The Magical-Market World of Disney

Monthly Review, April, 2001 by Janet Wasko

Disney synergy is first and foremost about the commodification of children's culture, its transformation into a universal market, in which licensed characters become the center of an infinite array of interlocking marketing schemes. The "creative content," as Eisner explained, must be contained within the "financial box," or rather an array of financial boxes. A close look at the release of one film provides insight into how every division of the company becomes involved in the marketing effort. Disney's thirty-fifth animated film, Hercules, was released in U.S. theaters June 27, 1997. However, a wide array of promotional activities and the sale of merchandise started long before that date. [1]

In much of the press and industry coverage, Disney marketing and promotion activities are portrayed as simple, even "natural" processes. An article in Children's Business explains: "For the folks at Disney, the philosophy is simple: The movie is the primary product and serves as the inspiration for the merchandise that flows from it." As one Disney executive explained: "It's important to us that the entertainment comes first. First, the kids will see the movie and fall in love with the characters; then they'll want to bring home a piece of that movie."

But the film doesn't come first. For a Disney film, the promotion starts with the initial announcement of the film, usually years before its actual release. Work on the pre-production and production process is covered in entertainment and trade magazines, as well as in Disney-owned media. During the 1996 Christmas season, four-minute trailers for Hercules were shown before each theatrical screening of 101 Dalmatians. Plus, Hercules trailers were included on the twenty-one million shipped copies of the Toy Story video and on the ten million cassettes of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

In February 1997, Disney started their third MegaMall Tour to promote their summer films. The previous mall tours for Pocahontas and Hunchback had attracted over four million people. But the Hercules tour was far more extensive, spanning five months in twenty cities and featuring eleven different attractions. The tour included a live multimedia stage show (presented twice each hour), a "Baby Pegasus Playland" for toddlers, featuring carousels and other play areas, and a ten-minute video workshop called "Learn to Be an Animator," where guests were shown how Hercules characters were animated. Several carnival-type Hercules-themed game booths were offered, with McDonald's providing the prizes. In addition, there were opportunities for guests to take photos, try out the new Hercules games introduced by Disney Interactive, and log onto the Hercules Web site at hercules.disney.com. The tour also was sponsored by GM's Chevrolet, with one guest in each city winning an all-new Chevy Venture Minivan. Although the tour represented collaboration between Walt Disney Imagineering and Feature Animation, other Disney divisions (such as Disney Interactive) were also involved.