Abstract
This paper will analyse the marketing mix in Disney and also review the company’s brand identity as well as its competitive approach. The paper concludes by noting that the combination of the right products, right pricing, right placement and distribution of products and strategic and holistic promotion of Walt Disney Company’s products seems to have assured it of a marketing leading position.
Disney’s Marketing Mix
The Walt Disney Company has been cited as one among the few world organisations that “practice the marketing concept” (Kotler, 2001, p. 13). It has been argued that Disney is among the few companies in the world that truly focuses on customer needs, and responds to changes in customer needs and preferences.
Notably, the Walt Disney Company has five divisions, i.e. parks and resorts, interactive, consumer products, studio entertainment, and media networks. All the aforementioned divisions are in the arts and entertainment industry.
Product
The main products by Disney include the theme parks, the Disney store, Disney publishing and licensing, Disney music, theatre and film groups, and the Disney media channels (Handley, 2013).
A critical look at Disney’s products reveals that the production company creates characters, which are then used in the theme parks and in the merchandise that Disney sells. Bhasin (2012) argues that Disney has made strategic choices and plans, which have propelled the Production Company, Disney land, and Disney store to be ranked among the top-selling products by the company.
Price
According to Bhasin (2012), the Walt Disney Company is well aware that in order to reach the mass market, it has to price its products in a manner that makes them affordable to more people.
A look at the Disney World tickets, for example, reveals that a one-day ticket can cost up to $143. Arguably, and considering that people (most especially children) want to go to Disney World for holidays, the aforementioned price is affordable to most middle-income earning households. Additionally, they are different pricing options available for different customers.
Place
Disney seems cognizant that centralising its businesses will make its products and services less accessible to the customers. Consequently, the company has set up business in different continents include North America, Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe and Australia (Walt Disney Company, 2014). Arguably, taking business close to the people is one way of enhancing the customer’s convenience hence making it easier for them to purchase the product or experience.
Promotion
Promotion of the different products and services offered by Walt Disney is arguably holistic. For example, the company uses its media channels to advertise new products and merchandise. Additionally, the company relies heavily on word-of-mouth advertising as well as packages and tours that make people (especially the young consumer audience) to desire the Disney products. Arguably, every little child has a dream of visiting Disney world one day, and this is all because the company has done well in promoting its products.
Brand
The Disney brand is arguably created on great storytelling. The person who is charged with bringing harmony to the marketing strategy in Disney indicates that everything that has the Disney brand name on it has to have “a sense of optimism and a sense of humour about it” (Handley, 2013, para. 6). Additionally, and in order to make real sense to the targeted markets, anything that has the Disney brand name on it has to be of good quality, and also has to be trustworthy (Handley, 2013).
Summary
Overall, a combination of the right products, right pricing, right placement and distribution of products and strategic and holistic promotion of Walt Disney Company’s products seems to have assured it of a marketing leading position. Although the company has faced competition from the likes of Time Warner and Twenty-First Century Fox, none of the foregoing companies has a similar marketing approach to what Disney has.
References
Bhasin, H. (2012). Marketing mix of Walt Disney. Web.
Handley, L. (2013). Marketing the Disney Way. Marketing Week. Web.
Kotler, P. (2001). Marketing management, millennium edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Walt Disney Company. (2014). Disney around the world. Web.