The Globalisation of the Disney Brand

So I found this paper on the Globalisation of the Disney brand and I found it quite interesting so I thought I'd share it.

It talks about the general pros and cons of globalisation, how the world is getting smaller because we are getting better connected, how globalisation is used in order to create cheap goods and labour and how it has helped brands such as Disney to expand into the world.

The Disney Brand began its expansion into the world by opening parks in 3 countries; Japan, China and France. Upon the opening of the parks the countries were not amused with Disney as they felt that their American ideals (which they weren't willing to alter from country to country) would glorify America and as a result take away the individualism from their country.

Although the parks were all met with negative press and a dislike for Disney keeping their parks as American as possible, it wasn't long before it was accepted into their country as the norm. They relished in the idea of an authentic American experience inside their own country - As a result France is now one of the main consumers of Disney merchandise! The money made from these parks meant that Disney was able to go forth and integrate their parks into many other parts of the world, whilst keeping their American ideologies and still making profit.
Although I can understand the original dislike to a very American brand, I think if Disney changed much about their brand identity in order to fit into each and every country, then they wouldn't be as successful as they are. I feel that no matter where abouts in the world you are, if you visit a Disney park/hotel, you still get the same Americanised, fun experience as you would if you went to Disneyland, Florida for example. To be able to to uphold a brand so well, I think Disney really thought about the steps they wanted to take and how they wanted their brand to be read before they decided to globalise the business.

The dark side to Disney, however, is that when they Globalised they participated in cheap labour in order to make the highest profit on their merchandise. Although I understand and can see the benefits of doing this in terms of business, I can also see the negative implications this could have on the Disney brand. An example of this is that when Disney employs places with different values and principles, Disney have to partake and accept those values as their own. Therefore, if Disney agreed that one country would produce a certain amount of Mickey dolls for a year, but that country practiced gender discrimination in the work place (i.e - women earn less, do more physical work, get less breaks, etc) Disney would then have to take on and accept those values as their own in order to achieve this cheap labour.

I don't like the idea of putting a companies values at risk just to get cheaper production costs, but I can see the benefit and I do think that by doing it this way Disney are ahead of the merchandise globalisation game. I can also understand why Disney weren't willing to alter their brand from country to country, they were selling an experience, a way of life, not just a theme park - as a result, in order to keep the brand as consistent as possible, they had to uphold the very thing that made them Disney, their Americanised way of life. It's definitely an eye opener this paper, it explains in great depth the troubles and triumphs Disney encountered and also how, thanks to Globalisation, Disney was able to make a bigger profit on an already sellable experience.

A link to the paper: Globalisation of the Disney Brand