Magic of Disney Archives - Page 2 of 4 - McLellan Marketing Group

The ingredients of WOW!

June 2, 2008

When was the last time you raved about a business? Was it because their product was so notably superior? Or was it because something they did WOWed you?

Think of the companies that we hear about every day. Disney, Nordstroms, and Whole Foods comes to mind. We don’t hear about their rides, shirts or olive selection. We hear about something memorable they did or created. We hear about the atmosphere, the attitudes and the energy level.

We hear about the WOW.

Think about the last time you were WOWed. What elements were present? How did they create that moment that you couldn’t help but talk about?

Or….how do you create WOW for your clients? What do you do that absolutely delights them?

For me, one of the absolutes is surprise. it doesn’t have to be a big surprise. In fact, the more minute the detail, the better.

Once you’ve thought about it (and hopefully shared here) for a bit, check out this post by Michael Hyatt. He talks about his own experiment in trying to identify WOW. What do you think of his concoction of WOW ingredients?

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You are always on stage

December 8, 2007

I pulled into a Jiffy Lube to get my oil changed. The guys had the bay doors closes to keep out the wind.

Just as I was about to knock on the window, I heard the very annoyed manager ripping into the employee standing next to him, "I don’t give a %$#* if you need to…"

He then turned, saw me and came out with a big smile on his face. A little late for that.

He had forgotten (or never learned) a key business lesson.

You are always on stage.

If you were to get a job at Disney World, you’d go through three days of "The Disney Way" training. It doesn’t matter if you are sweeping up popcorn, running an attraction or putting on the Goofy costume. Everyone goes through the training. And one of the core lessons taught to the cast members is….you are always on stage.

If a customer can hear, see, touch, smell or taste you (okay the last two are probably not as likely) then you are on stage. You should behave as though the most important customer in the world is right there.

Because it might be true.

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Mickey and Minnie send their best!

November 29, 2007

I'm back!

It looks like you all have been having quite a few lively discussions while I've been away. To my readers — thanks for welcoming the guest bloggers with open arms and plenty of comments. I am sure they feel well read!

And for my guest bloggers — thank you, thank you. You added a lot of spice and diversity to the blog. I really loved all the different points of view, topics and opinions.

Please…everyone, join me in a round of cyber applause for the superb guest bloggers:

Greg Verdino
Gavin Heaton
Cam Beck
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Roberta Rosenberg
Connie Reece
Susan Gunelius
Tim Siedell
David Reich
Lewis Green
Doug Meacham

And for your viewing pleasure….the Magic Kingdom's castle at night.

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Cam Beck: The Magic of Childhood

November 22, 2007

At first glance, the mission of Disney seems too simplistic to be useful. They create happiness. Perhaps it is simplistic, but simplicity is often the tool geniuses use to break down seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

Although growing up is always fraught with both common and unique difficulties, for most, the word "childhood" conjures memories of carefree, sweet innocence and unconditional love. This is true even though not everyone had a great childhood.

While we were children, many times our ignorance about the ways of the world caused us to consider our minuscule problems to be all-consuming.

However, that w as before we were burdened with the curse of experience, which taught us how many responsibilities come with the freedom we craved. Foggy hindsight allows us to look at our childhoods more favorably than they were.

Who would know this better than Walt Disney himself? To say Walt's dad, Elias, grew up hard would be an understatement. And though I've not read anything to suggest that he, like his father before him, broke a fiddle on Walt's head for trying to sneak off to play at a dance, it is clear that his frequently unemployed father had little tolerance for whimsical activities typically associated with the young – and with Disney World.

How can this be?

What gives us the ability to look back at — if not our childhoods — at least the myth of our childhoods so affectionately is the capacity kids seem to have for persistent imagination. To children, make-believe isn't a state of mind; it is a way of life. The magic of childhood Walt Disney sought to harness might rightly be called the magic of symbolic and selective nostalgia.

Genius Principle #1
The first real genius in the mission is the illusion it reveals: Disney can no more create happiness than they can count the number of angels dancing on the head of a needle. They instead must rely on people's willingness to be led to happiness.

To get there, Disney relies on two self-evident truths.

Truth #1
No one can make happy those who have not granted permission first.

Truth #2
People want to be happy.

They want to occasionally shed the heavy shell, let down the guard life has taught them to keep, and feel as – not just children – but as they believe children should feel. They give themselves permission to make-believe, and they give Disney permission to deliver the experience that convinces them that magic is real. What's more, they'll pay through the nose for it.

Disney doesn't take advantage of this desire, though. Whereas other "theme" parks nickel and dime patrons through concessions and extras, Disney's are quite reasonable by comparison.

Genius Principle #2
The second genius in Disney's mission is that the delivery of value – call it "the happiness quotient" — beyond what is paid for keeps on giving to the visitors for years after the experience.

It's a value that patrons of the parks and resorts give back to Disney a hundredfold by telling the stories of their visit to friends, family, and even complete strangers in the right circumstances.

Even if they are never afforded an opportunity to return, they can still spread the message by remembering and reminiscing the joyfulness of their visit.

Walt Disney's greatest success was his ability to take a flawed idealism about childhood and deliver a vision for an extraordinary experience that would make people believe in the magic and basic goodness they believed in as kids.

It's a simple message, but one that has carried one of the world's great brands through all sorts of national and global turmoil.

Going Head-to-Head with Disney
Should your mission be so different? Your goal as someone who provides a product or service should be to either make people happy, provide people comfort, or both. The rest is details over the where, when, and how.

Perhaps you don't have the resources available to Disney. Very few do.

That doesn't mean you can't deliver on the simple promise to make people happy.

You might be surprised at what you can accomplish with a smile and the insatiable desire to get others to do it, too.

Drew's Note: Cam Beck works at Click Here and blogs at ChaosScenario. He's about as straight a shooter as you'll ever meet and his posts are rarely just about marketing. They typically take you to a much deeper place. Like Greg and Gavin before him…he's one of the good guys!

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Putting out the welcome mat

November 20, 2007

Today begins my family's annual pilgrimage to the mouse house! That's right, we're Disney bound.

Last year, you'll remember that I wrote a series of posts about the magic of Disney marketing. (You can download the PDF) This year, I decided to take a break and really enjoy the down time. But I didn't want to leave you high and dry. So, I invited some of my smartest marketing blogger friends to pinch hit.

Every day, there will be at least one new post from a marketing blogger that you are going to love. They're going to cover everything from social media to cold calling.

Enjoy their wit and wisdom. And behave yourselves — we have guests in the house! (was that my dad's voice I just heard?)

My biggest fear is that you're going to love them so much you're going to start a collection basket to keep me in FL!

You're going to love them….and to my guest bloggers — a sincere thank you for stepping up, especially over a holiday week.

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Does Disney really care if your kids are fat?

October 30, 2007

I don’t need to tell you how pro-Disney I am. I love the brand, I love the culture, I love the actual experience. It is where I go to re-charge and relax. It is, in my mind, my place.

So it pains me to call bull#&*@^ on Disney. But I’ve got to.

Thanks to a post on Marketing Profs Daily Fix (by Ted Mininni) and a follow up from Cam Beck at ChaosScenario, I learned about an article on CNN/Money.com.

It reported that Disney has pledged their efforts to fight childhood obesity by launching a new line of products called Disney Garden that will include Mickey-shaped snack trays with combinations of celery, peanut butter and raisins or apples, cheese and crackers and others. Other items include sugar snap peas, honey orange carrot coins, cheesy broccoli bites and miniature apples, peaches, pears, plums and oranges.

Disney was one of a dozen companies that made a pledge before an FTC hearing in July that put more pressure on the companies to help curb the growing child obesity problem through more responsible marketing.

So Disney must be committed to eradicating childhood obesity, right?

I don’t really think so. I’m sure they recognize its a problem. And they certainly don’t want to purposefully fatten up your kids.

But Disney Garden is brand extension, not social responsibility.

Let’s face it, Disney is all about being family friendly. They want to create brand loyalty among family decision-makers. Where better than the grocery store? And who better to cozy up to than Mom? What is one of the hottest topics among parents today? Childhood obesity.

Here’s the pesky part of this new breed of marketing. For it to be authentic and embraced by your consumers, there can’t be any "holes" in the story. You have to be able to prove that you are walking your talk.

In this case, here are some of the holes I might reluctantly poke into Disney’s pledge against obesity (childhood or otherwise):

Disney has granted the exclusive privilege of a presence inside their parks to McDonalds and their french fry wagons. So much for their break from Mickey D’s. The only thing those wagons sell — fries, sodas and bottled water.

Disney owned ABC Network still accepts and runs plenty of commercials for Doritos, sugar-laden cereal and other junk foods. And they run plenty of them during Saturday morning cartoons and Hannah Montana reruns.

I just visited Disney’s website for Kids Island and watched a cool web ad for Cheetos.

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t think Disney is out to fatten up our kids. And I know they are doing some things to offer healthy alternatives, like offering carrots instead of fries. But to lay claim to a position as the industry leader out fighting obesity seems a stretch.

Today’s marketing needs to be very wary of hype. And this feels a wee bit hyped to me. What do you think?

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How brands help us decipher features

August 25, 2007

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A good brand sets up expectations. The more definitive the brand, the better we can anticipate the experience. We can almost sense what would be a "right or wrong fit" based on the brand values or behaviors.

For example…see how many of these you get right:

What shape is Disney Cruise line's most popular pool?
What rating would Disney's 7 pm live entertainment show earn?
How about their 9 pm show?
How late is the casino open?
The food that is consumed in the largest quantity on the ship is…
How many times a day do the cruise activities team have "age specific" kid activities planned?
What is the decor of the most popular on-board restaurant?

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White papers worth reading

May 16, 2007

In yesterday’s post, we discovered that readers place a very high value on white papers. So here are a few that I think you’ll value and learn something from.

The first two come from Barry Linetsky at The Strategic Planning Group. (just scroll down and they are right under his photo.)

Walt Disney: Nine principles of his success
Quiznos’ Low Road

This last one is a series I wrote back in November that, if you haven’t already downloaded and enjoyed, I hope you will.

Marketing Lessons From Walt Disney

Enjoy!

Technorati Profile

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A bit of Walt Disney’s business philosophy

March 22, 2007

When asked his feelings about being bottom-line driven, Walt Disney replied: "If we take care of our guests and our cast members, the rest takes care of itself."

What do you think? Too simplistic? Right on the money? Have a different take?

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How do you fuel anticipation?

March 21, 2007

Anticipation. (For the 30+ crowd, you should be singing by now.)

What a powerful and often over-looked marketing tool. How could it enhance our customer’s experience? Think about these buying situations:

A couple books a cruise 9 months in advance.
A client gets fired up during the discovery process but must now wait 3-6 weeks for a logo design.
A bike enthusiast puts in his order for the new Harley which will be off the line in 15 months.

Let’s face it, we want them to be counting the days. To be watching the clock. To be talking about the pending delivery to their peers and colleagues. We want them to be hungry for the pay off, right?

Here’s my question to you — how do you keep a client’s enthusiasm bubbling while you are back at the shop, toiling away? This is a question we still wrestle with at MMG. We’re not as good at this as I’d like us to be.

Looking for a great example of someone who does do it well? It won’t shock you to discover that Disney is always working on improving in this arena. Most people book their Disney vacation at least 6+ months in advance. They have an extensive Vacation Planning Kit, which includes a DVD that I guarantee you gets watched many times before the actual journey begins. By adults and kids alike. But they decided that wasn’t enough anticipation buzz.

So, they’ve just launched their new Customized Maps which allow you to create your family’s personal journey through each of the theme parks. After you’ve spent time deciding which attractions, shows and restaurants you want to visit — they will send you 5 full color 14" x 20" maps that are made to your specifications.

Wow.

Add up the time spent choosing the locations, marking each map and then the time studying the maps once they arrive. That’s building anticipation!

Fair enough, we’re not Disney. But it is a very potent reminder that even though we have a client’s money — we still need to search for ways to keep them at the edge of their seat.

How do you keep your clients psyched up while they wait?

Flickr photo courtesy of Mike ~heart~ Tiffy.

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