Disney, The Happiest Brand On Earth

2006, Disney’s Pixar released the hit movie Cars,
which grossed $462 million worldwide. Since then, Cars
merchandise has generated over $2 billion in sales each
year. Pixar has since created aseries of Cars shorts to
be aired on the Disney Channel with a subsequent DVD
release. A Cars sequel is in the works for 2011. In 2012,
Disney’s California Adventure theme park will open its
12-acreCars Land attraction.
At Disney, the brand is the name of the game, and
cross-platform success of the Cars franchise is by no
means the exception to the rule. Disney also has the Jonas
Brothers,Hannah Montana, High School Musical, the
Disney Princesses, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the list
goes on and on. The man behind the magic is Disney’s
CEO, Bob Iger, who has led a dramaticrevitalization of
the Disney brand since succeeding longtime head Michael
Eisner in 2005. When he fi rst took the post, his strategy
shifted Disney’s focus around its stable of “franchises.”
Thesefranchises are distributed across Disney’s multiple
company platforms and divisions, such as Disney’s various
television broadcasts platforms (the Disney Channel,
ABC, ESPN), its consumer productsbusiness, theme
parks, Disney’s Hollywood Records music label, and
Disney’s publishing arm in Hyperion, just to name a few.
Iger’s franchise strategy has been supported by the
other major move he madeupon fi rst becoming CEO.
On his fi rst day on the job, Iger told the board that revitalizing
Disney’s animation business was a top priority,
which would be improved through the purchase of Pixar.As part of Iger’s franchise strategy the deal made perfect
sense, as many of Disney’s latest TV shows, Disneyland
rides, and merchandise were based on Pixar characters.
Finding a new market to pushthe Disney franchise
became a priority as well. With the Disney brand growing
fl at, it was becoming evident that Disney had missed
some opportunities for broader success due to a narrowing
of...