Annexure-V- Cover Page for Academic Tasks

Course Code: MKT515 Course Title: SERVICE MARKETING

Course Instructor: Dr. Shamily Jaggi Section: Q2E50

Academic Task No.: 2 Academic Task Title: Product development and Branding

Date of Allotment: 22/11/2020 Date of submission: 9/01/2021

Registration no: 11909565

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I declare that this Assignment is my individual work. I have not copied it from any other student’s
work or from any other source except where due acknowledgement is made explicitly in the text,
nor has any part been written for me by any other person.

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 INTRODUCTION

Alan Horn, president of The Walt Disney Studios, announces the world premiere of Star Wars:
The Force Awakens in December 2015 - just the latest in a series of major bets he has overseen.
Disney is following a 'tentpole plan' that circles every year around at least eight large-budget films,
most of which are acquired by its labels Pixar, Marvel Studios, and Lucasfilm. Disney, in fact,
makes about twice as many tentpole movies as any other major Hollywood movie studio, but
typically produces fewer movies than all but one of its rivals. Since Disney (unlike its rivals)
prefers not to enlist the support of supporting partners, box-office disasters can be incredibly
expensive. The case study reflects how Disney Studios is seeking the correct number of tentpoles
and the right combination of modern and current one's properties, under the right financing
structure.

The Walt Disney Corporation is renowned around the world for entertaining individuals and
empowering them through the influence of their storytelling, imaginative minds and
groundbreaking technologies. Established in 1923, it became known as the Disney Brother Studio.
But Walt Disney worked in several locations as an animator and illustrator in Kansas before
opening the Disney Brothers Studio. The Walt Disney Corporation began with the main vision of
delivering classical entertainment in the form of 2D cartoons. Along with five industry divisions,
the Walt Disney Corporation is a leading multinational family entertainment: studio entertainment,
direct to consumers, digital technology, park and resorts, and media networks, respectively. In
1955, in Anaheim, California, Walt Disney opened Disney Land and it soon became one of the
best places to see various characters in cartoons.

Dozens of innovative and acclaimed films have been produced by the Walt Disney Company. It
has grown into a holding firm for all sorts of media and leisure properties, founding theme parks
around the world in 1955 and purchasing hundreds of businesses in the '90s and 2000s. ABC,
ESPN, Pixar, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm are all owned and run by Disney.

What originated with a group of animators making short children's cartoons became one of the
world's most popular businesses today. Any of the most famous and lasting entries in the American
canon are original Disney cartoons and feature films. However, over the years, the Walt Disney
Corporation has faced several challenges. The key challenge they face is that will they be able to
sustain the high degree of status they have achieved over the past few decades. In this Walt Disney
Studio case study, all the issues which have been faced by the Walt Disney Company have been
discussed.

PROBLEMS
Major Focus on Tentpole strategy

The walt Disney studio is focusing to pursue “A tentpole strategy” that revolved around at least
eight big movies each year with a production budget ranging from $150-$200 million for every
movie. These numbers might look fascinating but there were significant risks involved in this
strategy. Any box-office failure could be extremely costly affair and can lead to a drop in the
overall appeal and change in perception towards the Disney brand.

To keep old brand relevant in current era:

The main challenge of Disney is to keep the 90-year-old brand relevant in todays era. Its difficult
for Disney to gather the core audience for itself while following basic ethics, remaining true to its
heritage, respecting workplace and core brand values. A lot of changes take place even in a year
itself. So, retaining a 90-year-old brand is a big challenge.
Challenges faced from competitors:

The Walt Disney Company also faces challenges from its competitors such as Viacom, Fox
Corporation and Lionsgate who have strong presence in the market. In the case it was observed
that Disney competitors were producing in a month but Disney was comparatively producing less
movies. Furthermore, The Walt Disney Company has focused on providing entertainment
programs according to the taste and preference of the customers if the company’s management
does not focus on the changes in the taste of the customers then it will easily lead to its downfall.
It is the duty of the company to determine its customers taste and preferences to make its brand
more interesting.

No co-financing:

In 2015, more than 140 companies owned by investors, directors and actors had various
agreements with the studios. But Disney Studio didn’t enlist any partner to co-finance its movies.
Disney management was of the view that if they co-finance with other companies then they have
to share their part of profit. They further said that they would like to have all the upsides with
themselves only referring to the profits.

SOLUTIONS
More penetration required into developing markets

As mentioned in the case study that the US market for moviegoers’ have touched the saturation
point (approx. 70%) and domestic revenues for the next decade is expected to remain flat whereas
other global markets such as china, brazil and other Asian and Latin American countries had
emerged strongly in the recent years because of middle classes in these countries have expanded
and movie-going is becoming a part of the culture but most of the these markets are still under
screened so more penetration is required in these developing countries.

Taking the leverage of growing OTT platforms

The company serves India and Indonesia with a product called Disney + Hotstar, a rebranded
platform born out of a business acquired from fox last year and it has far exceeded the expectation
of the company itself. These two countries now represent 18.4 million Disney+ subscribers which
accounted for almost half of 34 million subscribers globally. So, the Walt Disney should now focus
on adding more subscribers as India, with its massive population has the potential to become the
biggest market for Disney+.

Expansion and performing various other activities:

Disney have to take extreme caution when expanding its brand in order to avoid any form of
contradiction with its heritage and core brand values. Thus, as Disney’s CEO Bob lger stated, there
needs to be a balance between the respect for heritage and a need to be relevant, as there often
exists decisions and conflicts that arise when dealing with a company that has a great legacy such
as Disney. Though it’s tough to establish and remain the brand for such a long time. The Walt
Disney has done various activities like:

• Ethical Conduct: Conduct business with honesty, integrity, and in compliance with the
law everywhere we operate
• Responsible Content: Create and market responsible, high-quality products and content
• Environmental Stewardship: Use resources wisely and protect the planet as we operate
and grow our business
• Respectful Workplaces: Foster safe, respectful, and inclusive workplaces wherever we
do business
• Responsible Supply Chain: Support the ethical production of Disney-branded
merchandise through programs focused on safety, labour, and the environment.

Producing more films than competitors:

Walt Disney should focus on producing more movies than its competitors so that their fan base
don’t shift to any other competitor and it should also start pricing the product in relation to its
competitors as they are charging much less than Walt Disney. It should never let its competitors
go ahead of them. It should focus more on retaining the customers with themselves only.
Opting for co-financing:

Co-financing helps the business to get more money or funds. Even if in co-financing the profits
are shared but on the other hand losses are also shared. If Disney management is of the view point
that they want to keep upside with them but they are forgetting they will have to suffer downside
alone i.e., loss when the movie doesn’t work. So it’s always a good decision to go with co-
financing.

CONCLUSION
• To conclude, a proper strategic plan will help in dealing with the whole process of
making the movie, marketing and providing the service to the customers.

like there were rooms available but no one told that they are doing great and can make
more movies

• An effective strategy will reduce the cost of making movie and then marketing it with
competitive advantage in the market.

Like in case they have said once “when our movies don’t work they are called as high
profile failure”

• Sharing a strategic vision with the team of idea generation and directing the movie will
help the whole team to be on a single page to achieve the vision.

• A presentation and workshop before starting the project will help understand the project
in clear way and conducting of short meets for update.
• R&D into storytelling to kids through technology will act as a game changer.

• Consumer research around the use of technology will bring a new era like VR headset.

• Creating a customized/targeted media advertising plan for all segments will help in
allocating budget and control the cost.

• People management will help to assign role and to control the cost.
 REFERENCES:

• https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Walt-Disney
• https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Disney
• https://www.biography.com/business-figure/walt-disney
• https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/