WANTED: Millions of passionate fans. How passionate, you may ask? So passionate that they go out and write their own fan blogs, create fan podcasts, publish fan magazines and create entire fan communities — all around your brand. What could be better?
Integrating their efforts into your own marketing campaigns.
I’m not talking about crowdsourcing, the process of gathering user-submitted content to then use in your own marketing materials, instead I’m talking about bringing these ultra-fans into the family and providing a means for them to interact with your brand and experience behind-the-scenes content that otherwise would sit on a shelf or in a file. The result is to create a huge army of (unpaid) brand ambassadors who interact with others to promote the brand.
This is just what the Walt Disney Company has created.
Before 2009, Disney’s online presence was limited to their standard website. There was no social media presence, there was no blog, no YouTube channel. Disney did begin to offer a weekly podcast feed in iTunes starting in 2005, but it died just two years later. As we have heard in other MCM classes, messaging abhors a vacuum, so Disney fans, especially fans of the theme parks, took it upon themselves to fill the void by creating their own online communities, their own blogs, their own podcasts, their own videos. Sites like WDW Radio, DisneyDaddy, Touringplans, AllEars and WDWToday emerged to fill the information void left vacant by Disney’s official silence. These sites were havens for rumors, updates on new releases, updated on theme park attraction refurbishments and much more. While Disney permitted and quietly embraced these sites, they weren’t in control of the message.
In 2009, Disney CEO Robert Iger created “D23” a community for Disney fans. Individuals pay a membership fee to get access to special content and events. With D23 all this changed. Disney launched the Disney Parks Blog, which has developed into a tremendous official resource for Disney Parks-related news and updates. Even more importantly, Disney adopted the mentality of the fan sites by providing continuous updates on even the most trivial matters. Disney also worked directly with the fan sites by holding special conference calls with operators of key fan sites to offer further details of major announcements that the mainstream media may not report. D23 officials were available to fan sites, making guest appearances on podcasts, videos and blogs.
A key component of the D23 community is the semi-annual D23 Expo – a huge gathering for Disney fans (of all kinds) to come together to hear the latest in what’s coming to the theaters, to the theme parks, to gaming and to television. At the first D23 Expo in 2009, Disney used the event to announce the largest ever expansion at Walt Disney World. By coordinating with the fan sites, the news went around the world in a matter of minutes. At the 2011 D23 Expo, Disney showcased their new acquisition of Marvel with a special appearance by Robert Downey, Jr. Again, the fans quickly became brand ambassadors, showcasing the benefits of the Marvel acquisition.
With the recent acquisition by Disney of Lucasfilm, there already is a great deal of fan anticipation for what’s coming for the 2013 D23 Expo. When considering “touch points,” this one event brings together the different facts of the Disney company and displays them in a myriad of ways – from physical exhibits to printed signage, to online announcements and videos to intense media coverage. Oh, and, of course, there’s a retail element selling D23 exclusive merchandise and a live auction where extremely rare collectible items are sold.
Yet another touch point with D23, Disney produces a high quality magazine, “twenty three” for D23 members with exclusive interviews, photos and collectible items. Through a special relationship with Barnes & Noble, “twenty three” is available for individual purchase for those who don’t want to purchase a D23 annual membership.
Now as D23 enters it’s fourth year, D23 membership has begun to take on a status of it’s own, especially for those (like me) who are charter members.
What’s next for D23 is anyone’s guess. What I do know is that D23 was the beginnings of a huge IMC that now encompasses not only the fan sites themselves, but it’s also taken on a life of its own. It all started with a simple question…