DISNEY CONSUMER

PRODUCTS :

MARKETING Nutrition TO CHILDREN

• Founded by Walter Elias Disney and Roy Disney in 1923 with the debut of Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie.

• In 1954, Disney debuted its first television program, The Wonderful World of Disney.

• In 1955, Disneyland, a theme park, was opened.

$32 billion Company with net income of $2.5 billion in 2005

Mickey Mouse was valued at over $5.8 billion in 2004

Winnie the Pooh was valued at over $5.6 billion in 2004

• Managed Disney’s 10 TV stations, 72 radio stations, cable television stations and Internet holdings

1. Media Networks

• Licensed 10 theme parks as well as 35 Disney Vacation Club resorts and two luxury cruise ships

2. Parks and resorts

• Created animated and live action films

3. Studio Entertainment

• Licensed Walt Disney characters, visual and literary properties and published books, magazines, etc.

4. Disney Consumer Products

MAJOR BUSINESS SEGMENTS

DISNEY CONSUME

R PRODUCT

S (DCP)

In 2005, DCP was the world’s largest licensor with more than $21 billion in retail sales

Obesity problems in 2004• In America, more than 30% of

children aged 5 to 9 years were overweight and 14% were obese.• In Europe, more than 10% of

children aged 5 to 9 years were obese.

DCP faced criticism of

being responsible for

the growing obesity

epidemic

New set of rules were passed stating that advertisements must not encourage or condone excessive consumption of food

This caused the company to consider the

nutritional value of its own food

products.

Could Disney use its magic to get children shift from sugary, processed foods to a more nutritious diet?

Could Disney meet Nutritional Guidelines and establish credibility with the government, parents and nutritionists?

Could Disney provide leadership for the rest of the food industry and use its brand strength to reach children?

DCP discovered that there was a gap between the foods children requested and the foods their mothers were willing to buy for them

Mother :• Portion controlled• High quality• Good taste• Be requested by their

children. Child :• Fun graphics and

shapes,• Good taste• Make them feel special• Must be Mom-approved

NEEDS AND WANTS

DCP decided to develop a quality range of Disney integrated foods that answers children’s daily needs in an entertaining way-in short, Good Food, Great Fun

COURSE OF

ACTION

Main Meal Side Dish Snacks Drinks Treats

85% products to be categorized as main meal, side dish, snack or beverage and only 15% as treats

PRODUCT CATEGORIES

DCP’s products were now minimally processed, had controlled levels of added sugar, contained no trans or hydrogenated fats, and had minimal additives.

Three approaches towards creating

Disney food products

1. Offer products that already had broad appeal.Eg. Milk or peanut butter

2. Take products that were already healthy and make them more fun.Eg. Mould whole wheat pasta into character shapes

3. Use packaging to inspire product sampling.Eg. Water bottles in the shape of characters

• Disney licensed its characters to Imagination Farms, a national fresh produce marketing company.

• Imagination Farms distributed peaches with Daisy Duck and Goofy stickers and table grapes displayed in Mickey and Minnie Mouse growers’ boxes.

• It provided retailers with customized marketing programs.

• Bagged fruits and vegetables featured a back panel that provided nutritional facts, jokes and other child-engaging information.

• They focused smaller and sweeter fruits and vegetables that would appeal to children’s palates.

DISNEY ADVERTISEMENT

S

COMPETITORS

“My goal is to have every fruit a kid would want to eat with a Nickelodeon character.”

- Sherice Torres (Licensing VP at Nickelodeon)

Del Monte Foods signed a licensing deal with Sesame Workshop and marketed fruits and vegetables featuring Elmo, Grover and Cookie Monster characters on its labels.

The company marketed carrots and celery served with ranch dip or peanut butter, which it described as a “healthier snack alternative” and “the original pleasin’, mom-lovin’ dippity delicious snack!”

RISKS

The biggest challenge for DCP was to deliver quality at affordable prices

PRICING & VALUE

LEGACYDCP was unsure of whether the public would embrace the new food products. They feared to encounter some skepticism due to past vocal criticism

DCP wasn’t first to market with fresh produce and Nickelodeon packaged products had been on the shelves since the mid-1990s

DIFFERENTIATION & COMPETITION

GROWTH AND DISTRIBUTION

DCP managers are confident about the long-term viability of their entry into the food business and plan to capitalize on the vast resources of the Walt Disney Company to gain market share and acceptance.

Created by Mihika Daga, VNIT, Nagpur, as a part of the Marketing Management internship under Prof Sameer Mathur, IIM Lucknow.