Highlights in Business, Economics and Management EDMS 2023

Volume 23 (2023)

The Successful Business Strategy of Disney

Fuqi Ouyang *
School of APSY, UIC University, Zhuhai, China
* Corresponding Author Email: r130024184@mail.uic.edu.cn
Abstract. COVID-19 has severely damaged many industries. Some companies have been able to
overcome difficulties, while others have failed as a result. In this situation, Disney not only overcame
the difficulties but also enriched the audience. Therefore, this study takes Shanghai Disneyland, a
subsidiary of Disney Company, as an example to identify the main factors that contribute to the long-
term success of Disneyland and the reasons for overcoming difficulties. The purpose of this study is
to analyze the reasons why Disneyland can attract tourists in the long term and the strategies for its
application based on the changes in the characteristics of tourist groups during this period. Through
analysis, it was found that Disney's increasingly diverse roles can generate identity among more
tourists, and service facilities can allow them to immerse themselves in experiencing their roles. At
the same time, rich marketing methods attract tourists to repeatedly play. Finally, this article uses
consumer types as the investigation entry point to analyze the marketing strategies of Disneyland,
providing a reference for other companies to design people-centered marketing.
Keywords: Disney; marketing strategy; consumer characteristics.

1. Introduction
1.1. Research Background
In the context of COVID-19, the economy has severely harmed many businesses, including the
Disney industry. According to Disney's financial statement, Disney has always maintained a high
income with a growth trend, and its net profit reached more than 1.2 billion yuan in 2018 and more
than 1 billion yuan in 2019. However, due to the outbreak, Disney saw negative growth in 2020, with
a loss of more than 2 billion yuan. However, following the outbreak, its sales increased dramatically
and continued to rise year after year. Its net profit in 2021 was 250700000 yuan, and in 2022, it was
3505000000 yuan, but it has not yet recovered to pre-epidemic levels [1]. China, as the world's most
populated country, is a vital market for Disney enterprises. During the pandemic, Chinese people
were unable to go out for consumption, which affected Disney's revenue. With the end of the epidemic
era, Chinese people were no longer confined to their houses, leading to an increase in travel and
consumption. At the same time, Disney has 12 theme parks across the world, which are the main
source of revenue for Disney and one of the most iconic attractions in many places. As a result,
understanding Chinese customer demand and trends is critical for the Disney Company's revenue
generation.
1.2. Research Gap
In the past, studies on Disney have mostly concentrated on its development process, marketing,
and communication methods, as it is a globally popular instance worth analyzing and learning from.
A long-term study on Disney's strategy has been conducted; Shen and others use it as a research
paradigm, beginning with four aspects: product experience, marketing tactics, marketing culture, and
marketing objects.
This research looks into Disney's global development process and marketing strategies [2]. Some
individuals have recently noted that Disney movies have steadily changed, and these researchers
discovered that Disney begins delivering different stories to consumers through the changing of
character qualities and character interests. Brubaker's research looked at the association between the
physical portrayal of the main characters (N = 323) in Disney animated films released between 1937
and 2019 and their physical, psychological, and social characteristics [3]. The researcher's focus on

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various subjects is due to the character alteration and the widespread conversation regarding Disney's
change.
Although there have been many studies on how Disney changes IP and how Disney makes money
from IP, few papers analyze the reasons why Disney's products are increasingly attracting consumers
from the perspective of offline Disney's customer characteristics and identify strategies for their
utilization. Therefore, this article proposes an analysis of the reasons for the change in the
characteristics of tourist groups since the opening of Shanghai Disneyland in 2016. Studying the
reasons for the change in tourist types can help Shanghai Disneyland understand the needs of tourists
and how to better adapt to their needs during the peak tourism season after the epidemic.
1.3. Structure of Paper
This essay will commence by offering an overview of Disney's historical evolution, business
model, and intellectual property (IP) image in order to address the existing knowledge gap. This study
focuses on the Chinese market, specifically examining the customer group characteristics of Shanghai
Disneyland. The objective is to investigate the factors that contribute to Disney's ability to attract this
particular consumer group. In light of the aforementioned analysis, this essay will now make several
recommendations for Disneyland to effectively cater to a wider range of target consumers in response
to the aforementioned factors.

2. Case Description
Nonetheless, the arrival of the epidemic in 2020 also gave the EU retail industry and Primark a
major blow. The constant change of the epidemic led to the EU countries' policies being tightened
and loosened, and the EU retail market's performance is also changing. Before the epidemic, the EU
retail market stabilized at a steady growth rate of 2%–3% [7]. Starting with the controls in March, the
retail sector experienced a significant decline, down 6.8% year-on-year in that month and 17.6% year-
on-year in April, before starting a slow recovery in May [7]. After multiple rounds of outbreak
ultimate, in May 2021, overall sales in the EU largely returned to pre-outbreak levels and began to
grow modestly. Meanwhile, the EU is an important market for Primark. With no online shops,
Primark was completely unable to sell during the blockade and was forced to cease operations.
Disney is a successful brand with a massive business that touches many people's daily lives, from
movies and games to amusement parks. Walt Disney and Roy Disney launched the Disney Company
in 1923, and it quickly grew through comic book production. Following that, Disney began to extend
its intellectual property assets offline, opening its first resort in Florida in October 1971. Following
that, Disney developed an industrial chain that extended from film IP to offline vacation locations.
According to a recent Disney study, the company's major business is still entertainment and media,
as well as theme parks and resorts. This year, Disney's 12 theme parks have maintained high revenues
and sustained growth [2].
Due to Disney World is a significant source of revenue for Disney firms, it is crucial to investigate
the characteristics of the Disney consumer base. According to the 2016 Shanghai Disneyland
Population Insight Report, the Shanghai Disneyland population is primarily young, with 77.1% of
consumers aged 35 and under and 70% of them already married. Because Shanghai Disneyland
opened in June 2016, the tourist data in this report is based on 2016 statistical findings. On May 19,
2021, the China Tourism Research Institute published a report interpreting a survey of over 3 million
visitors collected by Shanghai Disney Resort over the previous five years, summarizing the major
trends in the theme park industry and the various ways in which Chinese tourists can experience
theme parks [4].
In addition to the great draw for parent-child family travelers, nearly half of tourists aged 20–30
did not bring their children to Shanghai Disneyland, while the proportion of tourists aged 30–50 who
did not bring their children remained above 30%. Furthermore, Shanghai Disneyland has become one
of the most popular leisure and holiday locations for people with gray hair. When these two reports

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are compared, it is clear that parent-child families were originally the primary customer group, but
the proportion of customer groups has shifted in recent years. Young people aged 20 to 30 with no
children account for half of this group, and this share is increasing. Simultaneously, the share of older
tourists aged 65 and up has remained constant. This means that Shanghai Disney's consumer base has
grown in recent years, the age range has broadened, and the audience has gotten more diverse. More
and more people are visiting Shanghai Disneyland, not just for family vacations but also for young
singles who like to spend their money at Disneyland. Disneyland is also gaining popularity among
the elderly.

3. Analysis of Problems
3.1. Reason on Social Identity
Princess is regarded in numerous countries and areas as a distinct concept of female identity. In
the course of world history, women's social status has been passive and subordinate in comparison to
men's power and subject status. Because the name 'princess' usually refers to a female identity
associated with the royal line, she is frequently viewed as a representative figure of women, and as
society progresses and develops, her notion progressively shifts from a definite identity to a cultural
trend. Disney princesses have become an ideal image for customers as a result of this cultural trend.
Consumers identify with their personal qualities, identify with their own characteristics, consider their
lives as ideal lifestyles, and seek identity by visiting Disneyland and playing favorite park roles.
According to the notion of social identity, people are motivated by a range of wants, motives, and
ambitions. In keeping with the tradition of studying human behavior through the lens of individual
objectives and motivations, researchers analyze group behavior and intergroup connections through
the lens of social identity.
Researchers recognized that multiple motives may operate in a group context. Realistic concerns
(such as disputes over resources) are just one factor in behavior, but people also want to feel good
about themselves [5]. Turner in 1975 argued that "subjects will identify with a social category to the
extent that such identification enables them to verify value significance, to the extent that it is the
category most relevant to the desire for positive self-evaluation" [6]. That's the reason consumers
associate their personalities with Disney princesses, go to theme parks, dress up as their favorite
princesses, integrate individuals into groups, and find a sense of group identity in amusement parks
to meet their needs to become such an ideal person as a princess. The more diverse images of
princesses attract young people to seek a sense of identity at Disneyland.
3.2. Reasons on Promotion Strategy
The number of visitors (person times) who returned to Shanghai Disneyland climbed by 50%
during the pre-pandemic era of 2017–2019. Furthermore, travelers with the Shanghai Disneyland
Annual Pass visit the park an average of 10 times per year [4]. It has been discovered that the main
reason Disney can lure tourists to consume several times is that it uses experiential marketing
efficiently. Experiential marketing is a marketing approach that redefines and designs a way of
thinking by fully activating and mobilizing consumers' sensory, emotional, thinking, action,
association, and other emotional and rational variables by seeing, listening, using, and engaging. In
his work "Experiential Marketing," Bernd Schmitt offered five particular techniques for experiential
marketing: sensory experiential strategy, emotional experiential strategy, thinking experiential
strategy, action experiential strategy, and connected experiential strategy [7].
The impact of sensory marketing can be seen in two ways: it can be used to change consumers'
subconscious views of the quality of a product or service in a more abstract way. Because Disney's
anime production is primarily in the form of music movies, its music has a distinct style and is widely
distributed. Visitors will hear the iconic music of the theme as soon as they enter the area in the
Disney theme park, connecting their experiences with the movie content in their senses, leading them
to immersive experiences in the game, stimulating consumers' curiosity, and enhancing overall
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activity participation. Disney theme parks use emotional experience tactics by incorporating the
protagonist's image into the park's architecture, and scene design allows consumers to immerse
themselves in the situation, producing resonance among consumers.
In addition, Disney has also designed interactive links with tourists, allowing them to immerse
themselves more in the joyful atmosphere they create through interaction with characters. Taking the
iconic daytime themed parade of Shanghai Disneyland, the "Mickey Fairy Tale Train," as an example,
from 2018 to 2021, the number of visitors watching the show has been increasing year by year, with
a growth rate of nearly 20% [4]. The increase in viewership indicates that the event is one of the
important factors attracting tourists, so Disney's immersive gaming strategy is very effective.
3.3. Reasons on IP Strategy
Disney's IP marketing model is also a reason to attract a diverse group of tourists. Disney's path to
growth is based on the creation of intellectual property (IP). It uses its own strengths and adopts
relevant diversified strategies to fully expand its product line, connect upstream and downstream, and
create core competitiveness from both content and channels. This creates a closed-loop ecological
industrial chain of "IP + media + amusement park + products" for all-around realization. From the
monetization method of this industry chain, it can be inferred that enriching the customer base first
requires enriching the IP audience. Disney is good at combining the background of the times and the
IP image. When the foam of the United States dissipates gradually and society is shrouded in grief
and sorrow during the Great Depression, Disney applies the right medicine to the case, using the
innocent story of Snow White to awaken the yearning for love and peace, and the value concept that
justice will eventually overcome evil brings great inspiration; And Mickey Mouse's lively and cute
image, gentle and brave personality, and the characteristics of middle-class life presented—house,
car, girlfriend—all highly reflected the American Dream at that time. In addition to focusing on the
female and children's markets with cartoon characters, Disney has taken a crazy dive into IP in the
new century, incorporating the connected world under its umbrella, fully satisfying the ultimate
fantasy of adventure and romance for adults, and expanding the audience of Disney IP. In the current
era, where women's awareness is awakening and more women are starting to pursue their dreams
independently and seek self-worth, Disney quickly perceives the shift in female market demand,
catering to the progress of the times and changing the image of the princess. From Snow White to Ice
and Snow, the image of women in Disney movies has gradually shifted from being attached to men
and pursuing happiness through marriage to realizing their own dreams and pursuing their own values.
Due to the advancement of the IP core, its audience has become more adult and enriched.
Secondly, the image of the princess has increased from that of a typical white woman to one of
various cultural backgrounds around the world with different skin tones. Disney has enriched the
audience's group image by keeping up with the times, diversifying its behavior, and establishing more
audience links. In addition, Disney utilized the concept of affiliate marketing in the derivative
products that monetize IP [8]. It fully utilizes its well-known flagship cartoon character images,
allowing consumers to find Disney character images in any industry under the Disney brand. From
the immersive fairy tale experience at Disneyland to a printed T-shirt, from a captivating series of
movies to a pen, these cartoon characters and story backgrounds are intertwined and integrated in the
Disney industry, creating a multi-dimensional and multi-scene experience based on Disney and
bringing consumers naturally into different industries. In the Disney cultural atmosphere created by
Disney, consumers are influenced by social validity in the decision-making process, making them
more willing to follow social trends, visit Disneyland, and purchase Disney products [9].
Overall, the above analysis reveals that the reason why Disneyland can attract more different types
of consumers and encourage them to repeat their consumption is that Disneyland can generate identity
among tourists by using experiential marketing to integrate IP images and scenes into the park's
building facilities and finally enriching its IP image to attract more audience groups to the park.

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4. Suggestion
4.1. Suggestion on Social Identity
People obviously need a place to define themselves, and Disneyland delivers the emotional value
they require. There are more things to do for that, according to Disney. The first stage is to identify
the social value trend and develop additional tactics to connect individuals to Disneyland. As Allen
put it today, 'all fairy tales are really adult fairy stories, and fairy tales do not concern the
psychological requirements of children but rather the psychological metaphors of adult society.' As a
result, as Disney film viewers become more adult-oriented in the context of the expanding
dissemination of feminism and the growing need for feminist culture, the character image in the film
must match the psychological needs of adults for this sort of character [8].
Similarly, interaction with team members can enhance social identity [6]. Disney should first cater
to the needs of the audience in terms of IP image setting, and then, in order to satisfy tourists' sense
of identity in the park, Disney Park should update the princess image. For example, setting up a theme
park with a new princess image and amusement facilities that match the background For example,
establishing a park with a theme of ice and snow wonders, placing roller coasters and other facilities
in the background of an ice and snow world, or engaging in human-computer interactive games Let
tourists become part of the main character group in the park, helping each other and pursuing their
dreams in the game.
4.2. Suggestion on Promotion Strategy
In addition to recreating IP movie scenes in scene design, situational interaction can improve
experiential marketing. Offline multiplayer VR experiences, for example, have a significant market.
Shanghai Disney has already created a hyper-body space in Disney Town where visitors can enter
the scenario using VR glasses. However, this meta-body area cannot handle a huge number of tourists,
and the wait period for a single experience is brief, making it difficult to advertise extensively. As a
result, before integrating VR technology into amusement park scenes, 3D or holographic technology
can be completely utilized. For example, converting the roller coaster shuttle scene from a graphic
design to a 3D or holographic scene and adding interactive ties with people necessitates travelers
completing a specific action or character in the scene in order to proceed.
Take Universal Studios in Singapore as an example. It has applied 3D technology to the
"Transformers 3D Duel" mobile amusement project in the theme area of the science fiction city. In
this project, visitors take on the form of "Autobots" NEST Alliance members, brave the science
fiction setting, and collaborate with allies to prevent "Deceptions" from robbing the fire source [10].
Hanghai Disney can also apply 3D to some projects and set up some interactive parts based on 3D
technology. After the implementation cost of VR technology is reduced, the VR experience will be
provided to every tourist.
4.3. Suggestion on IP Strategy
The measure of monetizing IP in the final portion of the production chain, which can enrich the
audience, cannot be done without suitable marketing. Based on the current trend of young people's
interest in blind boxes, Disney might partner with blind box brands to launch its own series and
collaborate with other series to improve its awareness. Furthermore, as previously said, purchasing
Disney's neighboring territories has become a fad. To strengthen its influence, its surrounding sales
strategies might boost online sales and advertising. Furthermore, the price of various minor pendants
can be suitably reduced, allowing more individuals to develop brand awareness by acquiring Disney
peripheral dolls. As more people become deeply ingrained in Disney's brand image through purchases,
the park's client base will grow in lockstep.

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5. Conclusion
In summary, based on the analysis of Disney's profit situation before and after the epidemic, this
article found that the tourist group characteristics of amusement parks have changed. Then, starting
from the changes in their group characteristics, this indicates that the group has gradually become
diversified in terms of age and economic situation. Based on this change, the paper examines the
causes of the change in more detail, taking into account the rising demand for social identity
recognition among tourists, the immersive experience offered by amusement park service facilities,
the diversification of Disney's IP image, and various monetization marketing models. These three
main factors enable Disney to stand out among numerous amusement parks and attract a wider
audience with multiple visits to the park. Finally, in order to attract more groups and better meet the
needs of tourists in the future, the paper proposes improvement suggestions based on the three main
influencing factors mentioned above.
This article discusses three major aspects that determine Disneyland's appeal. This element
suggests that offline experience is the most essential aspect for consumers, which is beneficial to
boosting people-centered offline marketing design and responding to the influence of the online
purchasing era. As a result, this successful marketing technique is extremely worthy of replication by
other similar businesses, providing successful cases and blueprints for numerous organizations
looking to monetize their movie image. Simultaneously, this article examines changes in consumer
group characteristics with the goal of increasing other organizations' understanding of consumer
requirements and emphasizing the relevance of the consumer experience.
However, this article also has its limitations in analyzing the population. This article only considers
the consumer data of Shanghai Disneyland, which has only been open for seven years. Therefore, the
time span and quantity of consumer group data are limited. In addition, Disney is not a local Chinese
brand, and cultural differences in the marketing model of Disneyland can also have an impact on the
results obtained from using Shanghai Disney data. Therefore, in future research on the marketing
model of Disneyland based on the characteristics of consumer customer groups, it is necessary to
adopt data with a larger time span and a wider range in response to the above reasons and considering
cultural differences.

References List
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and Cultural Industry (ICEMCI 2021)(pp.).Atlantis Press. 2021
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Representations of bodies across disney animated films from 1937 to 2019. Psychology of Popular
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[4] The China Tourism Research Institute today released a report on the trend of happy tourism in Shanghai
Disneyland Resort - PR Newswire (May 19, 2021)
[5] Bagozzi, R. P., Bergami, M., Marzocchi, G. L., & Morandin, G., Customer–organization relationships:
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[6] Pickett, C., & Leonardelli, G. Using collective identities for assimilation and differentiation. SAGE
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[7] Schmitt, B. H., Experiential marketing. Journal of Marketing Management, 11999, 5(1–3), 53–67.
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[9] Mohammed, A.J. Factors Influencing the Consumer Process in UAE Society. International
Sociology, Vol. 11, 3. pp.337-357.

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[10] Hualin, Wang. Singapore Universal Studios Virtual Experience Scene Design. Hundred Schools in Arts
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