Situation Analysis

Overview: Mission,Values, Vision, and Purpose

Welcome to the strategic communication plan for The Walt Disney Company, a comprehensive blueprint designed to navigate the challenges and opportunities within the dynamic entertainment industry. This plan is a collective effort by Jiaqian Bai, Lehan Qiang, Zhifan Fu, and Yihan Yang, meticulously crafted to underscore Disney's enduring commitment to innovation, inclusivity, and technological prowess in storytelling.

Our journey begins with a detailed situation analysis, laying the groundwork by outlining Disney's mission, values, vision, and purpose. We delve into Disney's brand essence and identity, providing a SWOT analysis to identify the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in the current market landscape. This analysis sets the stage for a targeted approach to addressing Disney's primary challenge: innovating and diversifying content to remain at the industry's forefront. Focusing on our target market, we segment our audience to understand their unfulfilled needs and craft a brand positioning statement that resonates with their desires and aspirations. This segmentation helps us to tailor our messages and strategies to connect deeply with our audience, fostering a stronger relationship between Disney and its consumers.

We then explore brand consumer behavior, utilizing Maslow's hierarchy to pinpoint the key motivations of our target audience. This understanding allows us to recommend post-purchase approaches and social influences that shape consumer learning, ensuring that Disney remains a beloved choice for entertainment. In the realm of persuasive message design, we propose a campaign structure that balances rational and emotional appeals. This strategy aims to evoke nostalgia while highlighting Disney's innovations, creating a campaign that appeals to both heart and mind. Our media strategy encompasses paid, earned, shared, and owned channels, with a keen focus on leveraging influencers and social media to amplify our message. Through careful planning and execution, we aim to create a viral marketing campaign that underscores Disney's unique value proposition.

This strategic communication plan is not just a roadmap for navigating the entertainment landscape; it's a testament to Disney's unwavering commitment to enchanting storytelling, innovative experiences, and inclusivity. Join us as we embark on this journey to reinforce Disney's legacy and ensure its continued leadership in the global entertainment industry.

The Walt Disney Co (Disney) is an entertainment and media company. As we may already know, it produces and acquires television programs, live-action films, and animated motion pictures. What’s more, it operates in four key sectors: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, and consumer products & interactive media. 

"To entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds and innovative technologies that make ours the world's premier entertainment company." This is Disney's existing mission statement. This mission is strategic as it clearly outlines Disney's primary goal - to entertain, inform, and inspire, it is motivational as it emphasizes the power of storytelling and innovation. Moreover, it underlines Disney's commitment to quality storytelling, which can guide its communication strategy to focus on emotional and creative content that resonates with its global audience. This means prioritizing narrative-driven content across all platforms, ensuring that every piece of communication, from social media posts to corporate announcements, tells a story. Adding on to it, the global scope suggests that Disney's communication must be inclusive and accessible, catering to diverse cultures and languages. This is critical in their promotion strategies, ensuring content resonates with a broad international audience. 

"To be one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information." The vision is strategic as it sets a clear goal for the company's market position. However, we suppose it could be more motivational by specifying how Disney aims to impact its audience or society. A suggested revision might be something like "to be the foremost provider of magical and transformative entertainment experiences, enriching audiences' lives worldwide. After revising its vision, the new one emphasizes more that magical and transformative experiences would encourage communication that highlights the unique, imaginative experiences Disney offers. 

Brand Essense & Identity

Disney's existing values include innovation, quality, community, storytelling, optimism, and decency. We believe that these values are strong, these values are strategic as they align with Disney's core competencies and market position. They are motivational because they commit to positive social and ethical principles, they should shape the company’s communication to emphasize its commitment to innovation, quality entertainment, and positive social impact, appealing to a broad and diverse audience. Also, emphasizing the value of community, Disney's promotional strategies should include community-building initiatives, like interactive campaigns, fan events, or social responsibility projects, fostering a sense of belonging among its audience. 

Disney aims to "create happiness by providing the finest entertainment for people of all ages, everywhere." This purpose statement is strong. It is both strategic and motivational. It encapsulates the essence of Disney's operations and its universal appeal. This purpose supports a communication approach focusing on universal themes of happiness, family, and inclusivity, resonating with a diverse global audience. Also, using language and visuals relatable to all age groups, ensuring that messages are clear, positive, and uplifting is crucial. The purpose of providing entertainment to create happiness suggests that Disney's promotion strategies should aim to create an emotional connection with all the audience. For example, campaigns should evoke feelings of joy, nostalgia, and wonder, consistent with the 'happiness' theme. 

Lastly, in conclusion, Disney’s mission, vision, values, and purpose are generally substantial, strategic and motivated. A slight revision in the vision statement can enhance its motivational aspect. Collectively, these components should guide Disney's strategic communication to emphasize storytelling, innovation, quality, and universal appeal, reinforcing its position as a global leader in entertainment and media. Professional-wise, Disney's strategic communication should be narrative-driven, inclusive, aspirational, and reflective of its core values. Promotion could focus on creating emotional connections, emphasizing community, and showcasing Disney's role as an industry leader in creating magical experiences. The integration of these aforementioned elements enables Disney's communication to be informative and engaging, helping reinforce its brand and deepen its relationship with its global audience.

SWOT Analysis

Disney, with its iconic brand recognition and a diverse portfolio of entertainment services and products, stands as a formidable entity in an oligopolistic market. Its strategic use of horizontal integration and a rich tapestry of characters and stories have cultivated a loyal customer base and allowed for the delivery of immersive, high-quality experiences. Despite its strong financial foundation and market cap exceeding $174.92 billion, Disney faces challenges stemming from an over-reliance on traditional media sources and navigating the highly competitive streaming and entertainment landscape. Opportunities for growth exist in expanding Disney+ globally, leveraging its potential in untapped markets with diverse and educational content, and strategic acquisitions to enrich its content portfolio. However, the brand must contend with threats from a competitive streaming industry, piracy, and the volatility of the tourism industry, especially evidenced by the pandemic's impact. Balancing these strengths and weaknesses while capitalizing on opportunities and mitigating threats is crucial for Disney's continued success and expansion in the dynamic entertainment industry. Although Disney has an edge over the competition now, its past advantage of traditional media and business models has become an obstacle. Disney needs to revalue and expand its digital media resources to diversify its offering so that it can fulfill the needs of more audiences, making them loyal consumers.

• Strength

  • Recognizable Brand: Disney's brand name and logo are instrumental in achieving high brand value, distinguishing it from competitors. The use of the letter "D" across movies, songs, products, and services signals ownership and fosters customer loyalty.

  • Immersive Experiences: High brand value allows Disney to deliver immersive and high-quality experiences, setting a standard of quality that promotes positive word-of-mouth.

  • Horizontal Integration: The company's strategy of horizontal integration strengthens its position in the entertainment industry, offering a diverse range of services and products that appeal to consumers of all ages.

  • Financial Strength: With a market capitalization exceeding $174.92 billion and annual revenues over $70 billion, Disney's financial position supports stable operations and investments.

• Weakness

  • Over-reliance on Traditional Media: Dependence on cable TV and theme parks, amid shifting consumer preferences towards digital streaming, poses challenges.

  • Competitive Pressure: Facing intense competition from streaming giants like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, Disney invests heavily in content, navigating price wars and subscriber churn.

  • Content Diversity Challenges: Despite strong content creation capabilities, producing content that appeals to diverse audiences remains a challenge, especially after the acquisition of 21st Century Fox.

• Oppurtunity

  • Streaming Growth: With a significant market share in India and potential for global expansion, Disney+ can tap into untapped international markets by offering diverse characters and multilingual content.

  • Strategic Acquisitions: Continued acquisitions, such as Marvel Entertainment and 21st Century Fox, expand Disney's content portfolio and diversify offerings.

  • Educational Content: Leveraging its popularity among parents and kids, Disney has the opportunity to create educational content that entertains and educates, potentially partnering with educational institutions.

• Threats

  • Competitive Streaming Industry: The launch of Disney Plus introduces Disney to a competitive industry dominated by platforms like Netflix and HBO MAX, emphasizing the need for original content.

  • Piracy Issues: Unauthorized distribution and consumption of media content pose a threat to Disney's revenue.

  • Tourism Industry Volatility: External factors such as government regulations, economic downturns, and global tensions impact the tourism industry, affecting Disney's earnings, especially highlighted by the pandemic's impact in 2020.