team put together a special YouTube video showing off the new gowns. The video gives viewers a behind-the-scenes look the new line of gowns ad introduces them to the designer.

Results:

Campaign 1- Toy Story:

The videos showing off the actual fan interactions and stories behind designing the toys were viewed by more than 1.8 million people, and two years later, the videos still get views.

Campaign 2- Disney Baby:

With the encouragement in involvement on social media discussions on release of each product, in less than eight months, Disney Baby has gained more 363,000 likes on Facebook, making it one of the biggest brands in its segment.

Campaign 3- Alfred Angelo Fairy Tale Weddings Launch:

With behind the scenes look ,the video has been viewed more than 1.7 million times, making it the most successful single YouTube video from Disney Living.

Learnings:

Big Brand Disney gives the very important learning as to how we can use our social media presence effectively to reach out to maximum audiences and be their on of the favorite brand.

Disney started its social media campaigns on a different note which are not the product-centric but sentiments- centric. People are always interested in knowing the story behind the creation of new product rather than just knowing the features of new product. Acknowledging this interest Disney created social media platforms that promoted consumer interactions so that not only the consumer’s experiences were shared but also the feedback were taken care of.

Sharing the videos showing the efforts and experiences behind the creation of new toy/concept/product always keeps the curiosity alive within consumers.

Image Credits: Disney