Disney: The Role Model for Magician Brands
Does “Where dreams come true,” sound magical enough for you? To adults who never stepped into a Disney park as a kid, this might sound a bit cliched. But to those who remember meeting their favorite cartoon character in real life, or to those who have been moved to tears or laughter by an animated movie, you know that The Walt Disney Company has a way of delivering magic.
It is hard to think that Disney was once a simple cartoon studio, but that was the extent of the company when it was founded in 1923. Steadily, their innovation in animation allowed them to dominate other studios throughout the years. Today, animation is not the only thing in which Disney leads the way. The Walt Disney Company has gone on to produce more than 700 animated and live-action movies, making it a titan in entertainment. They revolutionized theme parks in 1955 with the opening of Disneyland, and have continued to innovate with 11 more parks around the world. In 2018, the dozen Disney theme parks proved their value by earning $4.5 billion of profit. That same year, Disney Media Networks, including ABC, ESPN, and Lucasfilms among others, generated $6.5 billion of profit. Disney has spent nearly a century inventing new ways to entertain, and they have clearly reaped the profits of it.
The magic of Disney is obvious to their customers. They can’t fight the feeling that nobody entertains quite as well as Disney. Nobody can capture the same wonder in a two-hour movie or in a trip to an amusem*nt park. But not all of the magic comes from the experience itself. Disney creates magic through the careful construction of their own brand identity. Because Disney embraces the Magician brand archetype, customers already expect to experience magic when they interact with any part of the vast Disney umbrella.
Let’s take a closer look at how Disney creates their one-of-a-kind magic.
Nothing quite says “magic” like a castle straight out of a storybook. That device is easy to recognize. With its grand towers, many layers, and beautiful lighting, the castle in the Walt Disney Pictures logo is enchanting to behold. However, magic is also in the details. Above the castle, you can see that the logo takes advantage of both the breathtaking quality of the sunset as well as the mystic feeling given off by stars. The reflective waters below the castle, combined with the trees on either side, use the beauty of nature to evoke wonder. And above it all, the Disney name sparkles and floats dreamily above the scene.
The vividness of the logo is enchanting, but the impressiveness of it is also a display of Disney’s talent. The company shows off its animation expertise and wows the audience with industry-leading technology. The logo communicates that Disney is the best in the game at delivering magic.
Advertising
In this Disney ad, the brand uses a very natural event to evoke a supernatural feeling. The commercial opens with a sleepless wife waking her husband. She tells him that she is bothered by fears that they are drifting apart after years of marriage. He tries his best to assure her that what seems like a loss of affection is nothing to worry about, but she can’t get over how he doesn’t talk to her in “that special way like you used to.” But all her worries seem to melt away when the husband leans into her and says “I love you” in an impressive Donald Duck voice.
While it’s hard for some to believe that the romantic remedy to the couple’s marriage woes was a Donald Duck impersonation, many people were deeply moved by the ad. Why? Because it takes a serious yet relatable problem and shows a couple working through it. The husband heals his wife’s insecurities with love and affection. It feels like magic watching the couple rekindle their love for each other, and Disney is the vessel that brings that love to the surface.
This magic isn’t out of a fantasy story; it’s in real life and it’s familiar to all of us. With the ad, Disney communicates that its magic is personal and powerful in our everyday lives.
For the fiftieth anniversary celebration of Disneyland, Disney released this ad showing all that the park provides for the people who it serves: those who aspire to be princesses or space travelers, and parents reliving their childhoods with their kids. The ad shows people gazing at the castle in wonder and families laughing uncontrollably on rides. It finishes with an exhortation to “Join us now for a celebration big enough to hold 50 years of magic.”
Disney’s commercial focuses on what Disney allows customers to do that they can’t do in their ordinary lives. It says that the park was dedicated to castle-gazers and those who want to travel outer space — things that seem impossible in everyday life. Yet, these are things that customers are able to do with Disney magic. The most important line of the ad is when the narrator says that the park was created for people who dreamed “that magic could be a place.” Disney says that “magic” and the Disney brand are synonymous; their theme parks not only hold magic, but they are the embodiment of magic itself. This message creates an association between Disney and enchantment and uses it to draw people to parks, in celebration of a magic milestone.
Brand Voice
Disney uses an emotionally compelling voice in all of its marketing. It uses moving words like “dreams” and “magic” to create curiosity in the audience. The company makes grand promises about fulfilling dreams and helping you do things you have always wanted to do. These claims fascinate the audience and call them to experience Disney for themselves.
Public Perception
Some people have developed disdain for The Walt Disney Company because it has grown into something of a mega corporation. It continues to expand and envelope other entertainment companies, which makes some people uneasy. However, these worries have failed to convince the majority of Americans who still have great trust in the company. The 2019 Axios Harris Poll, which surveyed over 18,000 Americans about the reputations of America’s most visible companies, ranked Disney the fifth most reputable company in the nation. The company also ranked fourth on Fast Company’s ranking of “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies” in 2019. Disney continues to be recognized for the way that it serves its customers and finds new ways to deliver magic.
Top 3 Lessons Magician Brands Can Learn from Disney:
- Find magic in the ordinary. Bring wonder and enchantment into the normal problems of everyday life.
- Find ways to make customers feel limitless. Use sights, sounds, and messages to make them feel free from their everyday constraints.
- Set yourself apart from the competition by trying things nobody has seen before. “Wow” audiences with your daring use of innovation.
Could your brand be a “Magician” brand like Disney?
Take Ardent’s Brand Personality Quiz to find out which of the 12 brand archetypes you represent.
