More discussion on Disney...

In response to my previous post, I have thought about and discussed some more information concerning the topic of Disney's situation. During a further discussion with a classmate, he discussed the following topics of this issue:

Recently Disney announced a new club called D23. The goal of this club is keep members up to date and involved with the company. In the past many Disney fans have lost interest in the companies offerings as they got older. This brings up the question, what web strategy should Disney use to keep these fans involved in the company as they age. One option is to offer multiple websites that appeal to different demographics. However, I believe that a better option is to offer a single web portal that offers content that appeals to all demographics. This approach eases the transition to new content as a member ages.

I also believe that Disney's approach to internet business with D23 is not ideal. Most internet user's are not used to paying for internet content, and while the D23 club offers other benefits besides website access, these benefits are very limited. According to http://disneyshopping.go.com other benefits include early screenings to new Disney movies, access to a Disney convention, a “surprise gift” and a membership card. However the only early screening listed for the club is for the movie “Up”, and the screening is only one day before the actual release of the movie. Disney says that in the future there may be more benefits to joining the club. If this is the case perhaps more people will be interested in paying the high membership price.

I think having a single website that offers appealing content to multiple demographics is the best strategy for a company such Disney. However they will be more successful maintaining fans if it costs less to join.


My response to him was rather similar as I agree with many of his points. My response follows:

I completely agree with him in saying that Disney should offer a single web portal that allows different content that is appealing to all demographics. He make a standout statement in saying that this approach eases into the transition to new content as a member ages. I totally agree with this statement because the more and more a user goes to this site the better it remains in their long-term memory. The more familiar they become with only having to go to one site when they want Disney products, services, news, etc., the better one is at navigating the site.

On the website Webpage design for beginners it discussed a particular page that was created and then went on to ask people to go to it and respond to what they liked and what was difficult to follow. After reading many of the responses, it was clear this page needed some help. The thing that seemed the most commented on was the organization of the page. With Disney choosing to have only one web portal, which I believe is the best strategy for them, they must make sure to stay very, very organized. Links to specific pages must be checked and double checked for error or broken links. I think having users try out the Disney site before its release to the public will be a huge benefit in the long-run. This way they can work out any mishaps before it gets out and negative talk begins.

He also make an interesting comment saying that their approach to the D23 business is not ideal as users will not want to spend the member fee. Lower these costs is something they should consider, at least until they see if people are truly wanting to be a part of this membership. Once they see that there is some interest in this product, then they can maybe begin discussing an increase in membership. Since many other sites do not force users to pay a fee, I think it is a good idea to shoot low and see what kind of response the public gives on this issue. Also, if they want to keep the price where it is, they may want to consider greater benefits to those who actually pay the fee to join.

What is Disney to do?!

A controversial topic came up in an article I read in the Wall Street Journal online today discussing Disney. The idea for Disney to create a new web portal has been on the agenda at various Disney staff meetings. The decision needs to be weighed out as to whether Disney should create separate websites for distinct target markets and brands or should they create a single portal strategy instead? After reading the article titled, Disney Angles for Cash, Loyality, I decided that the best strategy for Disney is to have a single portal strategy.

First, in earlier discussion topics we have discussed the fact that easy domain names and keyword search terms are necessary in helping to make one’s site easy to find and easy to remember. If Disney chose to incorporate different web sites for distinct target markets and brands I think it would become a huge mess. People would become confused and just give up on what they are searching for. As I remember from the readings of both my website design and e-marketing classes, a design of a website must be convenient for the user or else there is no way of keeping their interest if they can’t find what they came to find in the first place. As big as the Disney Empire, I think the best option is to keep it simple by only having one portal and then from that keep it very organized and user friendly so that users can navigate around it easily and conveniently.

As the article Disney Angles for Cash, Loyality, states ‘One of the most persistent thorns is Disney's side has been the proliferation of unofficial Web sites and blogs that sometime spread rumors and opine about various aspects of the company and its doings,’ by only having one site to maintain this may help diminish these not-so-friendly remarks and rumors (Sanders) . One portal will allow users to go to the site and find the information they desire about false or untrue statements about this great company. Also, many websites have a comments link available, those who question something they have heard and can’t find information they seek elsewhere, can write in a comment and know that with only one portal site the comments/questions will get to the right people and a response shall come in a timely fashion.

The article goes on to further explain that Disney wants to continue targeting the younger generation as they grow older. By just having one site, these members have, from the time they were Whinnie the Pooh and Tiger fans, to High School Musical followers, embedded in their minds the site’s address and a general idea of where to navigate to find the info they desire. As this group continues to grow up, they will still remember that address, how to get around the site and perhaps even all the words to every High School Musical song! Having one single portal is evidently the best possible strategy for Disney. What do you think would be Disney's best approach?!

Column 2--Final

Where in the World is Katie-Mary Outhwaite?!

Four years ago, Katie-Mary was in Kojonup, Australia. A year after that, Perth, Australia. She entered her first year of college at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tenn. just short of two years ago. Now, feeling like this is where she belongs and thanking her lucky stars for bringing her here, Katie-Mary, more commonly known as Mary, resides as a student at the University of Nebraska Kearney (UNK) in Kearney, Neb.

Saying good-bye to all she knew was one of the toughest moments in her life. Mary, then a newly 18 year-old, was ready to set out on a life-changing journey. Leaving friends, family and her way of life in Australia behind, Mary chose to keep one thing she knew close to her—the game of tennis. Deciding to further her tennis years growing up and pursue her dreams of playing tennis at the collegiate level in America, Mary arrived in Memphis, Tenn., luggage and racquet in hand.

“I knew absolutely no one! When I got to that city [Memphis] I thought ‘ok here we go, what do I do now,’” Mary expressed. I must say, it is a shame this column is not a radio broadcast because when Mary speaks that Aussie accent grabs your attention and makes you listen.

Concluding her first season of competition as a Memphis Tiger, Mary was informed that the head tennis coach was to be replaced and that his replacement had decided to cut her from the team. “It was a huge slap in the face after finding out that news. I had no clue where to turn or what to do. I was on scholarship and when I was cut that was taken from me,” Mary said.

Realizing he had made a mistake, Mary was offered her spot back. “I turned down his offer. I guess my pride just got in the way and I didn’t want to play for him,” she said.

It wasn’t long before a friend of her previous coach at Memphis, urged her to check out Kearney, Neb. She had also received an offer to play for the University of Texas (UT). Each option created new opportunities that she was forced to weed out.

Option one was to pack up her dreams of being in the States and playing college tennis and go home. “At the time, this choice seemed to be the one that sounded the best. But I thought, I’ve come this far and surpassed many obstacles in my way, so why give up now?” she said.

Her second and third options would bring her to new surroundings, yet again. The thought of being able to continue playing collegiate tennis and fearing the let-down of not sticking to this new adventure excited her to seek out option two or three.

With no ounce of emotion left in her body due to the triumph of the past months in Memphis, Mary decided against going home and focused on whether she would be attending UT or UNK in the fall of 2007. “I was so emotionally exhausted from everything I went through in Memphis that I don’t really remember feeling anything as I went about making my decision,” she said.

When the 2007, fall semester convened, Mary walked to class on UNK’s campus. “I felt so incredibly welcomed by everyone I had met that I just knew I had made the right decision,” Mary said.

Now, almost a year and a half later, Mary looks back at her experience in Memphis as stepping stones for helping her become an emotionally strong individual. “Looking back I guess I am thankful for what I had to go through. It definitely helped shape me into the person I am today and because of those experiences I am the Katie-Mary Outhwaite I am,” Mary said, laughing.

Column 2--Where in the world is Katie-Mary Outhwaite?!

Four years ago, she was in Kojonup, Australia. A year after that, Perth, Australia. She entered her first year of college at the University of Memphis in Memphis, Tenn. just short of two years ago. Now, feeling like this is where she belongs and thanking her lucky stars for bringing her here, she resides as a student at the University of Nebraska Kearney (UNK) in Kearney, Neb.

Saying good-bye to all she knew was one of her toughest moments in her life. Katie-Mary Outhwaite, then a newly 18 year-old, was ready to set out on a life-changing journey. Leaving friends, family and her way of life in Australia behind, Mary chose to keep one thing she knew close to her—the game of tennis. Deciding to further her tennis years growing up and pursue her dreams of playing tennis at the collegiate level in America, Mary arrived in Memphis, Tenn., luggage and racquet in hand.

“I knew absolutely no one! When I got to that city [Memphis] I thought ‘ok here we go, what do I do now,’” Mary expressed.

Soon she was well acquainted with the girls of the Memphis tennis team and ready to compete. It was concluding her first season of competition that the head tennis coach was to be replaced with someone new. Mary soon discovered that the new coach hired on had decided to cut her, as well as three other girls from the team.

“It was a huge slap in the face after finding out that news. I had no clue where to turn or what to do. I was on scholarship and when I was cut that was taken from me,” Mary said as a tear began to form in her eyes. Thousands of miles away from home and Mary thought she was left with nothing but shattered dreams.

Realizing the new coach hired had made a mistake, he contacted Mary and offered her a spot back on the team. “I turned down his offer. I guess my pride just got in the way and I didn’t want to play for him,” she said.

It was at that moment where her next biggest decision, her most pivotal moment in her life, came to be. Mary needed to decide whether she was going back to Australia or search out other possibilities in the United States.

An unexpected offer from the University of Texas came to her soon after she had heard of the devastating news. Then another from a friend of her previous coach at Memphis, wanting her to check out Kearney, Neb. Each option created a plethora of opportunity that she was forced to weed out.

Option one was to pack up her dreams of being in the States and playing college tennis and go home. “At the time, this choice seemed to be the one that sounded the best. But then I thought, I’ve come this far and surpassed many obstacles that have been in my way so why give up now?” she said.

Her second and third options would bring her to new surroundings, seeming to place her back where she was when she first arrived in Memphis. The thought of being able to continue playing collegiate tennis and fearing the let-down of not sticking to this new adventure excited her to seek out option two or three. “If I chose to attend the University of Texas that fall I would have remained playing Division I tennis. Playing for UNK, I would have stepped down to Division II and a smaller university,” Mary said.

With no ounce of emotion left in her body due to the triumph of the past months in Memphis, Mary decided against going home and focused on whether she would be attending UT or UNK in the fall of 2007. “I was so emotionally exhausted from everything I went through in Memphis that I don’t really remember feeling anything as I went about making my decision as to what school I wanted to attend,” she said.

When the 2007, fall semester convened Mary walked to class on UNK’s campus! “Before I even got to Kearney, the girls on team that I would soon be joining were already calling to see if I wanted to get together and meet everyone on the team. I felt so incredibly welcomed by everyone I had met and I just knew that I had made the right decision,” Mary said.

Now, almost a year and a half later, Mary looks back at her experiences in Memphis as stepping stones for helping her become an emotionally strong individual. “Looking back I guess I am thankful for what I had to go through there. It definitely helped shape me into the person I am today and because of those experiences I am the Katie-Mary Outhwaite I am,” Mary said, laughing. Coming from a girl who has been there and knows, Mary is convinced that, “Our experiences really can build character.”

Google and Twitter

It is evident that there is a growing popularity of social networking sites popping up all over the internet. We’ve seen Facebook, MySpace, and Wayn. Now site known for other purposes than social networking are choosing to jump on this band wagon and go with it! As the popularity increases, adding these functions seem to have more positive outlooks than negative.

As with Twitter and Google, two powerhouses in their select industries, it seems right that the two combine, enhancing each others functions.

For consumers this move is great. Because of Twitter’s microblogging service, consumers are able to post brief text messages on this site. This has amounted to consumers obtaining and sending information concerning their topics of interest such as how the feel about specific goods. From this, advertisers are able to get a better idea of the products and services consumers are most likely interested in, raising an overall awareness of these products. This then aids the marketers in developing, improving and producing these products based on the customer feedback. Afterall, as we have encountered time after time in our text and of course throughout our marketing classes, pleasing the customers and giving them the best possible services/products possible is the goal of any company or business.

As with consumers, marketers will too benefit. Like I mentioned, the marketers will be able to see what customers are discussing in dealing with certain products. This allows them the ability to improve products/service based on the form of feedback they receive. Word of mouth is the fastest growing segment of the media industry (Marketing VOX). With consumers utilizing this medium through Twitter, marketers will be able to get a better idea of what’s in, out and desired.

Google will certainly benefit as well. Twitters microblogging mechanism has emerged as the ‘custodian of a valuable online index of real-time facts, comments, musings and announcements, information that is clearly valuable for Google's search engine index’ (Perez). Google’s way of collaborating with major web sites to determine the best possible way to index one’s site content for its search engine (Perez), would stick with that same consistency of Google’s purpose should Google and Twitter choose to do the same.

Finally, this move would benefit both Google and Twitter financially. Google selling the ads to marketers and Twitter being used as an advertising mechanism will increase their incomes greatly. The awareness of Google is obviously very strong now but this also gives Twitter a chance to become better known allowing more users to jump on as they hear of Twitter and its functions.

Social Networking

The idea of Hulu, an up and coming video company, adding social networking functions is, in my mind, a key to the success of the company and I completely support this effort. The more interactive users can be allows marketers a greater plethora of consumer information in deciding how to better target specific groups. Marketers have seen a trend in the popular social markets such as MySpace (myspace.com) and facebook (facebook.com). Through these networks word of mouth, the best way to simulate messages, is the main way users communicate with one another. Like facebook’s feature of adding a friend because you have common interests with that person or because you know someone they know, is similar to the concept Hulu is considering. Connecting with each other and sharing video preferences is Hulu’s way of adding this concept and customizing its product.
With this idea of building user loyalty and mining data to attract advertisers, marketers can get a better idea of what products to promote/advertise because they will better know what kind of groups they are targeting. According to the article, Social Networking Gets a Sanity Check, the number of dollars spent on advertising on facebook and MySpace together is $1.02 billion. Obviously from these numbers, it is evident that advertisers believe social networking sites are great places for advertising. Though assumptions may still be made about certain users, overall this is a great concept. The article, Hulu Embraces Social Networking, stated that users would be able to create their own profiles for this particular site. Seeing the success that has come from social networks like facebook and MySpace, even Google, Amazon and eBay, I believe Hulu is heading in the right direction. Allowing users to create their own profiles, puts them in the driver’s seat, as they are the ones who choose what goes on and what is left out. Overall, adding social networking functions is a great idea that will help capture consumers, build brand loyalty, and better fit advertisements to specific target groups.

Taken--Movie Review

"I don't know who you are. I don't know what you do. But I will find you. I will kill you." Ah, the famous line many of us heard during the promotional commercials for the thrilling movie Taken. That line alone, sparked my interest and plunged me into the set of Taken.

Bryan Mills, who is played by actor Liam Neeson, is a retired X-CIA spy. Overtime he has acquired a certain set of special skills in which he can fight, investigate and kill. His daughter Kim, played by Maggie Grace, lives with her mother. Dad and daughter have a drifting relationship due to the fact that previous years in the CIA has kept him busy and on the road. Mills decides to retire in order for him and his daughters relationship to rekindle and so that he can be close to her. Kim approaches her father with a question asking to go on an international trip with her friend Amanda, played by Kate Cassidy. Still being in high school, her father is reluctant to let two young girls travel overseas alone. Finally, he agrees to letting her go but only after Kim agrees to daily phone calls and of course one letting him know she arrives safely.

When the girls arrive at the airport in Paris, they grab their bags and walk out to the streets where they try to get a cab to take them to Amanda's cousins house. A cute boy that the two meet, who happens to be a recruit for a sex slave ring, offers to share a cab with the girls in hopes of getting some information from them. They make the mistake of telling him where they are staying and that they are in fact there alone. After saying good-bye he makes a call informing the person on the other line of the information he has obtained.

Kim, forgetting to call her father when they arrived, noticed she had a missed call from him so takes her phone in another room and calls her father. Here's where it gets interesting...! Only moments after their conversation begins, Kim sees Amanda being taken out of the house by a group of men. Frantically informing her father of this, he tells her to enter another room and get under the bed. She does this and then goes on to say that what he tells her next is key. Kim is told that she will be taken. Once she is, her father instructs her to yell out everything she sees and then he will come find her. With only 96 hours to find Kim, we see her father's set of special skills released throughout the chase.

The action that unfolds kept me on the edge of my seat and I instantly developed a sense of hate for the men that had kidnapped Kim and Amanda. A father's love is so strong that when his precious joy is taken from him anyone can become invincible. The clues that Mills collected and his clever ways of obtaining them was an excitement in its own. Based on instances that have occurred in our world, with women being kidnapped and taken to other countries, Taken posed as a real eye-opener as to what may be going on when these women are captured. Families may rethink sending their students overseas, but if anything it should teach us that you can't be naive and never too careful. The determination Mills shows in getting his daughter back is a prime example of a father's divine love.