A Strategic Management Case Study on the Walt Disney Company

Founded in 1923 by Walter Elias Disney, Walt Disney is the pioneer of the animation industry (“The Walt Disney Company”, 2014). The first two cartoons that Disney created were silent films and could not be sold; he then created the third Mickey Mouse cartoon with sound – Steamboat Willie in November of 1928 ("Disney History," n.d.). Disney went on to win the Academy Award ® for Best Cartoon in 1932, which was the first year that this award was offered, for his cartoon Flowers and Trees ("Disney History," n.d.). Shortly after his cartoons were gaining popularity, Disney went into the merchandising industry, when Walt Disney accepted an offer of $300 by a man to put Mickey Mouse on some pencil tablets ("Disney History," n.d.). That was just the beginning for Disney merchandising, which soon included everything from “Mickey Mouse dolls, dishes,

One of these media giants is the Walt Disney Company (Disney). Its dramatic growth from a small company to become an oligopolist in the media industry offers an interesting

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 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.

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

The dream started in 1923 with the creation of Disney’s first cartoon Alice’s Wonderland. Disney moved from Arkansas to California to create a series of cartoons about an adorable little girl Alice. The first cartoon, became a pilot for a series called Alice Comedies by M.J Winkle, a New York distributor on October 23, 1923. This day is a historic day in the film industry - when the Disney magic began. Disney’s amazing talent of drawing and the techniques he learned at the Chicago Art Institute, combined with his attention to detail caught the eye of the industry. Walt, with his brother Roy, created Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio to make a name for themselves.

“The mission of the Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world’s leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world” (According to "Walt Disney Company Mission Statement" (2011)

The Walt Disney Company’s business model is to create value by providing family entertainment to people all over the world. The company owns television networks and various production studios as well as many different parks and resorts that provide families with the opportunities of creating memories. The company also offers consumer products and interactive programs that provide families with further entertainment. By offering consumer products like toys, DVD’s, books, and many others, the company goes into the customer’s home and provides permanent entertainment. The company’s eleven parks and forty-four resorts are spread all over the world and provide the company with customer value

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.

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.)

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

Disney has become a marketing goliath and the #1 entertainment company in the US. They have been able to develop a creativity-driven philosophy that over time was tempered by financial responsibility and that benefitted from powerful synergies between its divisions. From the very beginning, Disney has been synonymous with innovation within the children’s entertainment industry, from their introduction of animations with synchronized audio, full-length animated feature films and then later into theme parks and on-ice and Broadway shows. One important element of Disney’s success was the extent to which they integrated and expanded into different

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

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.

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