Walt Disney Competitive Advantage

The Walt Disney Company is categorized under an oligopoly market structure. Participation of very few firms in this market is the cause for Disney to be an oligopoly. Some of Disney’s major competitors include News Corporation (NWS), Time Warner (TWX), DreamWorks Animation SKG (DWA), and Viacom (VIA), who directly compete with Disney in myriad business lines. As there are only a few number of firms, competitive pricing does not exist and consumers have limited choices to choose from. Walt Disney Company is large enough to affect the market. Hence, the firm is a price maker and changes prices quite frequently to maximize profits.

This report presents an analysis of The Walt Disney Company. It is one of the global’s leading manufacturers and providers of entertainment. The company manages through its five business segments which includes parks and resorts, media networks, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive. The Disney’s objective is to be one of the world 's leading manufactures and companies of entertainment and information, by using its portfolio of brands to differentiate its content, services and consumer products. And besides that, it identifies the attempts to develop strategies to protect and strengthen Disney’s business strategy by illustrating with Industry Life Cycle. The industry life cycle indicates the stages that an

Does hearing the tagline “The Happiest place on earth” takes you on a memory lane of the very first day at Disneyland? The Walt Disney Company, was a dream of the most famous name in the animation industry and the creator of Mickey Mouse, Walt Elias Disney and now the company has estimated net worth of an about 36 billion dollars. (Funamentals n.d.) The company has been running from 1923 till current and I have decided to take the first 43 years (1923 to 1966) in consideration because I wish to tell the reader how the company went from Good to Great under the supervision of Walt Elias Disney.

All resources that an organization has may not have strategic relevance. Only certain resources are capable of being an input to a value creating strategy which put the organization in a position of competitive advantage.

Yip and Hult (2012) define globalization as a business operating in all four hemispheres. There is no question that Steam Boat Willie, the original 1928 Mickey Mouse and the original Disney character, has expanded the Disney Company into a global business. As Disney pursued global expansion, there were a lot of variables to contend with. In order to operate in any foreign environment, competition must be frequently analyzed. Additionally, adaptions often need to be made in order to compete and to meet the needs and wants of consumers in the local culture. Disney has become one of the most recognizable globalized companies in the world through theme parks, cartoons, movies, and merchandising in foreign markets.

What are the two types of core competencies that drive a firm’s competitive advantage? Which firms demonstrate a clear competitive advantage because of (a) major value-creating skills/core capabilities and/or (b) superior assets or resources? Which firms have demonstrated sustainable sources of competitive advantage?

Since it was founded in 1923, Walt Disney Company has become a world-famous entertainment and media company, and its turnover brings it to the second place among global media companies (after Time Warner). It is constantly working to provide people with the most special entertainment experience, and has been adhering to the company 's good tradition of quality and innovation. After years of development, Walt Disney is already a successful transnational corporation and its operations involve in parks and resorts, consumer products, media networks, and studio entertainment these four industries. By the end of September 2017, its media network is the most profitable business which the revenue is 42.6% of the total while

Disney has been a worldwide phenomenon in terms of creating entertainment for kids and even older adults. Disney has been able to expand and grow its franchises and create new franchises that are capable of become world-wide hits. Its due to its ability to change and manipulate its marketing strategies that allow Disney to appeal to its market. Another main marketing strategy that has allowed Disney to dominate all of its competition has recently been by cross platforming and taking over different companies and implementing them so that they can increase profits. Disney’s ability to change its focused demographics, create a substantial competitive advantage, manipulate the marketing mix to fit each franchise, and focus on specific strategic plans has allowed for Disney to become one of the top platforms in the world.

The adventure theme park will be located in Johannesburg as it is the central place and easily accessible utilising the different modes of transportation. This will also cater for the national and international.

This strategy is when a firm decides to serve two or more exact market segments. Over the last four years, Disney intrigues people of all ages; whether it is a child, teen, or parent. For small children, it has its animation films, toys and other goods from their consumer products division, a segment on their channel called "Playhouse Disney," and many more. For older kids such as tweens and teens, it has the Disney Channel, Radio Disney, their live-action films, and much more. Disney's live-action films such as Pirates of the Caribbean attracts adults as well, in order to target adults Disney uses a "family approach." Disney theme parks were built for the whole family to enjoy and they do a fine job stressing that. If you pay close attention to their advertisements you will see that they are not always aimed for children, in fact they are aimed at the parents most of the time with little phrases such as "Let the Memories Begin" and "This is Where the Magic Happens." Even the animation films are made to please the parents, with their good morals and some jokes that are meant for the child not to understand. In addition, the Disney Store has its own Home Decor department which is intended to satisfy the parents' wants as well as their children's, while the child is browsing through the toys, the parent is browsing through the Home Decor section.

The Walt Disney company does not only have an immense amount of economic power on the American entertainment industry and popular culture, but they have acquired influence across the world. The company has recorded that one quarter of the 45 billion dollars Disney makes annually comes for the international market (Hongmei). It can be said that Disney is one of the best-known companies or brands in the worlds and covers a wide range of markets from films to television programs, to merchandise and publishing not to mention the theme parks. However, the inspiration to expand globally does not completely rest on income and to promote capitalism within the company. In some circumstances the marketing decision is more political than economical. A good example of this is the interaction and relationship between Disney and the Chinese government. The relationship began in the post-Cold War era when Disney produced films reflecting the Chinese way of life, like Kundun and Mulan (Hongmei). Both of those films served as a political compromise and a marketing opportunity for Disney to gain a foot hold in the Chinese market. While the initial intent was to resolve the political differences, the negotiations and conflicts soon shifted to an economic opportunity. I find this interaction to be strange, Disney is interacting with post-socialist China on political and economic grounds. That means a global corporation, that began in and reflects the United States is negotiating with a nation

When a company is said to be competing through its cost advantage; it would most likely try to carry out its internal activities at a much lower cost than its competition would want to. When a company is competing through its differentiation advantage; it would try to carry out its activities in a much better manner than the

A game changer is a person who changes the world in a significant way. A game changer is a person who is honest, inspiring, and influential. This game changer had inspired the world and everybody of his amazing animations. The autobiography about Walt Disney is about how he created Disney World, and how he changed the lives of people. Walt Disney created Walt Disney World to fulfill people’s dreams and wanted to make it the happiest place on Earth.

Vacation destinations are usually viewed as places where people travel to relax and escape from the realities of everyday life. When going on an excursion to a tropical island or an amusement park, it is easy to forget how much hard work is put into creating the perfect experience guests. Walt Disney World, located in Orlando, Florida, is one of the most popular vacation destinations for families all around the world. Disney World is known for its ability to bring fairytales to life through themed attractions and interactive character experiences. From the outside, it may appear that this vacation spot only exists to make a profit, but the implementation of creativity and hard work has shown me that through those means, success and happiness can be achieved.

3. Focus: This strategy rests on the choice of a narrow competitive scope within an industry. The focus strategy has two components. (a) In cost focus, a firm seeks a cost advantage in niche market, (b) In differentiation focus; a firm seeks differentiation in its target segment. Examples are car manufacturers like Aston Martin, Rolls Royce, and Bentley. These companies target a niche market and manufacture the cars according to the customers required specifications. (Management technology policy,