Toy Story 3's Got A Friend in Me

     Our favorite toys came out of the toy chest and onto the big screen in 2010 with the release of Toy Story 3. With a movie trilogy at this large scale Disney began marketing for its production early with the re-release of Toy Story and Toy Story 2  as a double feature in Disney Digital 3D in order to build anticipation for what the sequel would hold. This release of the previous films included a short feature of what Toy Story 3 was all about. Disney Interactive Studio also released a video game based on the film prior to the release date. According to Nikki Finke, "Toy Story 3 started its record-breaking domestic run on June 18 becoming Disney-Pixar’s highest grossing opening weekend taking in $109 million and marking the highest June opening in industry history." Due to Disney's marketing strategy, this film was on of the most successful productions being the second highest grossing animated film (surpassed by Frozen). The success of the film was facilitated by the promotions on ABC Family, The Disney Channel, and Disney XD. Additionally, Toy Story 3 was featured in Apple IPhone OS 4 promoted by Steve Jobs.
     Disney's marketing strategy of wide promotions on a global scale are what creates high grossing films such as Toy Story 3. This production proves the idea that Disney can take an older film such as Toy Story which was released in 1995 and build it into the franchise that it is today. Disney's ability to create family friendly, lovable characters that capture our hearts for many years such as our favorite space ranger Buzz Lightyer and our best pal Woody.

References:
Finke, N. (2010, August 13). 'Toy Story 3' Now Biggest Toon Of All Time. Retrieved December 17, 2014, from http://deadline.com/2010/08/toy-story-3-now-biggest-toon-of-all-time-61387/

Toy Story 3. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2014, from http://disney.wikia.com/wiki/Toy_Story_3

A Pirate's Life for Me

     The skull and crossbones flag was risen once again as Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides set sails into theaters globally on May 20th 2011. As the fourth installment of the movie series, it had high expectations to uphold and exceed the films before it. Disney used special techniques for promoting this film including online videos and games, trailers, posters, and picture galleries to build the hype more than six months before its release. Disney also had promotional character greetings at Disney Parks prior to the film so that guests could experience an element of the film before its release. According to Pirates of the Caribbean 4- Production and Exhibition ,"The films advertising campaign was intended to remind people of why they fell in love with Jack Sparrow in the first place." This was executed through trailers containing classic Jack Sparrow moments meaning that the trailers would mostly include funny or trademark behaviors of the character. Additionally, Disney's first poster release was the symbolic skull and crossbones. This was done to get the consumer excited without revealing too much about the movie.The film was distributed in the UK and the U.S. and grossed over $1000 million to date.
     With a production at this large of a scale, Disney had to create a new 3D experience as well as create over 1,112 shots of computer generated imagery. "The film used new media technologies using 3D cameras similar to those used in the production of the 2009 film Avatar."
     Overall, Disney;s marketing and distribution technique are what made this fill so successful. Its interactive games, online videos, advertisements at Disney Parks, and posters all facilitated the large popularity of the movie to the extent in which a fifth movie is rumored to be produced. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides is the tenth highest grossing films in the world owing all of its success to the brilliant strategy of Disney movie making.

References:
Pirates of the Caribbean 4 -Production, Distribution & Exhibition. (n.d.). Retrieved December 12, 2014, from http://www.slideshare.net/sandraoddy2/pirates-of-the-caribbean-4-production-distribution-exhibition

Why We'll never let Disney's Frozen go

     The world was hit with an icy blast when Disney's 'Frozen' was released in 2013. Its catchy songs and lovable characters are only responsible for only half the success, the other half of success is from Disney's genius marketing and distributing techniques behind the magic.According to Scott Davis, What Marketers Should learn from Disney's 'Frozen' , "Disney has stuck with female protagonists accompanied by great storytelling and songs that belong on Broadway and, in turn, continue to capture young girls' and their parents' hearts and money time and time again." Disney's approach to this film was that of a slow reveal, meaning that they only released certain commercials and advertisements leading up to the release. this also went hand in hand with the chosen title, 'Frozen'. The title was chosen to make the film more unisex rather just selling it to primarily to young girls. The film's slow reveal and title choice turned out to be highly successful as 43% of  the audience was males. Additionally, Disney understood the importance of giving the consumer what they wanted. By making it a musical that included Broadway stars to be the voice of many characters such as Idina Menzel and Josh Gad, the popularity reached out to more than just young girls as audience members. As said by Scott Davis "Last week, Frozen knocked Beyonce out of the No.1 spot on the Billboard 200 album sales chart, only the fourth animated film soundtrack in the charts 58 year history to do so." Disney also included advertising for the movie before its release at the Disney Parks in which park visitors could meet the characters and learn their story while building anticipation for the film as well as allowing consumers to become a part of the magic.

     With production at this large of a scale, Disney animators were faced with the challenge of creating realistic looking snow. As a result, Disney created several new tools in order to show the heaviness and depth of the snow as the characters interacted with it. Disney also created new video games in order to promote the film such as Olaf's Quest which was released a week before the film. This large Franchise is soon to have a ride at Disney World Florida as well as be adapted into a Broadway stage musical due to the sheer popularity of the movie.

     Disney's marketing and distribution of 'Frozen' have set the stage for all animated films following its release. Its massive amounts of merchandise, music sales, new technology, and slow reveal all facilitated the success of the film. By making the film interactive through the means of meeting the characters at Disney Parks, the popularity of the film grew and now sets the stage for future Disney Films that will capture or hearts and make us believe in the Disney Magic time and time again.

References: 

Davis, S. (2014, January 15). What Marketers Should Learn From Disney's 'Frozen' Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottdavis/2014/01/15/what-marketers-should-learn-from-disneys-frozen/

Frozen (2013 film). (2014, April 12). Retrieved December 5, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_(2013_film)

     

The The works behind Disney Pixar's Brave

     The classic love story of the prince and princess gazing into each others eyes and instantly falling in love has recently been broken with the release of Disney Pixar's Brave. The story Brave follows a young girl, Merida, the female protagonist, who decides to take her fate into her own hands as she refuses to marry a suitor whom her parents want her to marry,  rejecting the classic fairy tale story line and bringing feminism into the film as an underlying element. With such a diverse change in the typical story line of Disney films, Brave had to be marketed in an ingenious and engaging way by introducing audiences to the main characters' story prior to its release. When discussing this marketing strategy, the Atlas Books website wrote about this advertising strategy as "It made you feel like you were on the ground-level of something, building anticipation for something that was still more than a year away." By engaging a target audience in interactive ways, Disney enticed this marketed audience with a new type of  character so that when the final product was ready, the moviegoers were familiar with this modern story line and therefore anticipating its release.
     By including current ideas and the common demands from their audience, Disney understood the importance of creating a new plot with a female protagonist versus having another male one. It was crucial to create such a strong female character because today's society was ready as well as demanded this dramatic plot change for younger female and male viewers.  A movie with the plot of a independent, self sufficient female not needing a prince charming for happiness was a selling point to Brave and was marketed as such. According to David Germain author of Disney's 'Brave' Shows Mettle with $66.7M Debut "This film proved that audiences will turn up for a female hero, not just the male protagonists of the past Pixar flicks, such as Woody of "Toy Story," the robot of "Wall-e" or the rat and his chef buddy of "Ratatouille." Additionally, Disney contemplated a variety of title choices before choosing "Brave." This carefully chosen title in appealed to both male and female audiences thus facilitating the success of the film.
     Disney's way of selling, distributing, and promoting Brave continues to build upon its success.  Disney's continued ability to respond to popular demands aids its profitability and success. Brave's marketing campaign prior to the movie being released engaged the audience with its gender friendly title.This unique way of marketing and distributing paved the way for future franchise films and plot lines.


References:
Germain, D. (2012, June 24). Disney's 'Brave' shows mettle with $66.7M debut. Retrieved November 28, 2014, from http://bigstory.ap.org/article/disneys-brave-shows-mettle-667m-debut

3 Marketing Tips from Disney's "Brave" (2012, June 22). Retrieved November 28, 2014, from http://blog.atlasbooksdistribution.com/2012/06/22/3-marketing-tips-from-disneys-brave/

Disney: A Marketing and Distribution Expert

     The iconic princess castle alongside a trail of pixie dust trademarking the opening of Disney films is a sentimental part of childhood that continues into adulthood. So what is it about the Disney "happily ever after" story line that constantly keeps adults and children entertained and wanting more? According to Ryan Tracy's Disney's Powerful Marketing Machine "No other company has such a stockpile of well-known, cute, family-friendly, and highly marketable characters." This is a result of decades of Disney films created with lovable characters which not only appear on the big screen, but are also being sold on clothing, as toys and books to name a few to further advertise the film.. "Disney CEO Robert Iger likes to talk about the "Disney difference," that special bit of magic that sets his company apart from other media conglomerates." This "Disney difference" is one of the key ingredients to their success in constantly turn simple ideas into huge franchises.  Additionally, Disney creates interactive games called Disney Interactive which allows consumers to further engage in their favorite stories and become a part of the Disney magic. This further promotes and advertises their productions.
     The marketing and distribution of Disney films that become close to the hearts of many, are very successful in terms of making profit. With producing merchandise that allows the consumer to "take home" a piece of the magic as well as producing engaging and interactive games allows for the complete Disney  experience. The creation of current, family-friendly characters, and keeping the public demanding for more.by creating commercial and global advertisements, creates a stronger audience base current to meet the world of fantasy. Another part of Disney's success is their ability to foster a child based audience that carries into adulthood by passing the love of Disney to their children  thus beginning the cycle again.



References:
Tracy, R. (2010, November 3). Disney's Powerful Marketing Machine. Retrieved November 28, 2014, from http://www.newsweek.com/disneys-powerful-marketing-machine-69771