I recently returned from my family’s Disney vacation. Walt Disney World is the epitome of non-stop marketing. I knew it and I didn’t care. How is that possible?
Don’t people hate shameless promotion? Don’t they feel “sold” when they purchase baseball caps with ears and blinking lights – hats that they will never have the opportunity to wear outside of the park? Aren’t we supposed to be angry that we are made to stand in line and stare at corporate sponsored displays? The answer is no! We love it. We even pay to see it.
We watched a fireworks display every night. Isn’t that overkill? No! Disney is about branding from start to finish. They understand that everything matters. Even their employees are called cast members. They are on stage. They represent Disney. I will be honest; we did have some bad experiences. Most notably was a concierge that bad mouthed the company and had a less than pleasant attitude. I have to say that my first thought after meeting him was, “They should fire his butt today.” Disney has about 50,000 employees and my encounter with one was enough to change my experience.
By now you may be thinking what the heck does this have to do with my depressed schnauzer. Good question. Ever since we’ve been home my dog acts like something is wrong. I think he wants to bring me down. There are two possibilities, either he had a great time while we were gone and wishes we hadn’t come home, or he is completely jealous that we had fun without him. If he doesn’t snap out of it, I may have to get myself a new dog before none of us are able to get out of bed in the morning.
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THE BOTTOM LINE:
Principal 1: Branding is internal and external. To maintain the integrity of your brand you will need to focus on marketing to your employees as well.
Principal 2: Your reputation depends on more than your product and promotions. You must create a complete customer experience.
Principal 3: One bad attitude can bring everyone down. Change the attitude or change the person.
