The sudden paralysation of out-of-home businesses has forced companies globally to adapt to more digital and mobile marketing strategies. I spoke to a representative of Disney's DTCI sector, Diego Lerner, to find out more how such renowned brands are adapting.
Interview:
There’s no denying that the moment the pandemic struck; the world was never going to be the same. We saw almost every aspect of our lives shifted onto an online platform: school lessons moved to zoom, first dates became online meet and greets and almost all shopping was done via the internet. It was devastating for many businesses and it forced a restructuring of how they would operate in a Covid world. I was fortunate enough to sit down with the president of Disney LATAM, Diego Lerner, to pick his brains on how they were tackling the sudden challenges imposed by the paralysation of out-of-home businesses. I was particularly eager to understand how marketers and the Direct-To-Consumer sector had adapted to a primarily digital marketing strategy. Having been at the helm of Disney for an impressive 30 years, Diego was the perfect candidate to interview on the wide-ranging ramifications for the company during these unprecedented times.
To understand how Disney had to adapt, it’s essential to analyse how reliant they initially were on digital outreach and whether it would be within their capabilities to replicate the ‘magic’ in people’s homes. The company is not driven by technology, as Diego explained ‘Disney creates and tells stories’, technology only allows them to enhance and deliver this experience. Disney has always been an interactive, family-oriented brand and it’s for this reason that the pandemic could have been potentially crippling to the ethos and DNA of the company, one which is built on creativity and spontaneity. The company is divided into an out-of-home and an in-home experience, the former (cinema, shopping and theme parks) was severely affected and as Diego explained “the magic was diminished” with theme parks being forced to operate at only 30% capacity. Consequently, the company then directed their efforts towards the in-home experience which consists of Disney’s TV channels through various providers, online stores and other forms of media entertainment. Fundamentally, creativity has always been at the core of Disney, although they are reliant on technology (for films for example), the story and ‘magic’ is irreplaceable and conveyed even further in person. This neatly led us onto to discuss how Disney implemented certain changes in order to maintain this consistent output of content.
Fortunately for Disney, the pandemic coincided with the release of their much-anticipated app, Disney+. It was launched in November 2019 and is managed by the same branch Diego runs (DTCI). This app proved to be a momentous step in providing Disney's consumers more in-home entertainment and crucially eliminating the need for a third party. Whilst this new addition did not fill the void of what the theme parks and outdoor experiences offered, it actually strengthened the in-home experience as consumers could access content remotely thus maximising their engagement within the pandemic and quarantine. This application outperformed even Disney's own hopes and expectations – attracting over 10 million subscribers in its first 24 hours alone, indefinitely propelled by consumers spending exponentially more time at home in front of devices. Diego continued to explain the unique and specific case study that is Disney and how it is a company with “strong and personal values”, a company offering consumer embracement and protection with its nostalgic nature. This closer consumer bond they have achieved showed resilience and created a layer of armour for the company during this global challenge.
Nonetheless, Disney felt the hefty impacts of the pandemic with the release and production of several major blockbusters put on hold (Mulan, West Side Story and Indiana Jones). Diego stated that other production companies, such as Netflix, are “incomparable” to the marketing model of Disney, as these companies do not provide a story and message of unity. On the other hand, streaming services, with the exception of Quibi, saw very little shift in their marketing strategies as they were already very digitally focused. For Diego, he felt that the most significant consequence of the isolation was the degradation of the spontaneity and authenticity of the way Disney produces content to market; the new detached type of work felt monotonous. The way in which they operate is especially influential to the innovation formula Disney applies to marketing and consumer outreach. Diego stressed that it’s a strategy with “enormous emotional and sentimental definition,” this concept of content marketing focuses on telling a story and then building products around that (e.g. clothing merchandise depicting popular movie franchises such as Star Wars). Diego reiterated that although this would allow them to expect consistent consumer engagement, they cannot “rest on their laurels,” this excellence has to be proved at every stage, thus challenging their status quo.
As my conversation with Diego drew to a close, I was intrigued to know his thoughts on the future - what did he envisage the economic landscape post-vaccine would look like. Reassuringly, he has adopted a rather positive outlook, most notably commenting on the human tendency to drive through disaster with innovation and restructuring. From a micro-economic perspective, Diego predicted consumer behaviour to shift drastically and to see more conservative spending with production remaining very mobile and ready for change. The main questions being posed to companies are now: how they can provide a more content dense and selective delivery, how can they motivate workers and how can they manage economic difficulties. Looking further down the line, Diego predicts a more “interdependent and co-responsible” world, one where the interchange of services, resources and contributions is not limited by geography.
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