How very timely! I was re-reading Vinyl Leaves last night, and I just finished the chapter on advertising. Disney utilized what they called the "Tom Sawyer" approach to advertising...namely getting everybody else to do it.
The example they discuss in the book was regarding the opening of Epcot. Rather than be "crass" like other theme parks, they utilized indirect advertising means - the attraction sponsors had commercials and promotions (e.g. contests) for the new park, not to mention huge perks. My dad went to Epcot two weeks before official opening as a guest of Kraft, when they still sponsored the land. Now, we were always a Disney family, but he couldn't wait to bring us back.
What this did result in, though, was a loss in creative control. Even though Disney had to approve all related advertising, there was only so much time and effort to do this. The result: some rather interesting adverts.
Of course, this is completely different today. We see all sorts of ads for WDW in all formats - the most insidious I've found are those darned subscriptions to the various Disney magazines - I get Disney, wife gets Family Living, and daughter gets Disney Kids (I know the names aren't perfect). Every month I get the same question from the kids..."Can we go to...?"
Finally, I have to plug Vinyl Leaves as one of my favourite Disney books. While parts of it read like stereo instructions, it's a very good summary of the socio-politico-economical theory of WDW and Disney. By far the scariest comment, at the time of print, WDW was in the top 5 of retailers of general merchandise in Florida. With my background in retail strategy, it is a truly awesome statistic.
:lol:
