A Strategic Management Case Study on the Walt Disney Company

Walt Disney began as a cartoon studio in the 1920s more than eight decades later is become a global corporation, and premier provider of quality family entertainment across America and around the world.

Walt Disney started out by producing short animated films in 1922 and in 1928 introduced Mickey Mouse, the world most famous cartoon character shown in Figure 4 below (Olsson 1996; Kramer 2002). Following this breakthrough, Kramer (2002) found that Disney proceeded innovatively with new film technologies of sound and colour that resulted in the first successful animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937.

Disney continued to grow, throughout the years with multiple films being created throughout the 1940’s through the 1950’s ("Disney History," n.d.). However, with all the successes that Walt saw he felt the need to branch out and in 1955 Disneyland opened ("Disney History," n.d.). The amusement or theme park, was such a success that Disney opened a second park on October 1, 1971 that we all know as Walt Disney World ("Disney History," n.d.). Disney continued to grow, evolve, and spread to other countries ("Disney History," n.d.). Purchasing Discover magazine in 1991, opening Disneyland Paris in 1992, and in 1994 held the stage production of Beauty and the Beast ("Disney History," n.d.). In short, “Disney is one of the most famous names in the animation industry” ("The Walt Disney Company," 2014, para. 3); from cartoons, movies, theme parks, Broadway productions, merchandise, and books Disney is where it has been since it’s beginning almost 100 years

The Walt Disney or simply ”Disney” is an American mass media corporation, it was founded be Walt Disney and his brother Roy o Disney in October 16 1923. It is one of the biggest animation industries with it’s hand in live-action film, television and theme park. The company current name was came in 1986 and expanding in different area’s like theater, radio, music, publishing and online media. It is one of the biggest organization which has many product of it’s different sectors. From television to media to theme park to publishing it has many hands. It is the leader in animation industries. Now it is one of the leading organizations with annual revenue of 45 billion. It was Walt’s understanding that coordinating the talents of the people he hired, and pointing them at the direction of his ultimate goal was his most important job. Walt was an innovative and visionary man that used his animation background to co-found, manage, and set the platform for The Walt Disney Company’s future. Disney has five main

The success of movies and television programs were due to diversity and distribution. It does its own distribution and targets several markets from children to adults. Finally, the Disney character consumer product sector, which includes clothing, home goods, and toys, has been an extremely important asset to the company. For example, by establishing deals such as an agreement with Mattel, Disney was able to manufacture more than 14,000 Disney licensed products. Furthermore, Disney expanded it’s retailing by opening up Disney stores.

Introduction The Walt Disney Company is an American diversified multinational mass media corporation. It is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. It generated US$ 42.278 billion in 2012. Disney was founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, and established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television, and travel. The Walt Disney Company operates as five primary units and segments: The Walt Disney Studios or Studio Entertainment, which includes the company's film, recording label, and theatrical divisions; Parks and Resorts, featuring the company's theme

The Walt Disney Company is an outstanding renowned entertainment and media corporation with business ventures in Media Networks, Parks and Resorts, The Walt Disney Studios, Disney Consumer Products, and Disney Interactive. Walt Disney Company is a diversified corporation with products all around the world. (The Walt Disney Company, n.d.)

Introduction: The Walt Disney Company is on the threshold of a new era. Michael Eisner has stepped down from his position as CEO and turned over the reigns to Robert Iger. A lot of turmoil has been brewing through the company over the last four years; many people are hoping that this change in leadership will put Disney back on the road to success. Issues began around mid-2002; when declining earnings, fleeing shareholders, and

Founded on October 16, 1923, Disney was known to be one of the largest media and entertainment conglomerates. It had specialized in television, radio, and theme parks & attractions. Walt Disney and his brother Roy produced many short animated films starting with their series of collective films called Alice Comedies and quickly gained their success from there. Within months, the Disney brothers created their own studio and thus the creation of Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, and the rest of the Disney characters was born.

The Walt Disney Company is a major media and entertainment enterprise that is based in Burbank, California and operates in more than forty countries with a worldwide appeal. After going bankrupt with his first cartoon company Laugh-O-Gram in 1922 Walt Disney moved to Hollywood, California to start over (Campbell, Martin, Fabos 456). Walt and his brother Roy created the Disney Brothers Cartoon studio in 1923 and they signed a contract with M.J. Winkler to produce a series of animated comedies which became known as the Alice Comedies (Walt Disney). In 1928 they debuted Steamboat Willie, an animated film with synchronized sound that features the character Mickey Mouse who would go on to become the world known icon for the Walt Disney Corporation (Walt Disney). The following year the brothers replaced their partnership with the creation of four companies: Walt Disney Production, Ltd.; Walt Disney Enterprises; Liled Realty and Investment Company; and the Disney Film Recording Company (Walt Disney). From a struggling cartoon studio the company grew and expanded to include motion pictures, documentaries, and television programs. The continued successes enabled Walt Disney Productions to make an initial public stock offering in 1940 (Walt Disney). The Disney Empire continued to grow with the opening of its first theme park, Disneyland in 1955. Additional theme parks including Walt Disney World, Epcot, and its

According to Robert Iger, CEO of The Walt Disney Company, Disney’s corporate strategy for diversification is a combination of three objectives that are to be achieved through the fundamental alignment of the Company’s core business units. The three objectives to be achieved by The Walt Disney Company are (1) creating high-quality family content, (2) exploiting technological innovations to make entertainment experiences more memorable, and (3) expanding internationally. The Walt Disney Company’s three objectives that make up the Company’s corporate strategy are to be achieved through each of the Company’s core business units that are split up in to five divisions (1) media networks, (2) parks and resorts, (3) studio entertainment, (4) consumer product, and (5) interactive media.

The Walt Disney Company is considered to be one of the most active family entertainment companies in the world. Primarily Disney became known as an animated film company and a cartoon creator. Later, the company expanded its range of activities into other markets through the Disney stores and theme parks around the world. The Walt Disney Company’s key objective is to be the world’s premier family entertainment company through the ongoing development of its powerful brand and character franchises.

Children’s book publishing and consumer products in retail make up another strength of Disney. In 2011 Disney was the largest licensor of character based merchandise in the world (Gamble & Turnipseed 2014), and lastly there is interactive media. This is the

Starting as a young boy from Missouri, farmer Walter Elias Disney set out to make a mark on society. After first joining the Red Cross in World War I, he came back determined to be an artist. After moving to Hollywood in 1923 with his older brother Roy, they founded Disney Brothers Studio. After diversifying as much as possible, Disney had a firm grasp on the global market share until the 1980’s where the company’s revenues began to slump in the film industry. Luckily Sid Bass invested $365 million in order to rescue the company and bring an end to all hostile takeover attempts. Disney’s billion dollar powerhouse status in the entertainment industry can be broken down and analyzed using the

The Walt Disney Company is known throughout the world as a leader in entertainment. The strategies that the Walt Disney Company have used include competitive advantage, a growth strategy, and a renewal strategy. When a person mentions a theme park, Disney is the first park that comes to mind. They were not the first theme park, but they have mastered the art of creating memories for adults and children alike. As a former employee of Disney I can vouch for the amount of effort that goes into