Interesting Branding - Disney

A company whose branding I find fascinating is the Walt Disney Company. This brand is about entertainment: theme parks, movies (along with Pixar, too), retail products and Disney TV. With all of these consumer touch points, the brand has to be consistent, and I think that Disney does a great job at doing so.

http://www.mediaknowall.com/Disney/disneyli.html

What started as small studio that made short animated films, Disney had its ups and downs, but grew to be one of the largest companies in the world. The popularity of Mickey Mouse largely contributed to the beginnings of success for Disney. Since then, Disney has been able to turn fairy tale stories into a whole line of "Disney Princesses." Whenever most people think about a common fairy tale (i.e., Cinderella), they will more than likely think of the image of Disney's Cinderella (http://www.google.com/search?tbm=isch&hl=en&source=hp&biw=1002&bih=596&q=disney%27s+cinderella&gbv=2&oq=disney%27s+cin&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&gs_sm=c&gs_upl=711l2189l0l3967l12l8l0l3l3l0l107l345l4.1l5l0).

Equally fascinating is that Disney has been able to gather all of its characters, stories and themes into several amusement parks. Not only have they used characters from their movies to contribute to rides, but they have been able to expand their branding to other aspects (for example, Epicot at Walt Disney World) of amusement and entertainment, as well.

Also, the Disney Institute (a professional development company) even offers a program for Disney's approach to brand loyalty, where participants can learn about Disney-tested methods for brand promotion and building brand loyalty (http://disneyinstitute.com/topics/brand_loyalty.aspx).

Finally, an interesting article I found was on a speech delivered by Roy Disney, where he discusses how Disney is more than a brand; it's become an American icon. He also discusses creativity and trying to not think of Disney as a "brand" and more of as a "name:"

http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2008/01/great-moments-3.html