Brand Consumer Behavior
Key Motivations of Target Audience - Mazlow’s hierarchy
The experiences from Disney theme parks, the excitement from Walt Disney movies, and the enjoyment from wearing Disney merchandise with family and friends are all part of social needs in Mazlow’s hierarchy. They also consist of the key motivations of the target audience. According to Mazlow’s hierarchy of needs, social needs involve human’s sense of belonging and love in the world. For example, when most of the kids have been to Disney theme parks and shared their experiences when taking the rollercoaster ride with each other, they can easily find a sense of belonging because of the shared experiences. People want to feel included instead of being an outsider in a social setting and having common languages and experiences are especially important. Additionally, nostalgia plays a crucial role for parents to decide to take their children to Disneyland since many of the adults have fond memories when they are young. Returning to Disney theme parks allow them to re-experience those cherished memories and create new memories with their little ones. By immersing themselves in the happy-ending fairy tales and Disney princess stories, they can escape from all the stressful realities and all the heavy responsibilities. Therefore, they can feel they are being loved in Disney’s dreamy world again.
The problem recognition happens when there is a dissonance between a consumer’s ideal state and the actual state, so he/she will be motivated to solve the problem by purchasing the service or the product. Two sources of problem recognition would be suitable for Disney: Dissatisfaction and new needs or wants. When adults such as working professionals or parents for young kids feel stressed and overwhelmed by their daily responsibilities, going to Disney theme park or watching a Walt Disney movie will be the best way for them to escape from reality and be a happy worry-free kid again.One potential strategy could be creating an advertisement to remind people of their childhood’s happy memory with Disneyland or Walt Disney movie and motivate people to have some personal leisure time. A potential slogan could be “you are always a kid in Disneyland” to assure people that they will have the best time here at Disneyland just like when they were kids. The second source of problem would be new needs and wants. Young kids always want to explore the new activities in Disneyland and buy the newest released Disney merchandise. By releasing a new collection of new merchandise, kids will be attracted by these new needs and wants and the sense of belonging could be reinforced again.
Most Salient and Applicable Brand Attributes
We have mentioned initiating a strategic communication plan to emphasize Disney’s commitment to originality, inclusivity, and technological advancement in strong storytelling. Our brand strategy is to add and emphasize a new attribute that consumers can use in evaluating us. Since there are various decision rules in evaluating a brand and its corresponding services and products, making sure the customers can get both functional and psychological consequences is especially important.
In terms of functional consequences, we aim to expand Disney kids’ program into a platform that contains more educational materials since more and more parents want their children to learn more knowledge outside of school while still having some fun. This strategy allows customers to think that they made an effective and efficient purchase because their children can learn and play at the same time. This also reflects the psychological consequences that consumers aim to fulfill in their purchasing process.
There are four components involved in a multi-attribute model which are attitude toward a brand, beliefs about the brand’s performance, importance attached to attitude, and number of attributes considered. Since Disney has a strong brand identity, customer’s attitude toward the brand is pretty stable and many of them are loyal to the brand. In order to act for an attitude change, focusing on the Disney’s newest released educational program’s performance would be ideal because it shows the result both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Recommended Post-Purchase/Post-Decision Approaches
One goal of Disney is to grow its loyal consumers and to do so, the brand needs to carefully consider and strengthen its post-purchase factors and approaches to shape and influence consumer learning and future behavior. First, post-purchase customer service will gather customer feedback and ensure satisfaction. Data gathered from this survey serves as a guide for improvements while determining which product/service appeals to consumers the best and the least. Aside from customer feedback, the brand can also establish regular communications with customers to influence their future purchases. This can be done through email subscriptions where consumers can receive updates on the product/service and be offered loyalty rewards and exclusive promotions and discounts when they renew, upgrade, and/or refer others. By offering exclusive perks to loyal consumers, Disney effectively influences consumers’ future purchasing behavior. Thirdly, the brand can offer personalized products and services using consumer preferences. In Disney+, this can be done through surveys and previous watchlists/searches. Finally, the brand can also utilize educational-based follow-up communications to ensure the maximized use of the company’s products and services. Consumers also need to be informed of any system updates on its digital services and new installations or events on its tangible products. Effectively done, these factors and approaches will strongly influence consumer learning and future behavior.
Social Influences
The social influences of Disney’s consumers are media, family, and culture. In a promotional strategy, these social influences can be leveraged through the following:
Media: Media and social media platforms are consumers’ primary sources of information and therefore have a crucial role in influencing purchasing decisions. In social media, consumers see recommendations from influencers, watch video clips/ reels of individuals’ actual experiences, and come across paid advertisements for the product/service. Disney can leverage media by collaborating with celebrities and influencers whose followers/subscribers align with the brand’s values and target market. The company can also release promotional videos on its official accounts and paid sites.
Family: Because Disney’s values mostly center on family orientation, family members have a critical role in influencing consumer behavior. To maximize this social influence, Disney can focus on family-centered messages in promotions, appealing to consumers’ sense of bonding and making memories as a unit. The promotions can also include family bundles, parent-and-child packages, and family day campaigns. This strategy reinforces the idea that Disney does not only offer a product or a service but a family experience.
Culture: Cultures and subcultures also strongly influence Disney consumers. Recently, there has been a visible shift in Disney’s storytelling strategies, such as its focus on cultural celebrations and inclusive representation. By tapping into consumers’ cultural sensibilities in its products and marketing materials, Disney can successfully expand its market to a more diverse demographic. Considering the influence of culture in promotional strategies can be employed through cultural storytelling, non-stereotype campaigns, cross-cultural partnerships, and content localizations. Furthermore, Disney can also tap into subcultures such as comic book, cosplay, and gaming communities, as well as movie prop and toy collectors by offering products/services that align with these groups’ interests.
