The [Dis] Influencer- One Year Anniversary

[_caleb]

Yep just like the Market House being converted to a Starbucks. Or Plaza Gardens being converted to a meet n' greet. Or the expansion of Club 33. Or the relocation of the Disney Gallery. Or the firing of the old Disneyland Band. For all the effort and energy expended on putting words on the screen, nothing has really had that much of an impact on what direction they are going.

It’s about controlling the narrative.

In those cases, the social media chatter served to smooth out the impact of the changes. Lots of people like Starbucks, so when they heard (though a leak) that Market House was being converted, they went and told their friends (free marketing!). Lots of fans are generally against the Starbucksification of the world, and weren’t going to be happy. By leaking the info early, Disney took the sting out of the opening because fans had time to process and accept the fact that Starbucks was coming.

At the highest possible level, the company is run to make money and appease Wall Street, and generally Wall Street does not care if Tom and Harry don't get along.

It does if ”Tom and Harry“ are actually Mike and Roy. Or Bob and Bob.

 

[el_super]

It’s about controlling the narrative.

In those cases, the social media chatter served to smooth out the impact of the changes.

Control the narrative to what end? You think that Disney is putting out all this effort to appease the fan community that it will, almost with certainty completely ignore when pressed for opinions? Why would they want to control the narrative at all, when they clearly put so little stock into it? If it's so easy to ignore the fan community and continue with whatever plans they have, there's no point in even giving them the time of day.

Alternatively, you paint a rather grim picture of the people posting to the internet if you think their minds are so easily swayed by some well placed gossip.

 

[EPCOTCenterLover]

Oh, wow! Talk about blasts from the past! Marcie was so, so, so dishy and fun in her pandering and smarmy way circa 2003. I always liked to imagine that Marcie was actually Cynthia Harriss, posting from her airy Laguna Beach lair over a glass of Pinot Gris, but I suppose the reality was far less exciting. She was probably just a frumpy middle manager in Marketing posting from a one-bedroom apartment in Brea over a can of Bud Lite Lime.

Although it was a bit telling how quickly she disappeared once the Harriss era ended suddenly to spend more time with family, so I still think Marcie could have been someone from Cynthia's circle, if not her... ilk.

As for jonvn, he was such a grumpy jerk. But I do miss him too. He faded away quickly on Laughingplace after Bob Iger admitted in the Wall Street Journal that DCA was a failure and they were going to spend 1 Billion to fix it.



Thanks, that's a point I remember making a year ago. Or at least thinking it. If it was 2003 I could maybe buy it, but in 2019? To a few dozen diehard fans who populate this fun yet backwater message board in the 2014-2019 age of Twitter and Instagram and YouTube Lifestyle Bloggers?

Also, if I'm supposed to be getting paid for 17 years of posting here, I have a heckuva back paycheck coming my way.

I think my posting here about Disneyland trivia and hotel recommendations and snarky executive bitchfests would have as much impact if I'd been posting on Myspace in 2019. A couple dozen folks might have seen it there too, but what would have been the point?

Seriously gang, look at the short list of names here, look at the viewing counts on threads considering the few dozen regular posters make up the vast majority of those repeated viewing figures.

And then think... why would anyone actually care? How could it impact anything of any importance? I just can't get it to pencil out in my head. Like who honestly cares?

Honestly, I do not care whether or not you are Troy Porter and if this Troy Porter has issues with anyone else. The info you post and the way you post is fun to read. I come here for fun, whether it's you posting or Spirit or anyone else. Disney Parks are a hobby I love but clearly not something I get upset about... but I so miss EPCOT Center 1.0 !

 

[_caleb]

Control the narrative to what end? You think that Disney is putting out all this effort to appease the fan community that it will, almost with certainty completely ignore when pressed for opinions? Why would they want to control the narrative at all, when they clearly put so little stock into it? If it's so easy to ignore the fan community and continue with whatever plans they have, there's no point in even giving them the time of day.

The Disney brand depends on its reputation in order to build/maintain its loyal fan bases and make money. You keep saying they ignore the fan base, I don’t think they do. It’s just that rather than being entirely responsive to what fans say they want, Disney (again-groups/teams/departments) goes to lengths to shape and steer public opinion in the directions they’re heading.

Alternatively, you paint a rather grim picture of the people posting to the internet if you think their minds are so easily swayed by some well placed gossip.

Yes.

 

[Snow Queen]

True or not, or partially true, this time last year was a fun couple days.

 

[Phroobar]

Generally, nobody cares about any changes X number of years later with a few exceptions. We'll probably say the same thing about the Pirates auction scene 5 years from now...or has everyone already forgotten about already

The new drawbridge railing was a big deal a few years.

 

[Nirya]

Honestly, it would not be shocking if Disney was monitoring this forum occasionally. Even in the age of Youtube blogs dominating the Disney discourse, the forum serves a vital role as the place where rumors truly originate, which then feeds into Twitter and Youtube. I have to imagine some enterprising individuals at Disney would be willing to use the site to float concepts every now and again to judge the response. Is it some large-scale endeavor on Disney's part? Probably not, but I'd bet on more than a few middle managers have the site in their bookmarks.

All of which to say, offer is still open to shill for you Disney!

 

[Mac Tonight]

Disney absolutely cares what’s posted here. The information shared here, even with relatively few active participants, has the potential to be very valuable:

• Lots of regular fans hold Disney stock. Some of them likely buy/sell based on the “inside” info and opinions shared here. “Insiders” rode through town with doom and gloom just before the Aug. earnings call to lower expectations, and then the sentiment was “whew, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been!” Shares jumped from $117 to $130.
• A YouTube personality (who is known to post here under at least a couple different accounts) recently moved to Orlando to pursue his channel full-time. With nearly 200 videos in the last year, each averaging 50K views, he has incentive to aggressively pursue a platform for influence. (He also has incentive to pose as an insider here and post ”inside info” that he can then quote as his source in his videos.) Multiply this by however many pro/amateur YouTubers are out there, and you have Disney responding by creating the DisneyMomsPanel/PlanDisney site to try to harness some of that influence.
• Disney is a huge company fraught with politics and agendas. Don’t like whoever is currently the head of your department? Use anonymous fan sites/social media to discredit him and praise whoever you want as a replacement. (See: SaveDisney)
• Disney is very risk-averse. If they want to know how the public might respond to new ideas (Frozen in Norway, for example) post it here, watch it spread through social media, and monitor the response. If it’s positive, green light. If it’s super negative don’t proceed, but win-win, all publicity is good publicity and paying Troy Porter is much cheaper and less risky (you can Burn him if word gets out) vs. posting an official statement on the Disney Parks Blog.
• Disney has lots and lots of young employees and interns who have access to at least some information that could be damaging to the brand. Though they might technically be bound by NDAs, disgruntled CMs and former CMs can always anonymously (See: T-Rex/Covid)
• Literally every major company in the world engages in some level of reputation management. Whether internally or externally, they all employ people to bounce from fan sites to reddit to social media posting reviews, opinions, and inside info to help sway public perception.

Of course people at Disney pay attention to this site.

A YouTube personality (who is known to post here under at least a couple different accounts) recently moved to Orlando to pursue his channel full-time. With nearly 200 videos in the last year, each averaging 50K views, he has incentive to aggressively pursue a platform for influence. (He also has incentive to pose as an insider here and post ”inside info” that he can then quote as his source in his videos.)
I have a suspicion, but can you elucidate who this might be? Does he brand his followers with a certain... made-up moniker?

 

[Stevek]

The new drawbridge railing was a big deal a few years.

Which is ridonculous.

 

[el_super]

The Disney brand depends on its reputation in order to build/maintain its loyal fan bases and make money. You keep saying they ignore the fan base, I don’t think they do.

But then they fail right? Or are you really suggesting that the fans on this board are loyal and expressing exactly the opinions that Disney wants them to express?

I don't think anyone has ever come out and said "Wow you really changed my mind and that Iger guy really seems like a great leader. I am going to tell all my friends how great Iger is and buy his poster to hang in my bedroom."

Well maybe someone has.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Disney does care about this, their copyrighted artwork being shared, and false rumors getting spread. Do enough and you won't be invited to free cupcake parties, movie premiers or any other blogger/vlogger event. Hi Tom (I could) Careless!

That's different. In Unscrupulous's case, he wasn't scooping, he was putting out blatantly false information which riled up the internet. Disney had to squash that.

 

[_caleb]

But then they fail right? Or are you really suggesting that the fans on this board are loyal and expressing exactly the opinions that Disney wants them to express?

I don't think anyone has ever come out and said "Wow you really changed my mind and that Iger guy really seems like a great leader. I am going to tell all my friends how great Iger is and buy his poster to hang in my bedroom."

Well maybe someone has.

Sometimes the efforts do seem to fail. But in my estimation they’re pretty successful.

Fan opinions of Eisner, Iger, Chapek, etc. aren’t shaped by actual interactions with those execs. It’s all marketing. We really have no idea how involved these people are in the daily operations of the parks— look how often Iger got the blame/credit for the state of the Monorails (which he’s probably never even ridden). The Execs. get credit for the stuff fans like, and others take the fall for things that don’t work out. This is all done through a narrative that is spun through a variety of channels- official (D23/Plan/Moms/Food blogs and social media) and unofficial (rumors and leaks on fan sites).

To complicate matters, there isn’t just ONE single narrative coming out of “Disney.” As we’ve mentioned, there are multiple, sometimes competing narratives coming from different parts of the organization.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Don’t think of Troy Porter as an official Disney employee (though I understand that he has been). Think of him as a contractor/consultant that Disney can go to for help with certain campaigns.

The reason he stays super active in the fan community is because we are what he’s selling.

Speaking of selling, there's this miracle pill I'd love to introduce you to. Has doctors dumbfounded. It's been proven to boost testosterone, improve brain function, and increase your life anywhere from 15-20 years.

Since apparently you'll believe anything...

 

[MisterPenguin]

If Disney has influencers on these boards, they're doing a horrible job protecting the reputation of Iger and Chapek!

 

[_caleb]

Speaking of selling, there's this miracle pill I'd love to introduce you to. Has doctors dumbfounded. It's been proven to boost testosterone, improve brain function, and increase your life anywhere from 15-20 years.

Since apparently you'll believe anything...

So you don’t think there’s any deliberate influence being done here at all?

 

[_caleb]

If Disney has influencers on these boards, they're doing a horrible job protecting the reputation of Iger and Chapek!

Yeah, but we have seen efforts around here to start drawing lines between the two. Pretty soon I expect we’ll start hearing people choose which Team Bob they’re on.

 

[Mac Tonight]

If Disney has influencers on these boards, they're doing a horrible job protecting the reputation of Iger and Chapek!

Maybe this is where they get to anonymously vent their frustrations?

I used to manage a Walgreens and the corporate portal had a weekly "blog" put out by the CEO('s ghostwriter) and there was a "comment section" which was nothing more than an anonymous management B-fest. Very cathartic.

 

[_caleb]

I made up my mind as to what/who to believe last year when this initially came up.

No need to apologize. Have fun.

I’m curious. Who do you believe?

 

[el_super]

Sometimes the efforts do seem to fail. But in my estimation they’re pretty successful.

Sorry, I've been busy and got lost. Are you saying they are successful at making the fan community accept or villainize the executives? Maybe something else? What have they been successful at?

 

[_caleb]

Sorry, I've been busy and got lost. Are you saying they are successful at making the fan community accept or villainize the executives? Maybe something else? What have they been successful at?

Yeah, generally successful at getting ahead of/shaping the narrative—yes, accepting or villainizing certain people and projects, placing blame, etc.