Fluffy Toys, Product Placements, Film Secrets, Fandoms, Adjusting to Cultures and Acknowledging Past Mistakes.

Long before the likes of Avengers, lightsabers, cruises and amusement parks, the Walt Disney Company, originally known as "The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studios", was founded as a production company, under the management of the man himself, Walt Disney.

Established as a business on October 16th 1923 in Los Angeles, California, the company unknowingly would go on to create ideas and products that the likes of the world had never seen before, bringing truth to the saying "If you can dream it, you can do it" (Walt Disney). One of the first of these creations, something so wildly consumed in todays day to day life, that you yourself may not have considered the fact of, was fully animated films. With Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs being released in 1937 compared to as of today (16th Feb 2023) Ant-man and the Wasp: Quantumania.

Since 1937, over 800 more films have been produced and released, and with them the opportunity to market to each new generation product placements, advertisements and merchandise has grown. Disney's films and TV shows have considerably been used both visibly and subtly throughout the past century, whether it be hidden within a movie as small psychological tricks, or as a small plush toy, which is very much evident to one's eye.

Now you may disagree to an extent, so let me give you show a perspective on how Disney has achieved a successful marketing strategy. If I were to ask any near passing stranger who Disney's main mouse is I would with out a doubt guess that at least 8/10 people who give me the correct answer, especially in countries which prioritise western media. Further, if I asked you to explain to me the tale of Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty your mind what most likely not go to the those of the Grimm Tales and rather to the happy stories that we associate with the likes of Disney stories. While you may not consume the company's products, you can unknowingly encourage overs to buy their products and services just through word of mouth, whether that was your intent to do so or not.

Now let's talk about the both direct yet subtle form of marketing, which you might better understand. Endgame is the second highest grossing film of all time at $2.8 billon, just under another Disney film Avatar at $2.92 billion. But why am I giving this example? One prominent scene, in which the Avengers talk about bringing everyone dusted away back (sorry spoilers, but it has been 4 years...), also includes an Avengers Ben & Jerrys ice-cream: Stark Raving Hazelnuts and Hunka Hulka Burnin' Fudge. Whilst the play on words is quite humorous, the product placement may have been missed on people's mind as just a passing joke. Although, to some it can be viewed as an unconscious tactic to remind customer's of the product and encourage them to buy it as a result.

Another fan theory, which can be brought into the marvel superhero world, is that of the Apple Hero, and yes not the fruit... Avid film consumers, seemed to pick up on the fact that there is a correlation of whom we would consider to be the "good guy" owning an Iphone compared to the "villain" owning a non-apple product, whether this be a Samsung, Nokia or even a Google phone. These two examples of marketing show the side in which ADs can be subtly incorporated into the media we consume, in order to encourage use to purchase products and as a result increase a business' sales. But why does Disney benefit from promoting other companies? Let's just saw the placement is not undeliberate, large companies will often pay hefty sums in order to be seen by the general public, especially in films which are high grossing, therefore benefiting the company's sales. These businesses will also take great care in choosing the type of media, as if the product does not fit the target audience, then there will not be as great of a sale increase.

Now let's talk more Disney based marketing and the clever secret introduction of upcoming films, as shown through PIXAR. In Monster's Inc, Sully can be seen in one scene holding a selection of toys for Boo, one of those happens to be a very familiar clown fish, obviously referencing Finding Nemo. Now why is this interesting? Well Finding Nemo would not be released until 2 years after Monsters Inc, a clever tactic to hint at future films. And this is not the only one: an Incredibles magazine hidden in Finding Nemo; Doc Hudson in the Incredibles; Toy Story toys in Up; Brave mural in Cars 2 and more. A fun little game overall to keep movie watchers excitedly waiting for whatever film is coming out next.

Talking about the future, I want to go into a bit of depth around the influence of social media, as a form of marketing, especially more recently with TV and Films. The invention of Instagram, in 2010, and Twitter, in 2006, made way for a new way to connect with friends, family and strangers then ever before, with 1.386 billion owning an Instagram account and Twitter holding over 368 million accounts. Both have created an easy opportunity to find online friends with similar interests simply through hashtags or a quick search and this fact has in fact lead to the introduction of "fan bases" and stans. While, film and TV has always had fans, the increasing consumption of media in line with the encouragement of finding others online, who as well share the same television likes and dislikes, has led to greater use of such apps. This is shown for example through endless fan theories or fan artwork and knock off merchandise online, and has led to a normalisation of more involved and passionate fans. This all in turn benefits Disney as a company, as fans feel more comfortable buying and using their products and talking about them online, due to the support they will have, which increases sales through a second party, customers. Displayed, for example, through the saying "Disney Adult".

Now one of the more recent prominent creations, as a result of this normalisation, is the creation of fan edits. Whilst memes and fanfictions have been present for many years, the use of Instagram and more recently the introduction of Tiktok, has dramatically spiked usership and can be a useful method of marketing for companies, like Disney. If I was to search the hashtag "Disney" on Tiktok, I would be able to find tens, even hundreds of thousands of videos, resulting in 174.3 Billion views, since its creation in Sept 2016. The relevance of this to fan edits and marketing, is that in customers creating videos and reaching the 'for you pages' of others, who might have been unaware or not considering watching the show or film edited, can result in more people being persuaded to buy the product or service when they might have not before.

This second party marketing can further led to increased consumption, as editors are not paid for their work, and therefore their interest can be seen as truthful. This is more encouraging to potential customers than being shown a post with the AD symbol in the corner, as you are therefore more likely to doubt a person's true opinion, as they are paid to promote the item.

With the releases of films and TV another marketing tactics is to target different countries, by making aspects of films more relevant to specific viewers and therefore more enjoyable for different consumers. For example, Zootopia was changed in 2016, for the UK, to Zootropolis, due to a 2016 documentary holding the same name. Also in Zootopia, the animal broadcasters used are different depending on each country: a Panda for China, a Koala for Australia and a leopard for Brazil. Further, in Inside Out Riley's Dad sees ice hockey being played in USA, Canada and Russia compared to football for the rest of the world. These are only a few of the examples, with Disney attempting to suit cultures and countries in order to create better representation, especially if customers would not understand American or Western culture references. This is a positive form of marketing as it creates an inclusive aspect to media and can encourage people to consume or rewatch more of the films and TV produced. This inclusivity can also be presented through movies like Coco and Encanto, which not only have characters of colour, but also have their culture incorporated into their story. This effect is especially helpful in younger generations, in order to allow children to see themselves in roles like a princess or superhero, while they may have struggled to do so before.

Talking about positive marketing, let's have a quick look at rebranding. It would be close-minded to not acknowledge that in the past some media was in fact harmful and perpetuated offensive stereotypes. However, Disney has made definite attempts to reverse its old ways, through the removal of stereotyping films and the inclusion of warnings to other films, which can be viewed as offensive. This warning is present before Dumbo, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, the Jungle Book, Swiss Family Robinson and the Aristocats. With the statement "This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now..." (Disney +). These attempts can give a positive image back to the Disney company, through its accountability and allows customers to feel more comfortable in consuming its products.

And finally last and but not least, the probably most obvious piece of marketing, plushies, toys and clothing. For this I'll probably keep it short and sweet. For whatever film or TV show is created, shirts, teddy bears, bottles, socks, jewellery, cushions and more can be created to fit it. All you need is a clear focus, and for Disney that is in their characters and the stories that follow them and with that you will have someone who desires the product that they are trying to sell.

Well that's all for marketing in Disney's Film and TV sectors from me! Hope you discovered something you might have not considered before and had a nice read and goodbye!