Harry Potter

Svetlana KoganC09974439

SVETLANA KOGAN

C09974439

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TABLE OF CONTENTSQUESTION 1....................................................................................................................... 3

QUESTION 2....................................................................................................................... 6

QUESTION 3....................................................................................................................... 7

QUESTION 4....................................................................................................................... 9

QUESTION 5..................................................................................................................... 11

QUESTION 6..................................................................................................................... 13

REFERENCES................................................................................................................. 15

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QUESTION 1Universal studios tends to mimic the strategies of Walt Disney World. Please take the time to study some of Walt Disney World’s branding, entrepreneurial, and new product development strategies and demonstrate them in a short paper 2-3 pages in length.

In 1928 Walt Disney gave birth to an iconic and unforgettable character with

Giant black ears, goofy eyes, unforgettable red shorts and giant white-gloved

hands – Mickey Mouse (Robertson, 2008). When strategically placing three

circles together, people can immediately identify the lovable mouse that has

invaded our television screens for the past 80 years. Mickey has become one

of the most recognizable symbols in the world, thanks to Walt Disney’s

ubiquitous branding strategies (Suddath, 2008). Like most companies,

Disney uses a variety of integrated marketing communication strategies,

radio, television, outdoor media, direct mail as well as online advertising and

promotions. In order to maintain the magic and fantasy behind the Disney

brand, the company believes that direct marketing is essential to maintain a

dialogue between themselves and potential customers (Robertson, 2008).

Upon the customer’s request, DVD mail packs are sent to individual

households, the DVD arrives in a jewel-incrusted case, with fun, bright and

bold illustrations enticing individuals to tune into the wonderful world of

Disney. The DVD is directed and designed in such a way that individuals

become hyped up about Disneyworld as well as enticing people to watch the

DVD over and over again. The club house CD included in this package is a

fun and educational game for children. This CD attracts young individuals as

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well as their parents to the Disney experience at Disney World, thus

essentially building on the Disney brand (Negus Viveiros, 2006).

With a competitor such as Universal Studios, it is essential that Disney

maintain a strong and steady entrepreneurial and new product development

strategy. This is imperative in order to ensure that they are the market

leaders. It is believed that leaders in their industries make fifty percent of their

revenue due to products developed within the most recent five years

(Robertson, 2008). A great point of reference for entrepreneurs within the

Disney Corporation is their notorious vault, which holds the company’s video

releases on moratorium (Facenda, 2009). In 2007 the Disney Vault was

accessed, and their innovators drew on inspiration from some of Disney’s

most iconic characters, themes and images to break into the luxury market.

This line began with soaps, which were inspired by Alice In Wonderland.

Following their great success, Disney collaborated with designer Kristie Kelly

who helped them create and design Disney’s Fairy Tale weddings. This

includes a collection of wedding dresses mimicking those of the Disney

princesses, such as Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty (Facenda, 2009). All

girls dream of becoming a princess, and this is partly due to the wonderful

image Disney has helped implant into their minds. Thus, reflecting on the

wonderful Disney fairy tales, it is not an unreasonable to assume that women

would love to walk down the isle and finally become the princess they have

always dreamed of.

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The brilliance behind Disney’s new product developments is that it maintains

some of the Disney fantasy life and experience that comes with reading their

books, and watching the movies or television shows. Disney’s elaboration on

their ideas by creating more than just a show or a movie but an experience;

has allowed for them to create a world where families can become one with

their favorite story lines and for them to be engrossed in the wonderful world

of Disney. However, to maintain a steady following in their movies and

television shows, it is imperative that they constantly innovate experiences for

others. Disney has recently created a sports complex and hotel near the

Orlando Disneyworld, where families can come to enjoy state of the art

sporting facilities as well as a luxury resort. Families are also provided with

transport to and from Disneyworld, allowing them to enjoy all experiences

within the Disney world. It is important that brands find new ways to attract

new audiences. Providing Disney’s innovations are subtle and bring the best

to the market, they will find an audience (Robertson, 2008). The sporting

facility has been a great new product for Disney as it has allowed for them to

expand their horizons and demonstrate that they are no longer only about

their princesses.

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QUESTION 2Analyze how Disney used merchandising and cross-promotion to achieve success in theme parks. (1-2 pages)

The irrefutable strength and recognition of the Disney brand allows the

company to effectively use merchandising and cross-promotion as a way of

promoting success in other areas of its enterprise, such as in its theme parks.

Disney stores and merchandising represent “about 10% of Disney’s sales, but

closer to 15% of [its] operating income” (Business Week, 2002) Even in the

economic downturn of 2009, Disney found that consumers were still turning to

its products because they were “looking for brands they trusted that they knew

their children would be receptive to” (Retail Merchandiser, 2010).

Disney has been able to instill a particular image of its brand and ultimately its

theme parks to children and their families by enabling identification and

familiarization with its products and services to children from an early age.

Every time a child plays with a Disney toy or watches the Disney channel on

television, it is an advertisement for Disney and therefore Disneyworld “The

happiest place on Earth” (Robertson, 2008).

Disney has used cross-promotion and merchandising in an extremely clever

way, once a character within a show becomes extremely popular, such as

Hanna Montana, they develop toys, videos and games and eventually bring

the Hanna Montana craze to Disneyworld, with virtual games and her

character occasionally making an appearance on the centre stage.

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QUESTION 3Discuss the competition between Universal and Disney. (1-2 pages)

Disney’s biggest competitor in the theme park industry is Universal Studios.

When Universal studios announced that they would be building a Harry Potter

theme park around the corner from Disney’s Disneyworld in Orlando, it

created a an instant conflict between the two companies (The Corporation,

1998). Disney and Universal are both utilizing aggressive marketing strategies

to entice families to attend their theme park. Due to the high costs associated

with such entertainment, the companies believe that families vacationing in

the area will most likely only pick one of the theme parks as opposed to both.

Disneyworld is heavily advertising their discounted multiday passes, in order

to attract families that wouldn’t otherwise visit. Disney has decided to place

MGM in the theme parks title, which is close to MCA, the company that owns

Universal studios. Thus, to any uninformed individual, this could mean the

difference from attending Universal Studios or Disneyworld (Miller, 1992).

Universal studios are retaliating through the development and creation of their

rides. The studio is newly developed; therefore they were able to create rides

using the latest technology and advancements, which Disneyworld had not

thought to use. “The happiest place on earth” (Robertson, 2008) quickly

became a construction zone, with Disney taking some advice from Universal

and realizing that now that the anti had been upped they were competing on

the quality of the rides and that their brand name was not enough. It is now

believed that even though Disney may have more rides, it targets a different

audience to that of Universal Studios. Disneyworld is aimed at younger

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children whilst Universal is more appropriate for teenagers. After all the war of

the theme parks may not have been necessary (Miller, 1992).

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QUESTION 4Analyze the huge success of the “Harry Potter” phenomenon. (1-2 pages)

Harry Potter, a simple story of an orphaned young boy who was swept away

to join the wizarding world. The plot seems simple enough, but with over 300

million books sold, Harry Potter takes third place in the all time bestseller list;

the number one being The Bible (Brown, 2006). Originally publishing houses

had rejected the book, believing that it had no future, as children would not be

interested in such a series (Beahm, 2004). Eventually a small London

publishing house picked up the first book, and the phenomenon began.

Children were crazed by the books and as each new book was released,

huge crowds gathered in order to be one of the first to purchase and read the

next chapter in this young boys life. This was surprising as it has been a long

time since children’s books have been so successful and that every child had

to have a copy on their bookshelf (Brown, 2002). Even though these books

were written for children, the storyline was so engrossing and well written that

everyone became addicted to reading the books: the young, the old and the

older. As the books popularity began to grow amongst older generations, the

publisher felt that they would release two different covers of the book, a

colorful, cheeky version for children and a basic cover for adults. This was

extremely clever, as more adults felt comfortable reading the books especially

in public as they were cleverly disguised (Bloomsbury, 2010). Harry,

Hermoine and Ron immediately became a sensation amongst children and

adults, the idea that such a world could possibly exist left everyone wanting to

learn and read more, Harry Potter quickly became an addiction. As people’s

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addiction grew so did the Harry Potter empire; apart from the movies. Harry

Potter paraphernalia was demanded by all, from house scarves of the schools

in Hogwarts, magic wands, and even to schools creating their own versions of

Quiddich. This enticed students to get involved in sporting activities. The

Harry Potter business empire was established.

The creation of the Harry Potter amusement park is an extension on this

business, and an amazing new product development. The enticing aspect of

the Harry Potter amusement park would draw the muggle followers in (Brown,

2006). Hogwarts is a place where good fights evil, where friends come

together for a greater good, and everyone is accepted. Being different is

extraordinary and wonderful. Many people dedicated over seven years of their

lives following the Harry Potter series and this theme park allows them to be

apart of it (Beahm, 2004).

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QUESTION 5Discuss the challenges lying ahead for Universal that takes on the “Harry Potter” brand further. (2-3 pages).

It is reported the Universal Studios spent around $265 million dollars

developing Harry Potter World in Orlando, Florida (Niles, 2009). Universal

clearly believed that they could take advantage of the ‘Potter’ phenomenon

and turn a much-needed profit. However Universal may face intense

challenges when trying to develop the Universal/Potter brand; Harry Potter is

an already developed and mature brand, which leaves very little room for

Universal to expand their product range. As each book was written and more

followers caught the train to Hogwarts, toy manufactures took to their drawing

boards and developed every possible product under the sun associated with

Harry Potter. There are now collectable Barbie like dolls of the main

characters in the series, as well as magic spells, Quiddich sets and different

apparel items which can be chosen, based on which character is your

favorite. Whilst trying to merchandise Universal’s Harry Potter memorabilia,

they may encounter some road blocks, especially as many of the visitors to

the theme park, are already fans of the top selling books and movies,

therefore most likely already own Harry Potter products.

Another challenge that may lie ahead for Universal is that the Harry Potter

story line is now complete. There are no more books being written and the

final movie will be released this year, which could mean the end of the Harry

Potter phenomenon (Facenda, 2009). As the end comes, Harry Potter fans

may move onto a new ‘trend’ or not feel as connected to the story line and the

characters, which are portrayed at the theme park.

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Furthermore, as the story line has stopped developing, Universal may

encounter that their rides and attractions will quickly become out dated, as the

entire world is based on the seven famous novels, and the rides have already

been developed. Seeing as consumers wish to have the Harry Potter

experience and follow in the footsteps of the characters, the attractions may

become out dated and very repetitive, therefore causing a decline in repeat

clientele.

The biggest challenge that Universal will have to face, is that the Harry Potter

generation is growing up very quickly, and there is concern that the next

generation of young adults will not take to the Harry Potter phenomenon

(reference). Therefore they will not be as entice to entire Harry’s World at

Universal Studios and participate in the magic of Hogwarts.

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QUESTION 6Debate the potential strategies to be used by Universal as against Disney’s. (2-3 pages)

There is very little that differentiates Universal Studios from Disneyworld in

relation to their marketing strategies, they both use the same integrated

marketing communications, both offer multiday passes to their different parks,

as well as offering resort accommodation near their theme parks. However,

Universal Studios has to offer a noticeable point of difference in order to

overtake Disneyworld and become the number one theme park in Florida.

Universal Studios may want to try and make the Harry Potter world into a real

adventure, where tour groups/guides are offered and the

children/teenagers/families are divided into the four houses, which are

depicted in the Harry Potter books, and each house gets to go on their own

adventure within the theme park. However, once Universal implements such

an activity, Disney can compete, by dividing individuals into their favorite

shows or characters and producing the same effect.

The Studio can also offer, something along the lines of a ‘Golden Ticket’

where winners get free entry into the theme park, as well express queue entry

for the day. Once again, as Disney has the rights to WillyWonka so they can

actually implement the already developed ‘Golden Ticket’ idea that could take

off, because it already has a steady following due to the movies.

Universal’s Harry Potter World has an advantage, as the Movies have put an

actually face to the characters. Over the next few years, whilst Harry Potter is

still a phenomenon the amusement park, can contract the actual stars of the

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show to appear in the park for photo shoots and reenactments of different

scenes. This way Universal could attract both the characters followers as well

as the stars followers. However, the issue with this is that the characters may

not be willing to appear at the park, but also the stars will eventually get older

and will become less appealing to followers as well as other crowd goers.

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REFERENCESBeahm, G. (2004). Muggles and Magic: J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter Phenomenon. Charlottesville: Hampton Roads Publishing.

Bloomsbury. (2010). Bloomsbury. Retrieved January 31, 2011 from Harry Potter Books: http://harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/books/harrypotter-book1

Brown, S. (2006). "You're A Wizard, Harry!" Consumer Response to the Harry Potter Phenomenon.". Advances In Consumer Research , 33 (1), 155.

Brown, S. (2002). Marketing for Muggles: The Harry Potter Way to Higher Profits. Business Horizons , 41 (1), 6-14.

Business Week. (2002, June 24). Disney's CFO Measures the Mouse. BusinessWeek Online .

Facenda, V. L. (2009, September 9). Harry Potter, Darth Vader and Disney Princesses. Retrieved January 31, 2011, from Daily Herald: http://blogs.dailyherald.com/node/2601

Miller, C. (1992). Duel in the Florida sun: Disney/Universal competition compared to 'Cola wars'. 26 (1).

Negus Viveiros, B. (2006, June 15). I Am Your Monkey,Walt Disney. Direnct . www.directmag.com.

Niles, R. (2009, Septeber 15). Universal's Wizarding World of Harry Potter to open in Spring 2010, webcast confirms. Retrieved January 30, 2011, from http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200909/1397/

Retail Merchandiser. (2010). The Magical World of Disney. 50 (1), 132-137.

Robertson, A. (2008, January 11). Bear-necessities of marketing. Precision Marketing .

Suddath, C. (2008, November 18). Brief History of Mickey Mouse. (TIME) Retrieved January 31, 2011 from http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1859935,00.html#ixzz1CjvgZGB7

The Corporation. (1998, April 6). Theme-Park Shoot Out. A host of new competitors has Disney building like crazy , 66. Business Week.

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Harry Potter

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