Company Research Paper The Walt Disney Company Pranay Kumar George Batah Shuxian Shen Sheng Hao Koo “We have complied with university honor code in completion of this assignment and I attest that this work is ours and ours alone. ” Professor Suzanne Weiss Contents 1. Executive Summary 2. Company Background 3. Management 4. Situation Analysis 5. Ethics and Responsibility 6. Human Resource 7. Globalization 8. Operation and Production 9. Finance and Financial Management 10.
Hypothetical Request for Venture Capitalist 11. Conclusion and Recommendation 12. Citation and References Executive Summary “ It seems to me, we have a lot of story yet to tell” -Walt. E. Disney Such innocence transpired in the imagination of the Great Walt. E. Disney, that he created a tiny mouse with a squeaky voice but a mighty heart. This mouse has ruled the entertainment world with innocent and a mighty heart for nine decades, and is the first non human to receive an Oscar.
The Walt Disney Company with its innocent creativity and its mighty aggressive business strategies has today reached a near monopoly in the entertainment industry. A revenue of 42. 2 billion and a total assets of whooping 80. 64 billion, but thats not the amazing part, what truly leaves me spell bound is the fact is continuously growing at a rapid rate. Since the 2005 takeover of Pixar, The Walt Disney Company has never looked back, it has constantly and steadily growing only to takeover more renowned production powerhouses like Marvel and Lucasfilms.
This expansion is not limited to film industry, Disney is spreading its wings to Shanghai, China to open its new and largest Disney Land. While it continues to quietly absorb the film giant UTV motion pictures of India. What numbers and these big acquisitions fail to portray is the creativity that goes into creating magic on screen, fantasy on earth and realizing dreams. Disney prides itself with the creativity which can be enjoyed by all ages, and it commitment to genuine family entertainment is best portrayed by the family shows produced by ABC a Disney subsidiary.
In last five years Disney has survived the economic crisis, recovered vehemently and reaffirmed it peak position. The stock prices have skyrocketed, dividends have increased by more than 100% and it seems no looking back for Disney. Here is a caveat, Disney is backing all its future rise on the success of Shanghai Disneyland and acceptance of Star Wars by a very loyal fan base. What if these two aces fail to fire for Disney? Will it still be able to recover and sustain its position on top?
Only time will tell if this meteoric rise doesn’t become a meteoric fall. This paper manages to present this nine decade old giant’s true mightiness through few numbers, facts and anecdotes that make it clear why Disney is the greatest story teller present in today’s time. Company Background Disney is a world renowned company, all known as “The Walt Disney Company”, named by its founder, Walt Disney. In 1923, Walter Elias Disney, moved to Los Angeles, founding the Disney with his three-year-old big brother Roy Disney.
Now, the large multinational companies headquartered in the United State Burbank. At the beginning of the Disney, Walt Disney was a co-founder of The Walt Disney Company and a film producer. * In early 1923, Kansas City, Missouri animator Walt Disney created a short film entitled Alice’s Wonderland under a company named Laugh-O-Gram Films which went busted * In January 1926 with the completion of the Disney studio on Hyperion Street in Hollywood , the Disney Brothers Studio’s name is changed to the Walt Disney Studio.
* In 1928 Disney came up with idea of a mouse character. The mouse was later renamed Mickey Mouse. At the same year,Disney’s first sound film Steamboat Willie, a cartoon starring Mickey, was released. * Disney began production of his first feature-length animated film in 1934 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs * Best Productions pre-war era :Pinocchio (1940), Fantasia (1940), Dumbo (1941), and Bambi (1942) * During the WW2 ,The U. S. and Canadian governments commissioned the studio to produce training and propaganda films.
* best Productions post-war era :The Three Caballeros (1944) and Melody Time (1948)Song of the South (1946) and So Dear to My Heart (1948) Seal Island (1948)The Vanishing Prairie (1954)Cinderella Alice in Wonderland (1951)Peter Pan (1953) Treasure Island (1950) * In 1954, Disney formed its own distribution firm ” Buena Vista Distribution “ * In 1950, Walt Disney Productions and The Coca-Cola Company teamed up for Disney’s first venture into television, the NBC television network special An Hour in Wonderland * In 1954, the ABC network launched Disney’s first regular television series, Disneyland, which would go on to become one of the longest-running primetime series of all time. * In 1955, Walt Disney opened Disneyland to the general public.
* Best Productions during the 60s :Lady and the Tramp (1955), Sleeping Beauty (1959) and One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1961) Johnny Tremain, (1957) Pollyanna, (1960) The Shaggy Dog, (1959) * In 1965, “Disney World” was announced * 1966, Walt Disney died of complications relating to lung cancer, Roy Disney * Best Post Walt Disney Productions:] The Jungle Book( 1967) The Happiest Millionaire (1967)The Love(1967) Bug (1969 The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes (1969) The Aristocats(1971). * In 1971, “Walt Disney World” opened to the public. * In 1971, Roy Disney died of a stroke. * The new leaders were : Donn Tatum, Card Walker, and Walt’s son-in-law Ron Miller.
* Best Post-Roy Disney Productions :Escape to Witch Mountain (1975 Freaky Friday (1976), Robin Hood (1973 The Rescuers (1977 The Fox and the Hound (1981) * In 1979, Disney entered a joint venture with Paramount Pictures on the production of the 1980 film adaptation of Popeye and Dragonslayer * in 1982, the Disney family sold the naming rights and rail-based attractions to the Disney film studio for 818,461 shares of Disney stock * In 1983, The Disney Channel debuted as a subscription-level channel on cable systems nationwide. * in 1983 Tokyo Disneyland opened to the public via a partnership with the Oriental Land Company * In 1984, Disney CEO Ron Miller created Touchstone Pictures as a brand for Disney to release more adult-oriented material * In 1984, Sid Bass family purchase of 18.
7 percent of DisneyBass and the board brought in Michael Eisner as CEO from Paramount Pictures * in 1992, Euro-Disney opened to the public. * In 1995, Disney acquired ABC broadcast network. * In 1998, Disney began a move into the internet field with the purchase of Starwave and 43 percent of Infoseek. In 1999, Disney purchased the remaining shares of Infoseek and launch the Go Network portal in January. Disney also launched its cruise line with the christening of Disney Magic and a sister ship, Disney Wonder. Two professional sports teams were acquired the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Anaheim Angels. * In 2004, Pixar Animation Studios began looking for another distributor after its 12 year contract.
* 2005, Robert Iger was announced as Eisner successor as CEO after a long fierce campaign against Eisner called “Save Disney” that resulted after 5 years to outer Eisner . * In 2005 Hong Kong Disneyland opened to the public. * In 2006 it was announced that Disney would purchase Pixar * In 2009 Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment. * In 2011, Disney broke ground on Shanghai Disney Resort the resort is slated to open in 2015 * in 2012, Disney completed its acquisition of UTV Software Communications, expanding their market further into India and Asia. * In 2012, the Disney-Lucasfilm acquisition was finalized. Parkes, Christopher, “Inside the Magic Kingdom,” Financial Times, June 4, 1999, p. 6.
Polsson, Ken. “Chronology of the Walt Disney Company”. KPolsson. com wikipedia. Management Talking about key players I will focus on the personality ,character of the CEO , as long the the structural pyramid of disney is typical -as you will see below- with no “shining stars” but the CEO. Structure The Walt Disney Company is currently headed by CEO Robert Iger who oversees the day-to-day operations of the main branch of the Walt Disney Corporation. Underneath CEO Robert Iger is a wide array of Presidents, Senior Executive Vice Presidents, and Executive Vice Presidents. Each of these peoples over see their own team at their respective companies.
The Board of Directors, who have the majority stake in the company, oversees the controlling interest. The CEO reports directly to the Board of Directors. Bob Iger Biography Who is Robert Iger? how did he reach disney highest position? * Board: Executive Board Job Title: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Since: 2012 Age: 60 * Iger has been the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Walt Disney since March 2012. * Prior to the current role, he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer from 2005 and the President and Chief Operating Officer from 2000 to 2005. * Iger also served as the President at Walt Disney International and the Chairman at the ABC Group from 1999 to 2000.
* From 1974–98, he held a series of increasingly responsible positions at ABC and its predecessor Capital Cities/ABC culminating in service as the President at the ABC Network Television Group during 1993–94 * the President and Chief Operating Officer at ABC from 1994 to 1999. * Iger currently serves on the Board of Directors at Apple. Leadership and Culture The firm leadership style had differed over the years for many reasons, the most and biggest change was during the era of turbulence after the death of Walt Disney,an era the the later leaders of Disney could overcome and survived takeover attempts then consolidate Walt’s vision and leadership which is still echoing Disney’s Kingdom.
another reason of crucial importance is power transition into different CEOs over the year. where each leader could entrenches his influence in Disney’s long history and leadership model. the most recent and interesting transition was between old ,dictated,highly experienced,charismatic Eisner and new, democratic,highly skilled, diplomatic Bob Iger. Case Study: Comparison between Iger and Eisner Studying this case will reflect the notion of Disney;to deeply understand this happening we must dig into the background of both leaders. Eisner is a big shareholders in Disney, he owns 1. 27 % of the company, and as a CEO for roughly two decades he started at the end of his tenure to consider Disney as his backyard.
although he was behind Disney great successes and masterpiece during his administration such as Lion King and Toy Story which were both commercially and critically acclaimed , but in last few years he started to lose his sense of reality, he refused to believe that the animation department can not survive without new structuring or without the strategic alliance with Pixar which he turned down by personal disputes and conflict with steve jobs the co-founder of Pixar, this confidence goes back to the fact that Eisner is considered the savor of Disney because he was the one who came in 1984 by Roy Disney and took the power and turned Disney into one of the most successful enterprises in the world. thus, he had the ego and the confidence that he can support the trumbled department organically, which later one was discovered to be invalid. at this point, the company needed a new realistic but visionary leader. here where Bob Iger came into the scene with a relatively high profile, high diplomatic skills was approved by repairing the relationship with Pixar’s leaders of which led eventually to acquisition of it and synergically reposition Disney animation long history.
Iger is determined and persistent, There are numerous examples such as when Ted Koppel found out that ABC was trying to replace his late night show with David Letterman; Iger was able to sweet talk Koppel into staying on with ABC after Letterman declined. Given his ability to persuade and coheres other executives into negotiations rather than disputes. A democratic leader,he empowers his employees to make executive decisions based on their own creativity, innovation, and experiences. Robert Iger embodies the delegating style, which encompasses followers whom are able and willing to perform a task. He also never dumps on anyone’s ideas, which encourages people consistently bring new ideas to the table and strengths relationships. Robert Iger also has changed the culture of the structure of Disney. Possessing a Democratic Leadership Style has had a huge impact on the culture change.
Democratic style is a leadership style in which a leader takes collaborative, responsive, interactive actions with followers concerning the work and the work environment. Previously, Michael D. Eisner (the previous CEO) created a culture that was very dictated, in which he had the final say in all decisions. Iger tried to recreate a less autocratic environment. For example, during the Monday morning meetings, he encourages more conversations and participation. Iger has also made the office more inviting. He encourages his executives to drop by his office more often and accommodated this by making his doorway wider to allow more traffic through it. Iger also does not attend every meeting or make every decision.
Many of his current employees have been quoted for expressing how Iger gives an employee a job and lets him or her do it. Robert Iger is more relationship oriented. This means he focuses on the quality of interpersonal relationships among a leader and group members. Recent research has shown that relational oriented leaders encourage team learning and innovativeness, which helps products get to market faster. During the Monday morning meetings he encourages the attendees to express their ideas. Being relationship-oriented doesn’t suggests he is a country club leader, but he also has a concern for production (otherwise he wouldn’t be the CEO of a multi-billion dollar company).
We can categorize his attitudes as a Team Management leader with a high concern for both production and people on the Leadership Grid. Next to Eisner, Iger is bland, a scripted CEO who never shoots from the hip. Colleagues say they don’t know much about Iger’s personal life except that he’s a basketball nut. And while Iger isn’t without the vision thing, no one would call him a big strategic thinker. But by surrounding himself with smart people, including Jobs and the Pixar crew, and letting them get on with it, Iger has recreated a can-do culture at Disney . At the other hand,Iger really does prefer to hover in the background, letting the limelight stream over his lieutenants. He rules by consensus, not fiat.
And rather than heaving Eisner’s people overboard just because he could, Iger has kept the team largely intact. (Grover,2007) Corporate Culture Based on the lecture held by the CEO bob Iger,Bob represented his company’s corporate culture in a very clear way,he listed four main factors that had framed Disney’s culture and continuously contributed to the the Company’s long history of innovation and successes. those factors are: 1. creating an atmosphere that thrive creativity, Bob even is taking this factor to the extreme by considering his main responsibility as a CEO is creating a that atmosphere that can bring creative people and develop their ideas to become Disney’s product one day. 2.
tolerating risks and failure, By working in the field of creativity first and in the service second as there is no tangible products disney produce- with some exception related to the Disney Consumer Products department that basically produce toys based on Disney’s Character whom are basically intangible products- risk is a part of the game where Disney could throughout the years deals with some failure with a great confidence in the future and a process of learning from those mistakes, he even applied this factor to his own career when he mentioned few failures especially in his job in ABC where he defended some shows that ended up as big failures. 3. dealing with criticism: as mentioned in the later factor, Disney passed through some big failures either as shows, movies or some products and because of that it was in the bulls of Fire from either its fans, rivals , the press and even inside from its employees, but as it learned the hard way to tolerate failure and be courage enough to indulge in some of the oddest and riskiest investment at the time , it also obtained the confidence to go to the end and keep the intensity of creativity even when it fails.
in Disney innovators ,storytellers and employees in general are encouraged to exede their limits and they are not waitied to fail to be fired. 4. commitment to excellence: Disney believes that there is good , better and best. and never accepted to be but in the range of best, with no slight intention to compromise on this property, Disney had astonished the world in producing some of the best movies,shows and experiences . their commitment to excellence has driven far away from their clients expectation for example, they are in continuous progress of developing the experience of Disney parks visitors although they are having a stable income and running almost a monopoly over the theme park industry.
last,I am afraid that Disney is truly a magical place where its culture ceased even researchers who dig into the structure of the company from pointing weaknesses that may resolve the incredible admiration for disney and even amaze them by the level of professionalism, organization , perfection and Magic! Situation Analysis SWOT Analysis Strengths Cable networks operations enjoys significant reach The company’s cable network business has significant reach. Walt Disney’s cable networks group operate the ESPN, Disney Channels Worldwide, ABC Family and SOAPnet networks. ESPN is a multimedia, multinational sports entertainment company that operates eight 24-hour domestic TV sports networks.
ESPN networks reach customers in 200 countries and territories in 16 languages including a live sports network in the UK. ESPN has distribution agreements with 47 international sports networks which further enhances its appeal adding positively to its ability to reach a large audience. The company’s ESPN cable network had a subscriber base of 99 million in the US at the end of FY2011. During the same period, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, and ESPN Classic had 99 million, 73 million, 72 million, and 33 million subscribers, respectively. In addition, according to Walt Disney, ESPN Radio Network is the largest sports radio network in the US and is carried on more than 750 stations.
The company’s Disney Channels Worldwide cable network operates Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Disney Cinemagic, and Hungama TV networks. Disney Channel airs original series and movie programming targeting children and families and had a subscriber base of 240 million globally in FY2011. Disney XD airs live-action and animated programs and had presence in 130 countries worldwide. During FY2011, Disney XD had 169 million subscribers globally. In addition, Disney Junior had 58 million subscribers in the US at the end of FY2011. Moreover, Walt Disney’s ABC Family and SOAPnet TV networks had a subscriber base of 98 million and 74 million respectively.
The A&E TV Networks, part of the company’s cable network operations, includes A&E, HISTORY, the Biography Channel and History International. Internationally, A&E programming is distributed in over 150 countries through joint ventures and distribution agreements with affiliates. During FY2011, A&E, Lifetime Television, and HISTORY TV networks had 99 million subscribers each, while Lifetime Movie Network, the Biography Channel, History International, and Lifetime Real Women had 82 million, 65 million, 64 million, and 18 million subscribers, respectively. Significant customer reach of cable networks operations provides non replicable competitive advantage for the company.
The company’s content, which is produced once is distributed across a wide base of subscribers around the world. The large subscriber base therefore enables higher margins for the company. The company’s large customer reach also highlight Walt Disney’s appeal. Such appeal facilitates better bargaining power with multi-channel video service providers, the primary revenue source for Walt Disney. Additionally, the companies which have high reach enjoy higher pricing for the advertisement sales on the channel. Accordingly, the company’s large subscriber base and reach provide stability to the company’s operations. Diversified entertainment businesses Walt Disney has diversified entertainment businesses. The company’s media
networks segment engaged in the operation of domestic broadcast TV network; TV production operations; domestic and international TV distribution; domestic TV stations; domestic and international broadcast radio networks; domestic radio stations; and publishing and digital operations. The segment encompasses the ESPN, Disney Channels Worldwide, ABC Family and SOAPnet networks. It also includes the ABC Television Network. Walt Disney’s parks and resorts segment owns and operates the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida; the Disneyland Resort in California, Aulani; a Disney Resort & Spa in Hawaii; the Disney Vacation Club; the Disney Cruise Line; and Adventures by Disney. The company manages and has ownership interests in Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, and Shanghai Disney Resort. It also licenses the operations of the Tokyo Disney Resort in Japan.
Similarly, the company’s studio entertainment segment produces and acquires live-action and animated motion pictures, direct-to-video content, musical recordings and live stage plays. The segment distributes produced and acquired films in the theatrical, home entertainment and television markets with a focus on Disney-branded films under the Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar banners and Marvel-branded films. It also distributes films under the Touchstone Pictures banner. Walt Disney’s consumer products segment engages with licensees, manufacturers, publishers and retailers to design, develop, publish, promote and sell a wide variety of products based on existing and new characters and other company intellectual property through its merchandise licensing, publishing and retail businesses.
Moreover, the company, through its interactive media segment offers branded entertainment and lifestyle content across interactive media platforms. Walt Disney offers content through multi-platforms such as tablets, mobile and online. Significant multi platform presence provides sustainable source of revenues as customers continue to prefer viewing content across all the platforms. Through its broad portfolio of entertainment business, Walt Disney is able to target diverse customer segments. Through this, the company will be able to effectively cater to a varied customer base thereby enhancing the ability to attract large customer base. Furthermore, the company’s businesses are complementary in nature.
The popularity of content can be used for the company’s theme park,retail and merchandise segments to drive appeal for these products and services there by incremental revenue growth. Walt Disney’s revenues derived from its products and services portfolio are also diversified in nature. For instance, in FY2011, media networks, Walt Disney’s largest segment, generated 45. 8% of its overall revenues. This was followed by parks and resorts (28. 8%), studio entertainment (15. 5%), consumer products (7. 5%), and interactive media (2. 4%). Diversified entertainment businesses help the company to cope with a downturn in any particular business. Increasing profits and margins Walt Disney has witnessed a strong growth in profitability.
The company’s operating profit increased from $5,547 million in FY2009 to $7,801 million in FY2011, representing a CAGR of 19% during that period. In FY2011, its operating profits increased by 18. 3% over FY2010. The increase was primarily due to strong performance of the media networks and parks and resorts segments. Increase in the company’s merchandise licensing and North American retail businesses also contributed to the growth in operating income of Walt Disney. In addition, the company’s operating margins increased from 15. 3% in FY2009 to 19. 1% in FY2011. Similarly, the company’s net profits increased at a CAGR of 21% during FY2009–11 to reach $4,807 million in FY2011.
Walt Disney’s net margins increased from 9. 1% in FY2009 to 11. 8% in FY2011. The profits increased at a faster pace compared to a 6% CAGR in revenues during FY2009–11. This indicates that the company has effective control of costs and also indicates a situation where sales are growing at a faster pace compared to operating costs. For the company, growth in profits will provide a cushion to protect itself during the cyclical downturns. Increasing profits and margins reflect the efficient cost management and sound decision making. Weaknesses Concentration of operation in the US and Canada Walt Disney is highly dependent on the US and Canada for its revenues.
Although, the company has presence in more than 200 countries and territories across North America, South America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, it generates majority of its revenues from the US and Canadian markets. Walt Disney generated about 75. 4% of its total revenues from the US in FY2011, which does not truly reflect its global footprint. It demonstrates geographic concentration, which increases its business risk by making it vulnerable to economic and political uncertainties in the particular market. Further, the company’s global competitors such as News Corporation has generated significant amount of revenues from their international operations.
News Corporation, which is a US based media company, recorded approximately 45% of its total revenues (fiscal year ended June 2011) from international regions including Europe, and Australasia and other regions. Concentrating on matured markets like the US and Canada increases the country specific risks to the company and restricts its growth opportunities compared to its competitors. Opportunities Increased focus on expanding presence in emerging economies Walt Disney is focused on increasing its presence in emerging economies such as China, India, and Russia. The company entered into few significant agreements that enhanced its footprint across these regions.
For instance, in April 2012, Walt Disney, the Ministry of Culture’s China Animation Group and Tencent, China’s largest internet service provider, formed a partnership named “The National Animation Creative Research and Development Cooperation” to advance China’s animation industry. As part of the initiative, the company would provide its expertise in storytelling from concept creation and story development to market research. This partnership would enhance the company’s position in the Chinese animation industry. In January 2012, Walt Disney announced its plan to acquire a controlling interest in UTV Software Communications, a media and entertainment company based in India.
This acquisition expands the company’s footprint significantly and allows it to more effectively build, monetize and brand multi-platform franchises, and deliver a rich library of content to the Indian audience. The acquisition would position Walt Disney as one of the leading broadcasters reaching more than 100 million viewers weekly in households across India. In addition, the company would also gain a significant presence in digital media with the addition of UTV’s Indiagames, a mobile gaming company, to its portfolio. In Russia, Walt Disney partnered with UTH Russia to launch an ad-supported free-to-air Disney Channel, in October 2011. Under the terms of the agreement, the company, through one of its subsidiaries, would acquire a 49% stake in the Seven TV network from UTH Russia.
The new channels expected to reach 40 million households, which represents more than 75% of the measured audience in Russia. The partnership would allow the company to increase Disney Channel’s presence in Russia. Walt Disney will benefit from its increased focus on emerging markets. For instance, the pay TV market in Asia Pacific is growing rapidly. The market is projected to expand steadily in the next few years. Asia Pacific accounted for more than 394 million of worldwide pay TV subscribers at the end of 2011, representing a more than 50% share. The share is forecasted to exceed beyond 55% by 2016. The pay TV market in Asia Pacific is forecasted to have more than 480 million subscribers and revenues of approximately $50 billion.
In addition to a strong progress from the regional players in China and India, strong pay TV subscriber growth will also be experienced in emerging markets like Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia. Moreover, China is expected to have approximately 27% share of regional revenues in 2016. In India, pay TV subscribers are expected to grow as a CAGR of approximately 9% between 2011 and 2016 to reach 139 million. The company’s increased focus on expanding in emerging economies such as China, India, and Russia would increase Walt Disney’s geographic footprint, increase its subscribers base and market share in the coming years. In addition, the company is set to benefit from the rapidly growing TV market in the Asia Pacific region. Poised to benefit from long term distribution agreement with Comcast
In January 2012, Walt Disney and Comcast announced a 10-years distribution agreement that will deliver the company’s sports, news and entertainment content to Comcast’s Xfinity TV customers on TV, online, on tablets and handheld devices. Both the companies also agreed to collaborate over the term of the deal to create new, innovative viewing experiences for Xfinity TV customers. The networks and services covered by the agreement include: ABC, ABC Family, Disney Channel, Disney XD, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN Deportes, ESPNEWS, ESPN Classic, ESPN Goal Line, ESPN Buzzer Beater, ESPN 3D, ESPN GamePlan, ESPN FullCourt and ESPN3; retransmission consent for seven ABC-owned broadcast TV stations (WABC-TV New York, WLS-TV Chicago, WPVI-TV Philadelphia, KGO-TV San Francisco, KTRK-TV Houston, KTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham, and KFSN-TV Fresno) as well as more than 10 high-definition networks.
Additionally, Comcast will launch Disney Junior, a new 24-hour basic channel for preschool-age children, parents and caregivers. In total, 70 services are covered by the broad scope of this new agreement. The new agreement enhances the multi channel business model and supports Walt Disney’s goal to deliver video content to customers across multiple platforms using the latest technology and cloud innovation. In addition, for the first time Disney-branded cable channels will stream content to pay-TV customers using mobile devices and computers. Such offerings across multiple platforms would generate continuous revenues by reaching wide range of customers at multiple points.
In addition, as the content is produced only once, continuous revenues would further increase the margins of the company. The deal is expected to generate revenues of between $20 billion and $25 billion for ESPN programming alone over the 10 years. The deal would further enhance Walt Disney’s subscriber’s base and provide incremental revenues for the company. Threats Competitive pressure The company operates in highly competitive markets. Walt Disney’s media network business competes for viewers primarily with other TV and cable networks, independent TV stations and other media, such as digital versatile discs (DVDs), video games and the internet.
Its TV and radio stations primarily compete for viewers in individual market areas. The growth in the number of networks distributed MVSPs resulted in increased competitive pressures for advertising revenues for both the company’s broadcasting and cable networks. The company’s cable networks also face competition from other cable networks for carriage by MVSPs. In addition, the media network business competes for the acquisition of sports and other programming. The market for programming is very competitive, particularly for sports programming. Moreover, its internet web sites and digital products compete with other web sites and entertainment products in their respective categories.
Similarly, Walt Disney’s theme parks and resorts as well as Disney Cruise Line and Disney Vacation Club compete with other forms of entertainment, lodging, tourism and recreational activities. The studio entertainment businesses compete with all forms of entertainment. A significant number of companies produce and/or distribute theatrical and TV films, exploit products in the home entertainment market, provide pay TV programming services and sponsor live theater. In the consumer products segment, Walt Disney’s online sites and products compete with a wide variety of other online sites and products. Its video game business competes primarily with other publishers of video game software and other types of home entertainment.
The company’s key competitors include CBS Corporation, Viacom, Liberty Media, Lions Gate Entertainment, News Corporation, Oriental Land, Carnival Corporation, Marriott International, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, and Brunswick Corporation. Competition in each of these areas may divert consumers from the company’s creative or other products, or to other products or other forms of entertainment, which could reduce its revenue or increase marketing costs. Such competition may also reduce, or limit growth in, prices for Walt Disney’s products and services, including advertising rates and subscription fees at its media networks, parks and resorts admissions and room rates, and prices for consumer products from which the company derives license revenues.
Increasing piracy could impact revenues Piracy of motion pictures, television programming, and video content poses significant challenges to several businesses of the company. Technological advances allowing the unauthorized dissemination of motion pictures, television programming and other content in unprotected digital formats, including through the internet, increases the threat of piracy. Such technological advances make it easier to create, transmit and distribute high quality unauthorized copies of such content. As a result of piracy, Hollywood faced a crisis as its most important revenue stream, DVD sales, which declined by more than 20% during 2006–2011.
Similarly, according to Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia, lack of market transparency and tolerance for illegal connections to cable systems have resulted in big losses in many Asian countries. India accounted to a loss of more than $1. 4 billion due to cable piracy in 2011. The proliferation of unauthorized copies and piracy of the company’s products or the products it licenses from third parties will reduce Walt Disney’s revenues. In addition, developments in software or devices that circumvent encryption technology increase the threat of unauthorized use and distribution of digital broadcast satellite programming signals. Highly regulated television broadcast industry in the US
The television broadcast industry in the US is highly regulated by federal laws and regulations issued and administered by various federal agencies, including the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC regulates television broadcasting, and certain aspects of the operations of cable, satellite and other electronic media that compete with broadcasting, pursuant to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. The Communications Act permits the operation of television broadcast stations only in accordance with a license issued by the FCC upon a finding that the grant of the license would serve the public interest, convenience and necessity.
In 2010, the FCC delivered its national Broadband Plan to Congress, which reviews the nation’s broadband Internet infrastructure and recommends a number of initiatives to spur broadband deployment and use. In order to free up more spectrum for wireless broadband services, the Broadband Plan proposes to make spectrum available, including 120 megahertz of broadcast spectrum, by incentivizing current private-sector spectrum holders to return some of their spectrum to the government by 2015 through such initiatives as voluntary “incentive” spectrum auctions and “repacking” of channel assignments to increase efficient spectrum usage. If voluntary measures fail to yield the amount of spectrum the FCC deems necessary for wireless broadband deployment, the Broadband Plan proposes various mandates to reclaim spectrum, such as forced channel sharing.
In addition, the FCC continues to enforce strictly its regulations concerning political advertising, children’s television, environmental concerns, equal employment opportunity, technical operating matters and antenna tower maintenance. FCC rules require the closed captioning of almost all broadcast and cable programming. A federal law enacted in late 2010 requires affiliates of the four largest broadcast networks in the 25 largest markets to carry 50 hours of prime time or children’s programming per calendar quarter with video descriptions, including verbal description of key visual elements is inserted into natural pauses in the audio and broadcast over a separate audio channel.
Cable and satellite operators with 50,000 or more subscribers must do the same on each of the top five non-broadcast networks they carry. Violation of FCC regulations can result in substantial monetary forfeitures, periodic reporting conditions, short-term license renewals and, in egregious cases, denial of license renewal or revocation of license. This could further impact the company’s performance. Recommendations The SWOT analysis clearly defines the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats The Walt Disney Company is currently encountering respectively. Strengths are meant to be built upon in the future while Weaknesses should be looked into as soon as possible.
The Opportunities that are identified in the analysis serve as potential improvements while Threats have to be neutralized in order for the company to continue to be successful. Above all the Opportunities identified above, the most promising opportunity has to be the increased focus on expanding presence in emerging economies. As we all know the economy of the world is still in the recovering phase after the huge slump during the 2008 financial crisis, many businesses has turned to the emerging economies of BRIC in search for an alternative solution to their problems. The Walt Disney Company operations in the past have been focused in the regions of the United States and Canada has proved to be critical to the previous slump.
It seems as though they have learnt their lesson by being aggressively involved in expanding their markets into the BRIC countries. They should not encounter too many issues in their efforts to expand into other markets because of their presence which previously has already been felt in those regions. Deals with Russia and China would definitely generate much more revenues for the company in the near future as the economy of the United States continues to recover. The most concerning Threat that should be neutralized as soon as possible is the increase in piracy that would greatly impact the company’s revenues. As technology continues to be developed, piracy has increasingly become a major concern to many companies involved in the media and entertainment industry.
Although governments throughout the world have been trying to implement laws that protect the copyright of media artists and producers, many countries are still facing huge problems in their efforts against piracy. Piracy plays a huge role in determining the actual revenue the company receives for their product. As human conscience continues to grow in this modern era, the company can only hope that the increased quality of lifestyle the people are enjoying around the world would slowly turn this situation around. Mission Statement “The mission of The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information.
Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world. ” The mission statement clearly states the firm’s field of area involving entertainment and information. The Walt Disney Company strives to achieve success mainly in producing and providing entertainment and information for the general public. Referring to the mission statement above, we are confident that the firm would strongly prefer to focus on becoming the world’s leading firm in its own field instead of getting involved in much wider arrays.
We believe that the firm’s mission statement does not limit their expansion because the entertainment and information industry is so wide that no one company has managed to achieve monopoly status just yet. The firm found its niche in the industry by providing customers with the most creative and innovative entertainment ideas around the world. As the pioneer in animation film production, The Walt Disney Company has introduced many other brand new ideas to the entertainment world as a whole. The firm has brought the entire industry to an entirely different level while still constantly thinking of new innovation ideas at the same time. Goals “At Disney, we believe being a good corporate citizen is the right thing to do: for our consumers and guests, our employees, and our businesses.
It makes our company a desirable place to work, reinforces the attractiveness of our brands and entertainment, and strengthens our bonds with families. Our goal is to achieve exceptional performance by embedding citizenship into all of our daily decisions and actions, guided by three core principles. ” Core Principle 1 : Act Act and create in an ethical manner and consider the consequences of our decisions on people and the planet. Core Principle 2 : Champion Champion the happiness and well-being of kids and families in our endeavors. Core Principle 3 : Inspire Inspire kids and families to make a lasting, positive change in the world. The Walt Disney Company emphasizes on healthy family lifestyles and relationships.
The firm’s main focus is to provide entertainment mainly for kids and families around the world. The 3 core principles provide a guideline for the firm’s daily decision-making and actions. Competitors 1 Fox Entertainment Group, Inc. 2 Liberty Media Corporation 3 Viacom Inc. 4 Time Warner Inc. 5 CBS Corporation 6 Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. 7 News Corporation 8 Oriental Land Co. , Ltd. 9 Carnival Corporation & plc 10 Marriott International, Inc. 11 Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. 12 Brunswick Corporation Time Warner Inc. Mission Statement Creativity We thrive on innovation and originality encouraging risk-taking and divergent voices. Customer Focus
We value our customers putting their needs and interests at the center of everything we do. Agility We move quickly embracing change and seizing new opportunities. Teamwork We treat one another with respect–creating value by working together within and across our businesses. Integrity We rigorously uphold editorial independence and artistic expression earning the trust of our readers, viewers, listeners, members and subscribers. Diversity We attract and develop the world’s best talent seeking to include the broadest range of people and perspectives. Responsibility We work to improve our communities taking pride in serving the public interest as well as the interests of our shareholders. “
It is certainly interesting to compare the mission statements of the two companies. The Walt Disney Company’s mission statement is focused on displaying the general idea of the direction of the company whereas the mission statement of Time Warner Inc. displays their beliefs and values in each and every aspect respectively. The main principle that both companies have in common is the huge need of creativity within the company culture. As a corporation involved in the media and entertainment industry, they are desperately in need of creative and innovative workers to continue to innovate and fulfill the company’s mission statements. Products and Markets
The Walt Disney company consists of four main umbrella categories; The Walt Disney Studios which consists of movies, cartoons, and television production, Resorts and Parks which covers Disney’s vast amusement parks, hotels, cruise ships and vacation areas, Disney Consumer Products which consists of their product marketing groups and any other portions which are involved with the production of items for sale to the public, and finally Media Networks which covers Disney’s vast TV, publishing, internet and Cable networks which includes ABC, Disney Channel and ESPN. Theme Parks Industry Overview The U. S. theme park industry is large and growing with 489 businesses with 2011 revenue, profit, and growth rate of $11. 0 billion, 596. 1 million, and 2. 1% respectively. The industry is dominated by a handful of major players including: The Walt Disney Company (51. 0% market share), Blackstone Group LP (11. 8%), Six Flags Inc. (9. 4%), Cedar Fair LP (9. 0%) and Comcast Corporation (8.
6%) which owns and operates Universal theme parks. Parks and Resorts: They are the most popular in the world, including the Walt Disney World resort in Florida (#1 park in US, 15. 4 million visitors per year), the Disneyland Park and two hotels in California, and the Disney Cruise line operated out of Port Canaveral, Florida. The segment also generates royalties and/or management fees on revenues from Tokyo Disneyland (16. 5 million people per year) and Disneyland Paris. some illustrations to understand the sector and Disney’s numbers and position http://web. mit. edu/wysockip/www/535/MIT2001/Disney. pdf Target Market and Segmentation General Approach
Disney’s main target market is boys between four and twelve,is broadly diverse,It includes: 1. Children from four to eight that are still children. 2. Children from 8 to twelve that are on the peak of their teenage years. We consider this as the main market because they have great influence over their parent’s decisions and have historically been very excited about everything related to Disney. These children like to involve the Brand in their daily life such as the character consumer or Disney’s clothes,and even watching the Series and Movies. Disney’s secondary target market includes men and women between thirty-five and fifty-five years-old.
it is secondary because they supposedly have already had an emotional relationship with Disney and excited to transfer it to their children. Disney must concentrate and appeal this segment because they are the decision-makers. Theme parks Approach Theme parks satisfied over the years a need created by walt disney himself , he had the vision of creating a land of fun entertainment where kids and family can interact and enjoy with the magical characters created by Disney which make the brand significantly differentiated from any other competitor. thus for roughly a 50 years now, people had visited Disney parks and resort as a flag destination for fun, entertainment and vacation.
The firm has a sharp segmentation strategy which was build in attracting and draining families by making it an enjoyable experience for the parents as well. During the years, as Disney became more successful brand and admired by other than families, the target audience has larged and the strategy reshaped in a more generic way by targeting every individual who is looking for a valuable vacation. Disney tried under the table to hit the gay and lesbian community by adapting a secretive strategy which led eventually to many critics s for the methodology they operated the campaign and the secretion involved around it . Branding General Approach Disney Brand concept started in 1923 by Walt Disney as animator and his brother Roy Disney and Margaret Wrinkler as financial back-up.
He was only 22 years old with big dreams of taking the entertainment world where it had never been before. In 1923-1927, the “Alice Comidies” tickled fans with the stories of a girls adventure with animated characters. When this concept grew old, he quickly came up with a new character to amaze his audience: Oswald the Rabbit. Sadly, this character was short lived as Walt’s partner Margaret Wrinkler and her husband stole the rights to this animation because of their financial backing. From his hardship came the first sketch of his most successful character. Walt and his brother Roy went into business together as The Walt Disney Company (Hitt, 2009).
According to Young & Rubicam’s measurements of key brand dimensions (differentiation, relevance, esteem and knowledge), Disney is a super brand. What’s a super brand? It’s a brand that scores over 80% on each dimension. In Disney’s case, they actually scored over 90% on each dimension. Their Brand exceeded expectations of magical family entertainment to each extension. At the same time, Disney’s extensions have been very effective in creating a strategy where all the elements accumulate to create a cohesive brand. For example, Disneyland Park has had more brand impact than nearly any brand building initiative in business history. They brought up the theme park industry to a whole new level by emphasizing the experience style to their customers ‘visits.
Disneyland lets the audience Experience and has a human connection with their Characters like Mickey Mouse, Snow White and Fantasia in person. the Disney brand in Disney’s theme park industry is about these experiences. Brand Promises(Disney,ABC,ESPN) Walt Disney World Company positions itself as the global leader in family entertainment (The Walt Disney World Company 2011), and the company is guided by a simple mantra – Fun, Family, and Entertainment (Bedbury 2002). From its cartoons to theme parks all Disney‘s efforts are driven to create family fun, and family content in all of its different products. This comprises about 70% of Disney‘s total revenue (Macquarie 2011).
Disney theme parks are meant to be the place “Where Dreams Come True” (The Walt Disney World Company 2011) and where families gather to have fun, and these are the two main elements that differs Disney‘s parks from its competitors: “Where Dreams Come True” – Disney owns a great resource of family-oriented characters and franchises that can be monetized across film, TV, consumer products, and theme parks (Global Data 2011). ABC:The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Specializing in offbeat programming calculated to set it apart from the other networks. it promises to provide the latest information and analysis of major events to bring viewers a big picture understanding of the world. A premier news and information alliance between ABC News and Yahoo! News blends the network’s global news gathering operation and unrivaled lineup of trusted anchors and reporters with the digital media company’s vast distribution and cutting-edge technology to reach more than 100 million people in the U. S.
each month on PCs, mobile devices and tablets. (Media Networks | The Walt Disney Company) Media Networks | The Walt Disney Company. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://thewaltdisneycompany. com/disney-companies/media-networks ESPN: is an American global cable television network promises to focus on sports-related programming including live and recorded event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming. multimedia sports entertainment company featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets with over 50 business entities. With a passionate fan base and the powerful nature of live and unscripted action, ESPN continues to grow.
The company and its platforms – starting with flagship program SportsCenter which defines the TV sports news genre – have grown to be synonymous with sports. Offerings include an unmatched lineup of live professional, college and amateur team and individual sports; sport-specific and enterprise journalism studio shows and critically acclaimed and award-winning documentaries. An increasing focus on digital platforms – ESPN3, the WatchESPN app, ESPN Mobile, podcasts and more – while growing its core television business, helps fulfill the company’s mission to serve sports fans around the world anytime and anywhere. (Media Networks | The Walt Disney Company) Theme Parks Approach Family – Disney‘s theme parks are made to suit families
with children of all ages. As mentioned by the company‘s CEO, Disney‘s objective is to create ? Family fun appropriate for kids of any age with a high level of reliability and safety in its products and services? (Iger 2011). For instance, at Magic Kingdom the most radical attraction is Space Mountain where the required height is 44 inches and children under 7 years can ride if accompanied by a person age 14 years or older (The Walt Disney World Company 2011). Quoting from Anderson in the Strategic Brand Management Blog extensively discussing Disney’s Brand” Disneyland Park has had more brand impact than nearly any brand building initiative in business history.
It’s easy to see where he’s coming from given that Disneyland took magical family entertainment to a whole new level. Disneyland lets the audience interact and experience Mickey Mouse, Snow White and Fantasia in person. These experiences at Disneyland are the Disney brand. ”(Anderson,2007) Walt Disney World offers the opportunity to experience the world of Disney and get closer to all its popular characters. This point of differentiation gets stronger with the popularity and releases of new cartoons and products related with Disney‘s characters. Pricing In the theme park industry, Disney use the non price strategy where the consumers are less sensitive to the price comparing to other benefits they can not get anywhere else.
Disney is aware of the unique experience it offers in its parks and resorts which is highly differentiated from every other competitor, beside promoting for disney’s park in a integrated strategic plan that tend to match all disney’s products , characters and production to the happiest places on earth, make consumers emotionally involved in visiting the Mecca of fun and happiness with little consideration to the monetary exchange the will pay. As prices have risen over 70% over the last decade,Disney has been for a long time on the top of the list of the priciest theme park in the USA especially the Orlando world Disney although it got some distribution from Universal Studios, but generally it has always been topping the list. Like any other brand, Disney has its share of problems and opportunities. One of the largest issues that Disney faces is its high prices.
Though many parents want to provide an enjoyable experience for their children, many people refrain from doing so as often as they would like due to financial issues clashing with Disney’s high prices (Hoovers, 2010). This in terms poses a negative influence for Disney because they lose out on possible profits. Another problem that Disney has is the fact that most of their advertising is targeted towards their primary market which includes 4-12-year-olds. This seems like not a bad idea, however; it is essential to remember that the parents of these children contain the purchasing power, therefore, more advertising to them is necessary to show them what they can benefit by taking their children there (Hoovers, 2010). Promotion Theme Park Approach
Analyzing Los Angeles Times article”Disney Theme Parks Chief Trying to Put a Little Magic in Marketing” discussing Theme parks promotion strategies by Jay Rasulo the Former Euro-Disney CEO and Current Theme Park Department President ,we can have an insight of their major promotion strategy “Rasulo has set about overhauling his division’s marketing strategy by encouraging more cross promotions among its theme parks worldwide and by better tracking of vacationers’ preferences. He also is looking to feature more live productions in the theme parks, such as the new Broadway-style “Aladdin” show at Disney’s California Adventure. Another Rasulo idea: to create global promotion around common Disney characters.
“Every one of our parks has a princess,” he said. “Why not blow that into a global theme park initiative for a year? ” Like rival Universal Studios, a unit of Vivendi Universal, Disney has been offering heavy discounts on admissions to locals, recently introducing its first two-parks-for-one promotion through May at Disneyland and California Adventure. Following a practice common in the lodging industry for years, Rasulo wants to expand Disney’s use of database marketing. Walt Disney World has developed a database called “Destination Disney” that tracks demographics and the vacation choices of its customers. (Verrier, 2003) Web Strategy
The Walt Disney World‘s website efforts focus on reinforcing the family fun positioning by showing that Disney World provides magical moments to families. The latest ad campaign “Let the memories begin” helps recapture the good memories that families have of going to Disney World. The campaign is entirely supported by user-generated content, and therefore, the social media platform is the center of the campaign. Participants can have their own page to save all family memories and their photos can be shared via Facebook( will be discussed intensively) and Twitter. The memories of participants can be organized into categories such as ? good eats with the family memories? and ? princess-perfect moments?.
The user-generated content was extended to TV ads (using footage from real families) and to Magic Kingdom where guest‘s memories are being projected against Cinderella‘s Castle. To reinforce its positioning of family fun, Walt Disney World created the Disney Moms Panel : it‘s an online forum with 45 selected moms answering questions and giving advice about family vacations to Walt Disney World resorts and theme parks. While the ad campaign, movies and products create the desire of going to Disney World, the website‘s main objective is to show how this magical experience can be accessible to all families. The website is extremely sales driven since it‘s where the planning and purchase of tickets and hotels are made.
Besides the possibility of pricing and making reservations, the website provides several tools to the pre-purchase stage (Lovelock and Wirtz 2011) such as Fit Your Family & Budget, Explore Our Special Offers and Vacation Package Guide. The direct marketing actions are also focused on the planning stage. Two examples that stand out: 1) Free customized maps: to help planning the trip and make the most of Disney theme parks, users can highlight their favorite attractions and have maps delivered for free to their homes. One interesting feature that reinforces the family value is that users can segment the attractions by age. 2) FREE Vacation Planning DVD: tour of the 4 Theme Parks, affordable ways to play and stay during a Disney vacation, pocket-sized planning guides, planning tips and information on special events. Hoovers. “NBCUniversal Media, LLC Profile. ” Nov 22, 2011.
Focusing on their leading Facebook page which has 43 million likers which position the page as one of the top 10 company pages and also gave Disney a powerful channel to expand its brand and better communicate with the fans. it is also playing a huge role: 1. promoting new productions by posting new trailers and announcements For example: 2. strengthening the emotional attachment that Disney has created and developed throughout the years. for example,periodic posts reminding the audience of old Disney character either by pictures or old videos. examples: 3. exposing good deeds to the audience: such revealing some facts about the high hiring rate indicated to veterans which return company the community’s appraisal and admiration example:
If it was any other company than Disney, I would add career opportunity announcements, but as the page is kind of pure magic interaction with Disney kingdom, I admire it the way it is. Ethics and Social Responsibility The Walt Disney Company had always pay close attention to ways establishing their social image in the minds of the public. They have created entertainment experiences for everyone. Disney usually encourages kids to look at the world in an optimistic way through the positive images portrayed in their animation films. They always incorporate moral values into their film in order to educate children to be responsible as they grow up.
Through our investigation, the CEO of the Disney Company said, “For the better part of a century, The Walt Disney Company has entertained and delighted families around the world with extraordinary experiences that expand the limits of imagination and set a new standard of excellence for family entertainment. ” And as we see, during 2013, the Disney Company continues to build on that legacy with its active and ongoing commitment to always act in a responsible manner. Below are the actions of The Walt Disney Company in the past. During 2013, they implement a philanthropic strategy within three areas: Compassion, Conversation, and Creativity. Disney used company-wide resources to make a lasting, and brings the positive change around the world. During 2012, they launched a pilot
creativity project to help to contract the critical thinking skills gap. Disney focused on how to develop childrens’ creativity and imagination. These are some goals that Disney has formulated for future, Prioritize and promote nutritious foods. Recognize kids who make positive contributions to their environment or communities. Integrate feedback from parents and caregivers into the development of our entertainment experiences, Provide parents and caregivers with the tools to help them make informed entertainment choices. Develop marketing for kids that focuses on the positive attributes of our entertainment experiences in a respectful and appropriate manner. Promote safety for kids.
Create age-appropriate entertainment experiences for kids. Reflect a diversity of cultures and backgrounds in our entertainment experiences for kids and families. Promote leading policies on product and guest experience safety. As we can see, Disney always tries to give back to the society. They strive to be socially responsible, hoping that in return they obtain the support of the public. They gave many children hope of achieving their dream, by portraying images of dreams coming true. They taught us how to live happily everyday, pursuing our dreams even if it is impossible. Human Resource Disney is a global company with 36,000 full-time employees in 42 countries.
With globalization, many issues about poor working conditions in foreign countries have emerged. To solve these issues and ensure the rights of employees, Disney has a complete set of labor system, which has more than 40 labor unions to solve labor issues. However, there are still some issues which are not easy to solve, such as issues related with outsourcing. Since the factories producing Disney-branded products are not owned by Disney, these issues are beyond Disney’s control. To solve these issues, Disney has created International Labor Standards (ILS) program. The main goal of ILS program is to ensure foster safe, inclusive and respectful workplaces wherever Disney-branded products are manufactured.
It will help Disney expand its international market by helping Disney evaluate and address working conditions at the factories which they are outsourcing from. Besides these reasons, Disney is still a good place to work which has nice employee relationships and great benefits. Disney is committed to provide respectful workplaces, equal opportunities and nice benefits to its employees. The company’s value of Disney focuses on the human elements. Disney plans to provide cooperative and respectful workplaces in all their locations, across the globe. All employees of Disney are offered a competitive total rewards package that includes, but not limited to, pay, health and retirement benefits, wellness resources, learning opportunities and many perks and special extras that only Disney can provide.
The Walt Disney Company offers an array of tools for learning and development, including more than 10,000 online reference materials and resources, instructor-led classes, performance support systems, and education reimbursement for job-related degree programs. Our world-class training programs are customizable to each employee and their goals. They include professional development, management and leadership development, computer skills, business immersion programs, and individual career development. As a global firm, Disney has a high requirement of diversity. Disney welcomes a variety of opinions, ideas and perspectives to ensure we continue to top our own performance and represent our global marketplace.
As mentioned before, Disney has companies in more than 42 countries, which means Disney has many international employees. Globalization Since 1928 “steamboat Willie” Walt Disney Company has experienced 90 years of development. However the core of the Disney brand has always been the same. Through 90 years development, Disney has already entered in the global market. Their products are popular worldwide, including entertainment program production, theme parks, toys, books, electronic games and media networks. Disneyland, one of the most important principal activities of Disney, has nearly hundred million of visitors every year and brings Disney big benefits.
There are Disneyland in LA, Orlando, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Paris, and also a new one in Shanghai is in plan. Moreover, the Disney cartoons and movies are popular all over the world as well. Children of the world wide know the Snow White and Mickey Mouse, and also like them. The cartoon related products of Disney are popular too. During the globalization, companies will meet many barriers such as social and cultural differences, values and religious attitudes, economic differences, language, political and legal differences, types of trade restrictions. As a culture industry company, cultural differences should be the one Disney need to pay attention to most.
What cultural barriers has Disney faced during the globalization? At first, Euro Disney was designed to be the biggest theme park that the Walt Disney Company had built to date. However, the plan met many unexpected problems. From the inception of the park, some French citizens raised serious concerns and protests over what many believed to be an American intrusion on French culture. On 12 April 1992, Euro Disneyland opened to a crowd only half the expected size. After that, the situation didn’t turn better. At Euro Disney, families were reluctant to spend $ 280 a day on the park. Staying overnight was out of the question for many, because Euro Disney’s hotel rooms were so high priced.
Mistaken assumptions by the Disney management team also affected marketing policies, construction design and park management, and caused many operational problems. Moreover, some detailed cultural difference also caused big problems. Disney executives optimistically expected that French parents would take their kids to the park in the middle of their school session for a short break. It did not happen unless a public holiday was declared. Similarly, Disney expected that the American style short but more frequent family trips would replace the European tradition of a one month family vacation, usually taken in August, but this did not happen either. Ignoring the cultural differences between America and France caused the failure of Euro Disneyland.
Although attendance levels have increased in the 21st century, the park is still usually uncrowed. To some extent, the resort is still an unwelcome guest in France. Ignoring the cultural differences between America and France caused the failure of Euro Disneyland. Now, Disney is trying to expand its international business. China has a huge population, which means the big potential market and profit. As the world’s second-biggest film market after America, there is no doubt that China is a big opportunity for foreign studios. Disney has planned to build a new theme park in Shanghai and add more Chinese elements in its movies to increase its brand influence in China. However, China also is a big challenge for Disney.
As a country has nearly five hundred years’ history, China has its own culture and has resistance to foreign cultural invasion in some way. For this reason, Disney is facing many barriers when it entering Chinese market. Disney does a good job on solving these problems. It’s hard for Disney to create a movie as a key to enter Chinese market. To enter in Chinese market, Disney created <Mulan> 10 years ago. It worked in some way, but not as helpful as Disney’s management expected. Disney also has tried to seek Chinese partners in film field. Walt Disney recently announced its first partnership with DMG Entertainment in Beijing to produce Iron Man 3, starring Robert Downey junior.
This cooperation might be a good beginning of Disney’s globalization in Chinese firm market. However, Disney needs to speed up the steps of entering the Chinese market because its biggest opponent DreamWorks SKG has planned to make Kung Fu Panda 3, after the big success of the first two. 3 There is another important cooperation of Disney. It’s the plan of Shanghai Disney theme park which would be the second Disneyland in China with the other one being the Hong Kong Disneyland. The resort is scheduled to open in December 2015, featuring a Magic Kingdom-style park, Shanghai Disneyland Park, an entertainment district, two themed hotels, recreational facilities, a lake and associated parking and transportation hubs.
The site will cover 963 acres in Pudong, Shanghai, or approximately 3 times the size of the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, at a cost of 24. 5 billion yuan (US$3. 7 billion) for the new theme park and an additional 4. 5 billion yuan (US$0. 7 billion) to build other aspects of the resort. 43% of the resort will be owned by The Walt Disney Company and the remaining 57% will be owned by the Shanghai Shendi Group. It is a smart choice for Disney to find a local partner. Disney can learn more about the local culture and polity, at the same time, Disney can also share the risk with its partner. 2 Moreover, Hong Kong Disneyland had its first profit in the seven years after it opened attractions such as Toy Story and Grizzly Gulch helped draw mainland Chinese visitors to the theme park.
It’s a smart choice for Hong Kong Disneyland to add some new attractions to woo visitors from Ocean Park and to benefit from an increase in tourists from mainland China. 1 During the decades’ globalization, Disney’s global strategy changes a lot and become more efficient and complete. Disney is ready to face the barriers in the globalization. The future performance of Disney is something to look forward to. Operations and Productions Productions The Walt Disney Company has a much diversified product line in the media and entertainment industry. The company is well known to the general public for its film production and theme parks. Film Production The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California, United States is the international headquarters for The Walt Disney Company.
The company owns a huge amount of studios in different aspects of the entertainment industry which includes Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Marvel Studios, Touchstone Pictures, Disney Nature, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Disney Music Group and Disney Theatrical Group. The recent success in the film production of The Walt Disney Company is mainly a result of the hype in action-packed and animation movies. Marvel Studios, a division of Marvel Entertainment, produces movies based on the world’s most prominent and iconic comic book empire. With a library of over 8,000 characters, Marvel Studios creates blockbuster film franchises which to date include Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, The First Avenger, and Marvel’s The Avengers. Marvel Entertainment which is highly involved in the Live-Action Film Production industry was founded in 1996 and based in Manhattan Beach, CA.
The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment in a deal worth $4 billion dollars in the year 2009 as an effort of company expansion. Another studio that has been relatively successful throughout the years is the Pixar Animation Studios. Pixar Animation Studios, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is an Academy Award-winning film studio with world-renowned technical, creative, and production capabilities in the art of computer animation. Creator of some of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time, including the Toy Story and Cars films, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E and Up. The Northern California studio has won 29 Academy Awards and seven Golden Globes, and its 12 feature films have grossed more than $7.
2 billion at the worldwide box office. Pixar was founded by the late innovation legend Steve Jobs in the year 1986 and based in Emeryville, CA. The Walt Disney Company acquired Pixar in a deal worth $7. 4 billion dollars in the year 2006 while Steve Jobs became a board member in Disney. Theme Parks The Walt Disney Theme Park itself has a huge variety of product lines for customers to choose from according to their own liking. The various products included in Disney Parks are Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, Disney Vacation Club, Aulani Hawaii, Adventures by Disney, Disney Paris, Shanghai Disney Resort, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Tokyo Disney Resort.
While there are already so many options out there for customers to pick from, the company is still looking out for more opportunities to expand their market share to other regions of the world. While the Shanghai Disney Resort is only scheduled to open in December 2015, it would be the second Disneyland in China coming after the first one, the Hong Kong Disneyland. It is a result of a partnership between The Walt Disney Company with the Shanghai Shendi Group, with 43% being owned by the former and the remaining 57% owned by the latter. Many people have been speculating huge success in this expansion due to the huge population in China. The uprising economy of China has also played a huge role in this expansionary decision.
. The site will cover 963 acres in Pudong, Shanghai and will be approximately 3 times the size of the Hong Kong Disneyland. It will cost US$3. 7 billion for the new theme park and an additional US$0. 7 billion to build other aspects of the resort. Technology/Research and Development The Walt Disney Imagineering has been the design and development arm of The Walt Disney Company. Earlier known as WED Enterprises, it is responsible for the creation and construction of Disney theme parks worldwide. It was founded in the year 1952 by Walt Disney to oversee the production of Disneyland Park. Imagineering is responsible for designing and building Disney theme parks, resorts, cruise ships, and other entertainment venues at all levels of project development.
Imagineers possess a broad range of skills and talents, and thus over 140 different job titles fall under the banner of Imagineering, including illustrators, architects, engineers, lighting designers, show writers, graphic designers, and many more. Most Imagineers work from the company’s headquarters in Glendale, California, but are often deployed to satellite branches within the theme parks for long periods of time. With the acquisition of Pixar Animation Studios, The Walt Disney Company became the leader in the animation industry. The company has produced award-winning films with the technological advantage brought upon through the acquisition of Pixar. The company applies an acquisition strategy in obtaining other company’s technology. They do not hesitate to spend big bucks on investments in order to obtain something huge in return.
Robert Iger, the CEO of The Walt Disney Company has played a huge role in the successful acquisition of these companies. Financial Performance and Financial Management Revenue Growth With a revenue of 42. 2 billion and a Net total income of 5. 6 billion, The Walt Disney Company (Disney) is a financial giant that never seems to stop growing. Disney has increased its revenue by 12% since 2008, and has constantly generated profits. In past five years, barring the 2009-10 fiscal year, every year has been better than the last. Fiscal year| 2008| 2009| 2010| 2011| 2012| Sales/Revenue*| 37. 84| 36. 15| 38.
06| 40. 89| 42. 28| Sales Growth| -| -4. 48%| 5. 29%| 7. 44%| 3. 39%| *All Values in USD Billions Source Morningstar What has enabled Disney to maintain such an astonishing rate of success is the diverse range of their involvement and and its ability predict the new trends in the entertainment industry at home and globally. The market power exerted by Disney due to its sheer vastness and presence almost assures profits for any venture they make. Incomes Net Income for 2012: 5,682 (Million $) Net Income for 2011: 4,807 (Million $) Net Income for 2010: 3,963 (Million $) Net Income for 2009: 3,307 (Million $) Net Income for 2008: 4,427 (Million $)
Income Growth from 2008 to 2009:- 25. 29% (Dropped)| Income Growth from 2009 to 2010:19. 83%| Income Growth from 2010 to 2011 :21. 30%| Income Growth from 2011 to 2012:18. 20%| Source : Morningstar As observed from the information above, net incomes in the company have changed its trend during the last 3 years. First decreasing, and then, increasing again, eventually surpassing the ones from 2008 (as in revenues) in 2012. The change from 2008 to 2009 was a drop in income of 1,120 (million $) or a change decrease of 25. 29 %. For 2009 to 2010 the change was an increase of 656 (million $) or 19. 83% increase in net income. In 2010 to 2011 revenues increased by 7.
44% and the net income by hefty 21. 30%. The numbers continue to move upwards for the fiscal year of 2011 to 2012 with a 3. 39% increase in revenues and a 18. 20% rise in net income Disney isn’t just growing, it’s growing faster in recent years thanks to smart moves by management to acquire and cultivate good brands such as Marvel and Lucas Films. Stock: The constant growth in revenues has reflected in the stock price which has grown from a $ 30. 68 to a remarkable 62. 00 in a span of less than four fiscal years. Fiscal Year (1st October to 30th September)| Stock Price in USD (52 Week Range)| 2008-2009| 30. 68 – 27. 46| 2009-2010| 27. 36 – 33. 10|
2011-2012| 29. 00 – 52. 28| 2012-04/24/2013| 52. 07 – 62. 00| Source Morningstar We can observe that the stock depreciated in the fiscal year of 2008-09 by 10% but recovered considerably in the next year. In the year of 2011 to 2012 Disney stock skyrocketed to a $52. 28 price which was a 80% increase from initial price in the same year. Its has continued to grow steadily to reach $62. 00 on 24 th April at market close. This extraordinary performance of Disney stock is because of the rapid expansion and acquisition policy adopted by the management. The anticipation of revenues from Disney Land in Shanghai has led to constant rise in stock price.
Disney acquired Marvel and has built a cinematic universe based on the already uber popular comics universe. The popularity of Marvel superheroes has ensured guaranteed huge returns at the box-office. In 2010, Disney took over George Lucas’s Lucas Films which owns the cult classic series of ‘Star Wars’. Any Star Wars movie, no matter the quality is bound to generate huge revenues as the fans want to see more of the legendary saga. Disney’s calculated effort to make sure shot ventures is the reason for the significant rise in the Disney’s stock price. Competition The Walt Disney Company is in a very profitable and extremely competitive market of entertainment.
The prominent competitors of Disney are : 1. Time Warner Inc. (TWX) 2. NBC (Privately held :PVT1 ) 3. News Corporation (NWS) 4. Rest of the Industry Source Yahoo Finance The closest competitor of Disney is News Corporation which is still far behind Disney’s massive presence in the entertainment industry. Time Warner owns rights to Detective Comics (DC), the closest rival to Marvel Universe. Looking at the wonders Marvel movies have done for Disney, Time Warner stands a good chance to come close to take a huge bite off Disney’s market when it comes out with DC universe movies. Ownership Disney is owned by several mutual funds and Institutions.
Robert Iger is the majority individual shareholder of Disney amongst others. Steve Jobs owned trust is the top institution that own majority of Disney. Name| Ownership TrendPrevious 8 Qtrs| Shares| Change| % TotalShares Held| % TotalAssets| Date| Steven P. Jobs Trust| Premium| 130,844,544| -6,449,959| 7. 27| 0| 01/07/2013| Vanguard Group, Inc. | Premium| 78,979,851| 2,428,922| 4. 37| 0. 49| 03/31/2013| State Street Corp| Premium| 73,411,302| -2,681,679| 4. 08| 0. 54| 12/31/2012| Fidelity Management and Research Company| Premium| 67,709,619| -5,537,132| 3. 76| 0. 68| 12/31/2012| MFS Investment Management K. K. | Premium| 55,264,962| 2,082,238| 3. 07| 2. 18| 12/31/2012| Source: Morningstar
Major Full Mergers/Acquisitions during the last five years Disney primary mergers and acquisitions in the last 5 years are: * Lucasfilms On December, 2012 Lucasfilms was acquired by Disney for $4. 05 billion. This gave Disney the rights for the famed ‘Star Wars’ franchise. This will allow Disney theme parks now to have Star Wars inspired rides. A new ‘Star Wars’ has been announced for a 2015 release. * Tapulous On July, 2010 the company was acquired by Disney Company. Tapulous is an American Software and video game developer; its most profitable products are Tap Tap series of music games. * Playdom On August 27, 2010, Disney Company acquired Playdom, Inc.
(Playdom), which develops online social games. This acquisition is meant to strengthen the Company’s digital gaming portfolio and provide access to a new customer base. For now, it is said that Playdom shareholders will receive total consideration of approximately $563 million, but it might change according to other market shares and investments. * The Disney Store Japan On March 31, 2010, the Company acquired all the shares of Retail Networks Company Limited, called the The Disney Store Japan, for $17 million. At that time, the cash balance was of $13 million. * Marvel On December 31, 2009, Disney completed the acquisition for the outstanding company Marvel Entertainment, Inc.
(Marvel), a character-based entertainment company, for at total $4. 2 billion. The main purpose of this acquisition is to meet with the Company’s strategic value of creation through the use of human intellectual properties throughout the World media industry. * AETN / Lifetime On September 15, 2009, the Company and the Hearst Corporation both contributed their 50% interests in Lifetime Entertainment Services LLC (Lifetime) to A&E Television Networks, LLC in exchange for an increased interest in AETN. * Jetix Europe In December 2008, the Company acquired an additional 26% interest in Jetix Europe N. V. , a publicly traded pan-European kids’ entertainment company, for approximately $354 million. * UTV
On May 9, 2008, the Company acquired a 24% interest in UTV Software Communications Limited (UTV), a media company headquartered and publicly traded in India, for approximately $197 million. * Disney Online Studios Canada On August 1, 2007 the company became a subsidiary of Walt Disney Company; it was formerly name as the New Horizon Interactive and later the Club Penguin Entertainment. The company is a specialized graphics software company, which specialization is producing and maintaining MMOGs. Dividend Policy Disney’s follows a annual dividend policy, which has been criticized quite a few times by market analysts. Although there has been a considerable rise in Disney’s annual dividends which have risen from 35 cents to a generous 75 cents.
This huge peak in cash dividends is coherent with company’s overall increasing profit and revenue. Previous four Cash Dividends by Disney 12/06/09 $0. 3500 12/09/10 $0. 4000 12/14/11 $0. 6000 12/06/12 $0. 7500 Source : Morningstar A substantial and constant increase in cash dividends by Disney projects a good message to its shareholders and encourages new investor to buy Disney stock. Capital Structure The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries, is a diversified worldwide entertainment company with operations in five business segments: Media Networks, Parks and Resorts, Studio Entertainment, Consumer Products and Interactive Media.
The Media Networks segment is comprised of a domestic broadcast television network, television production and distribution operations, domestic television stations, international and domestic cable networks, domestic broadcast radio networks and stations, and publishing and digital operations. The businesses in the Parks and Resorts segment generate revenues predominantly from the sale of admissions to the theme parks, room nights at the hotels ,merchandise, food and beverage sales, sales and rentals of vacation club properties; and cruise vacation packages. The Studio Entertainment segment produces and acquires live-action and animated motion pictures, direct-to-video content, musical recordings and live stage plays. The Company distributes produced and acquired films (including its film and television library) in the theatrical, home entertainment and television markets.
The Consumer Products segment engages with licensees, manufacturers, publishers and retailers throughout the world to design, develop, publish, promote and sell a wide variety of products based on existing and new Disney characters and other Company intellectual property through its Merchandise Licensing, Publishing and Retail businesses. The Disney Interactive Media Group creates and delivers Disney-branded entertainment and lifestyle content across interactive media platforms. The primary operating businesses of the Disney Interactive Media Group are Disney Interactive Studios which produces video games for global distribution and Disney Online which produces web sites and online virtual worlds in the United States and internationally. Hypothetical Request for Venture Capital Product Introduction Our team has come up with a product called ‘Multipurpose Infrared Channel Klicker’ (MICK) that will revolutionize the customer experience at the Disney Theme Parks.
This product assigns each customer an unique infrared signature through a wristband. The MICK is mounted on a Disney themed wristband or a watch and is as small as a button. MICK emits an infrared rays at unique frequencies for every customer. Although it emits unique infrared rays, the family members are assigned a close frequency. For example: A family of three will be assigned a an infrared wavelength in the range of plus or minus 3. This will enable the MICK to be able to be tracked by family as there is a unique range for a every family. This will also allow the family to track each other as their personal MICKs can respond to the family frequencies.
Product Benefits MICK, is a tracking device, which can also used as a short length communication device. It can be used to gain access to different rides at the Disneyland and also can be used as a ticket to gain entry at the entrance. MICK can communicate with a smartphone to use its GPS and pinpoint the location of other MICK enabled wristband. The small size of MICK makes it portable enough to be stylized as a wristband or a Disney themed wrist watch. MICK can be enabled to emit two infrared frequencies, this can be used to make MICK a way of payment at the park and thereby eliminating the use of cash at the park. Product Ergonomics MICK itself is a 0.
5 inch cylindrical shell of Infrared emitter which is inserted in a custom made wrist watch to use its battery as a power source for MICK. This wrist watch can be of upto 1 inch in radius depending on which Disney character its is styled after. The watch is digital with a B/W display. The watch has two buttons, one on left called ‘L’ and other on right called ‘R’. Functions of ‘L’ 1. If pressed and held for 2 seconds: it activates MICK when off and deactivates MICK when on. 2. If pressed and held for 4 seconds: it starts to look and add members in close frequency Functions of ‘R’ 1. If pressed and held for 2 seconds it will start tracking the desired member of the group, when found the watch beeps. 2.
If pressed and held for 4 seconds it will connect to a bluetooth enabled phone and more options can be accessed from the accompanying software. Product Synergy MICK brings families closer and makes sure they never lose each other at the Disney Land. It will also serves as a device that simplifies operations for Disney eliminate of any paper ticketing. MICK will also solve the age old problem of need to look after and carry cash at the Disney Land. By enabling consumers to use the virtual Disney currency which can be loaded on the MICK and used to buy anything that is sold inside the Disney Land. MICK is everything that Disney strives for, its practical application.
allows Disney Land to be hassle free by the elimination of physical money, and allow consumer to be more involved in the fun and escape to the fantasy created by the Disney Land. Conclusion and Recommendations After collecting all our data and making a careful and depth analysis from an outside perspective to the company, we can say that The Walt Disney Company is a global leader in the industry of entertainment; it is a company that is continuously growing. The company always demonstrates its highly centralized and organized managerial decisions. The studio production department is crucial for the company to act as a leader for its products and other
advertisings services; at the end all its businesses are codependent into this starting point; the company’s developments that come from its studio production department, where all characters are born and ideas are developed. The Walt Disney Company has a rich selection to produce its own products and attractions, making the company a highly competitive industry to expand into new markets and products lines. Their domestic and international market share demonstrates its great expansion and its location between the top players in its industry. Between the Positive remarks on investment are: – The Walt Disney Company is a diversified media company surpassing its competitors in most of its operations. It captures most of the entertainment spectrum around its industry.
– Reviewing the overall balance sheet, I can say that it is generally strong, having a solid cash balance. – Successful new franchises have been developed with the acquisition of Marvel; which bring along new characters and ideas. – Acquisition of Lucasfilms has opened up new avenues for the Company, with Star Wars fan following its almost a guaranteed blockbuster . – Even though, fluctuations in net revenues and incomes, these are very small. So that not great changes were present during the last three years. – Disney Company is also characterized for having a strong management team, which have had the ability to develop entertainment franchises for the domestic and international distribution.
– The company is being undertaken different approaches into growth initiatives; as its increasing presence on the Internet, and its international expansion of cable networks and theme parks. – The Company also features ESPN network, which have the dominant position in sports. And will continue to be for the prospect years; it is a key revenue driver in the Disney’ cable segment and for the Company in general. Besides these positive remarks on investment, there are also the negative arguments for the company; generally expressed as the company main challenges, which were discussed previously in this report and that are basically focus on competition and vertical integration from other companies and providers.
Overall, the Walt Disney Company seems to be doing well in the past years, and even in economic recessions, the company market share is still high and the company is in a good spot and market dominance. In the next few years, according to our research, we see the company entering to even new markets nationally and internationally and exploring new business segments. We see the company revenues growing for this year too, and this can even influence the growth in total income . Also, we need to realize that the United States is almost recovering from the last economic recession, pushing up our economy and thus influencing Walt Disney revenues to go up.
Walt Disney Company’s goal has been and will always be “To make people happy” and “to be creative” Since 1923 to the present the company has been producing films and contents for different age people. The Company’s philosophy of making dreams come true is being fulfilled by its exciting new ventures and pursuit of limitless possibilities. It is truly an inspiration and an exciting company which truly does justice to the Walt. E. Disney saying : “If you can dream it, you can do it”! Citation and References * Behavioral Characteristics of an Organization: The Disney … (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://voices. yahoo. com/behavioral-characteristics-organization-the-2466318. * Chan, Vinicy . “Toy Story Takes Hong Kong Disneyland to First Profit. ” . Bloomberg Businessweek, 18 Feb 2013. Web. 28 Apr 2013. <http://www. bloomberg.
com/news/2013-02-18/hong-kong-disneyland-reports-first-profit-aided-by-toy-story. html>. * Sylt, Christian. “Losing the magic: How Euro Disney became a nightmare. ” . The Indenpent, 13 NOVEMBER 2010. Web. 28 Apr 2013. <http://www. independent. co. uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/losing-the-magic-how-euro-disney-became-a-nightmare-2132892. html>. * “The monkey and the mouse. ” . The Economist, 8 Apr 2012. Web. 28 Apr 2013. <http://www. economist. com/node/21553486>. * Stepto, S. (2007, June 14). Building a better mouse. Time Magazine, Retrieved from http://www. time. com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1633077,00. html * Siklos, R. (2007, June 14).
Bob iger rocks disney. Time CNNMoney, Retrieved from http://money. cnn. com/2009/01/02/news/newsmakers/siklos_eisner. fortune/index. htm * hitt, J. (2009, june 16). How Disney Uses Branding . Retrieved from http://voices. yahoo. com/how-disney-uses-branding-3469357. html? cat=35 * Goldman, David. “Disney to Buy Marvel for $4 Billion. ” CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 31 Aug. 2009. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://money. cnn. com/2009/08/31/news/companies/disney_marvel/>. * Monica, Paul R. La. “Disney Buys Pixar. ” CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 25 Jan. 2006. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://money. cnn. com/2006/01/24/news/companies/disney_pixar_deal/>.
* BloombergBusinessweek, Retrieved from http://www. businessweek. com/stories/2007-02-04/how-bob-iger-unchained-disney * “Walt Disney Co (DIS) Company Profile | Morningstar. com. ” Financial analysis, http://quotes. morningstar. com/stock/s? t=DIS&region=USA&culture=en-us * Parkes, Christopher, “Inside the Magic Kingdom,” Financial Times, June 4, 1999, p. 6. Polsson, Ken. “Chronology of the Walt Disney Company”. KPolsson. com wikipedia. * Verrier, R. (2003, January 31). Disney theme parks chief trying to put a little magic in marketing. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles. latimes. com/2003/jan/31/business/fi-disney31
