Disney's Billion Dollar Business Strategy

Disney applies an important business strategy for generating multi-million dollar blockbusters.

Disney is among the oldest entertainment companies in the world. They have mastered the art of creating comfort and nostalgia while retaining freshness and innovation.

Part of their strategy is to reapply and redistribute effective and well received content across multiple productions.

While it’s fairly well known that when Disney cartoons were hand drawn, many original segments were recycled to save time, Disney evolved the concept to apply to more than just cell frames.

They apply a business strategy that integrates prior successful work into a new setting.

Iteration Upcycle – Blending familiar past experiences audiences tend to favor with a new context.

We all utilize systems in our professional lives. Applying the iteration upcycle forces you to closely examine your methods of productivity. After identifying the most effective elements of your process, it is essential to analyze why these elements were effective, allowing you to improve upon them and apply them in different areas of your business. Keep experimenting with the least effective elements of your system and repeat until you have a well oiled operation.

Disney uses an iteration upcycle formula by analyzing their past work, taking the bits that have a high impact on their audience, and refashioning them for future use. There are three main frameworks in this process:

Familiar Framing – Using subtle elements of a familiar experience that has been well received in the past.

By creating an experience that is subtly familiar you develop comfort with your target group. The feeling of comfort is a signal of trust which is essential for creating a strong brand.

Recycled Content – Re-using the same successful format, gag, or concept through a new presentation.

Recycling your content to create a fresh user experience saves time and money. Whether you’re introducing a new product or service, launching a marketing campaign, or approaching a different segment, you want to examine the effective elements of your existing work and recycle them to create a prototype with the highest potential for success.

The most important lesson here is not just about repurposing past works for future ventures. Reusing works and applying the same standards leaves your audience with a watered down experience. The magic of Disney is that they twist their recycled content to the point where it feels almost entirely new.

Surprise Subversion – Breaking the format of recycled content to disrupt expectations.

Adding a new kink into the experience is the best way to establish yourself as remarkable.

When a process becomes the new normal, breaking expectations creates innovative enjoyment from worn out content. Using these tactics, you can design a stronger presentation, improve your client experience, or refresh your employee onboarding process.

[tedward]

I knew this was going to be good just because of the almost equal likes and dislikes.

[tdreamgmail]

I understand the likes vs dislikes. Some people don't want to know how the cookie is made, so it remains magical and mysterious. When it's taken apart with surgical precision and explained, some people don't want their memories ruined so oppose the analysis in order to preserve the good feelings. Ignorance truly is bliss.

At the heart of every creative endeavour is simply hard work and a few key principles.

[juliapasqua]

The whole concept of the iteration up cycle completely opened my eyes! I had never considered this formula before however I fall right into it! The genius of their marketing strategy is that they build a brand that brings people trust and comfort by familiar framing and recycled content, but then also bring them entertainment with the strategic subversion and using people's expectations and predictability to throw something non conventional in there and make people basically laugh at themselves! This three part strategy is so subversive in every type of marketing and even though I had observed it before, putting it into this three part strategy really opened my eyes to it!

[blotto]

aahhhh the Star Wars recipe, also owned by Disney, it makes sense now

When Maui jumps into the realm of monsters it is not a goofy yell but rather a traditional pacific islander call. Phonetically it is " chee hoo"

[StephenPerlstein]

Monomyth. Hero's Journey. Most stories are very similar when broken down to their key elements. Not sure if it's deliberate re-iteration, as much as it is story telling.

[rossbirkinshaw]

Hey dude, saw your first Boiler room vid on reddit a few months back and enjoyed it... Now I see you have some new content! Great job, keep up it, the production quality is really great and you explain things really well. Thoroughly enjoy your videos man

[itsmeveronicaveronica]

Fabulous research and presentation. Thank you for this!

[BrianElsen]

Thoroughly enjoyed this, reminds me of a mini doc called Everything is a Remix. Thank you

[JonFiya]

why so much hate? Well done video and I can definitely see the similarities. Good job!

[badicusvibesimus]

Hey, heads up Everyday Sales, I think you miscaptioned the film at 3:24. It just says:

The (1977)

[henrique.bittencourt]

Make one about product placement in cinema

[TheNickloyd]

Glad to finally see a new video from you guys!

[gtmustang]

Very well done. I subbed, hope you keep up the quality content.

[johny.]

Watch closely. All disney movies have a similar story telling system. Gets old fast if you are not a child.

[mazgazine]

Heyo, for most of the recycled examples.. except the actual hand drawn bits, I felt like it was a massive stretch to say that all of those examples were throw backs or re purposing similar shots.

I don't even remember the symbol for the "circle of life", not sure how that coincides with with the heart... No ones going to watch one show and say "hey I saw an object that sorta I guess looks the same" unless it was completely ripped and re purposed (like literally cross universe easter eggs)...

And recycling Goofy's yell?? thats lazyness... Just like the Wilhelm scream...

This is all opinion from me.. and the analysis is interesting, but I would like it if you somehow got a Disney employee to admit to certain strategies of semi-recycling content..

[familyoffun]

I have seen this theory before, lets apply it to our life, you know just repeat what works and we can be successful. Just a thought.

[ItsJabo]

To be honest, i think everyone saw the death of moana's Gradmother way before it happened

[briand]

Interesting perspective, thank you for the video!

[TxEvader]

All disney movies are the same. This is evidence for it, good work