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How Public Relations Is Handled at the Disney Parks

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How Public Relations Is Handled at the Disney Parks Running head: MAKING THE MAGIC 1 Making the Magic How Public Relations is Handled at the Disney Parks Elizabeth DeMeo A Senior Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation in the Honors Program Liberty University Spring 2014 MAKING THE MAGIC 2 Acceptance of Senior Honors Thesis This Senior Honors Thesis is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for graduation from the Honors Program of Liberty University. ______________________________ Stuart Schwartz, Ph.D. Thesis Chair ______________________________ Amy Bonebright, M.A. Committee Member ______________________________ Brenda Ayres, Ph.D. Committee Member ______________________________ Brenda Ayres, Ph.D. Honors Director ______________________________ Date MAKING THE MAGIC 3 Abstract The Walt Disney Company has always been an organization that has prided itself on its corporate image. One of their biggest successes has been their 11 theme parks across the globe. Ever since its creation in 1955, Disneyland has been known as "the happiest place on earth." However, many wonder how this reputation came to be and how it is being maintained today. To find this answer, one must look to the creative minds behind Disney's public relations. By examining the Disney parks and their public relations history, tactics, crisis management and current and future campaigns, companies can find out the secret behind the success of the Disney parks and find out what works and what does not. By doing so, companies can take a page out of Disney's PR playbook and learn some lessons from the House of Mouse that will help them develop public relations strategies for their own organization. MAKING THE MAGIC 4 Making the Magic How Public Relations is Handled at the Disney Parks Introduction Say the word "Disney" and immediately you will have an idea in your mind. Maybe you will conjure up images of pixie dust, fairytales and dreams coming true. Most likely, you will be thinking of one of the Disney parks. According to Disney writer Theodore Kinni (2011), Disney has 11 theme parks that operate in five locations in North America, Europe and Asia. Probably the more well known of these are the United States parks: Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida. Both parks cover a large portion of land and draw huge crowds every year. However, what makes the Disney parks truly unique is the magic behind them. The Walt Disney Company makes sure that everyone who enters their gates is treated as a special guest, so they can have the experience of a lifetime. Many wonder how Disney has managed to create this magic that has been a part of their theme parks for over 50 years. To find the answer, we must look to the creative minds behind Disney's public relations, from the opening of Disneyland all the way up to the most current marketing campaign. Through careful examination of their history, tactics, strategies, crisis management and campaigns, we can discover what it really means to make the magic behind "the happiest place on earth." The History of Disneyland's PR The official Walt Disney Parks & Resorts fact sheet (2013) referred to Disneyland as a "unique destination built around storytelling and immersive experiences" (p. 1). This statement is not merely an exaggerated public relations pitch; it is actually true. At the time of its opening on July 5, 1955, Disneyland was very different from all of the MAKING THE MAGIC 5 amusement parks of its day. Nothing like it had ever been attempted before. This is all due to the man in charge, Walt Disney. It was his vision that gave the park direction and a corporate image that would last for decades to come. Walt Disney's Vision Disney research and quality control specialist Bill Griffiths (n.d.) explained how Walt Disney received his inspiration for Disneyland in the 1940s. The story goes that Disney would often take his two daughters to small amusement parks on the weekends. During these trips, he began to envision a different kind of park: a clean and safe place that both children and their parents would enjoy. According to Charles Ridgeway (2007), a press agent who worked at Disneyland during its early years, Disney did not want Disneyland to be just another run-of-the-mill amusement park. He wanted it to be unique and to have a certain image that was different than most of the parks of his day. Originally, Disney had planned for this park to be built across from the Disney Studios in Burbank, California (Ridgeway, 2007). However, he eventually turned his focus to the 160 acre orange groves in Anahiem, California, just 30 miles south of Los Angeles (Griffiths, n.d.). He found that the land was perfect for what he had envisioned, so he bought it. He and his brother Roy originally planned to spend $4 million on the creation of this new park; however, six months later, they had spent $11 million (Ridgeway, 2007). Disney realized that in order for the park to be completed, he would need more money. Early PR Efforts ABC television deal and opening broadcast. In order to receive these funds, Disney decided to make a deal with The American Broadcasting company, or ABC. They MAKING THE MAGIC 6 lent him $4.5 million in exchange for a piece of the park and outdoor food concessions. This of course, was not the only incentive. ABC also wanted Disney to produce a weekly show. He agreed and used this show, called Disneyland , to promote the park 10 months before its scheduled opening (Ridgeway, 2007). For Disney, this was clearly a win-win situation. He would air this weekly show for ABC and receive the funds he needed and free publicity for his park all at the same time. In reality, this was the first public relations campaign that Disneyland had run. The first Disneyland episode was broadcast on October 27, 7:30 p.m (Griffiths, n.d.). According to Duncan Wardle, Vice President of Disney Parks PR, Disney used television to show a behind-the-scenes look at the park he was creating; for example, he introduced the audience to the parks' animatronics and showed how they were built and designed (Schwartzman, 2008). During the time of the first Disneyland broadcast, work on Disneyland had already begun, and Disney had planned to have it ready on July 17, 1955 for a live opening broadcast from within the park (Griffiths, n.d.). According to Griffiths, this opening broadcast, called Dateline Disneyland was considered "the most ambitious remote broadcast of a major event todate" (para. 4). For this opening day broadcast, Disney chose three famous television and movie stars to serve as hosts: Art Linkletter, host of ABC's daytime show House Party ; Bob Cummings, star of 1950s and '60s comedies such as My Living Doll ; and Ronald Reagan, movie actor and future president of the United States (Griffiths, n.d.). Disney also invited several celebrities to the opening, including Danny Thomas, Debbie Reynolds, Frank Sinatra, Jerry Lewis, and Buddy Ebsen (Ridgeway, 2007). MAKING THE MAGIC 7 The Dateline Disney broadcast opened with Hank Weaver introducing the show: "This afternoon, Disneyland, the world's most fabulous kingdom will be unveiled before an invitational world premiere and you our guests" (Marks & Disney, 1955). The show then jumped to the live broadcast in which Linkletter, Cummings, and Reagan gave their eyewitness accounts of Disneyland's opening, which included Walt Disney's famous dedication: To all who come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams and the hard facts that have created America with the hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world. (Griffiths, n.d., para. 9) This dedication was followed by a celebratory parade down Main Street and a brief introduction to the several themed lands such as Frontierland and Fantasyland. Thus concluded the opening day broadcast (Marks & Disney, 1955). The Dateline Disneyland broadcast turned out to be a success. According to the ratings, about 90 million viewers had tuned in for the live broadcast (Griffiths, n.d.). Disney's 10 month-long publicity campaign had paid off. People all over the United States had experienced the opening of Disneyland by watching it live from their televisions at home. It was truly a historic moment not only for the park, but for the future of public relations and marketing. Handling negative publicity. Despite the success of the broadcast, the opening day of Disneyland was actually far from perfect. According to Ridgeway (2007), who before his work as a press agent was one of the reporters covering the opening, the day MAKING THE MAGIC 8 was hot and the park was overcrowded. Disneyland was only supposed to be opened to those who had received special invitations, included the celebrites and members of the press. However, many people had received counterfeit tickets and snuck into the park when they were not supposed to (Griffiths, n.d.). In addition, the rides broke down frequently, and the restaurants ran out of food. Due to these and several other problems, the opening of the park was commonly referred to as "Black Sunday" (Ridgeway, 2007). Several Los Angeles business writers wrote very negatively of their first day at Disneyland, and other members of the press warned others to stay away. Fortunately, according to Ridgeway (2007), these negative reports aroused curiosity, and encouraged members of the public to come out and see Disneyland for themselves.
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