Midterm Remon

7/25/2019 Midterm Remon

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1. What factors contributed to EuroDisney’s poor performance duringits rst year of operation? What factors contributed to Hong KongDisney’s poor performance during its rst year?

There were two major factors that contributed to EuroDisney’s poor performance

during its rst year of operation. The two factors include: market research and

cultural competency. Within those two factors there were specic details that

demonstrate where and why they failed poorly. There are listed below:

!nstead of using "rench cartoon characters# $merican characters were used.

%The "rench see EuroDisney as $merican imperialism&plastics at its worst.'

Europeans are known to enjoy drinking wine# but the park banned alcohol

completely.

Disney management’s con(iction that it knew best was demonstratedby its much)trumpeted ban on alcohol in the park. Thisrule pro(ed insensiti(e to the local culture# because the "rench arethe world’s biggest consumers of wine.

Disney did not stress theentertainment (alue of a (isit to the new theme park* the emphasiswas on the si+e of the park# which %ruined the magic.'

,acation customs of Europeans were not taken into consideration.

Disney e-ecuti(es had optimistically e-pected that the arri(alof their new theme park would cause "rench parents to taketheir children out of school in mid)session for a short break. !tdid not happen unless a public holiday occurred o(er a weekend.imilarly# Disney e-pected that the $merican)style short but morefre/uent family trips would displace the European tradition of aone)month family (acation# usually taken in $ugust. 0owe(er#"rench o1 ce and factory schedules remained the same# with theiremphasis on an $ugust shutdown.

$ misunderstanding regarding breakfast a(ailability cause issues with the guest.

Disney was informed Europeans did not eat breakfast# which was not correct.

2any Europeans belie(ed the prices were too high and would not pay.

3ther big e(ents were occurring at the same time the parked open# which cause

lots of issues as well

the World’s "air ine(ille and the 4556 3lympics in 7arcelona were huge attractionsfor European tourists.



3n the food front# EuroDisney o8ered only a "rench sausage#drawing complaints from the English# 9ermans# !talians# ande(eryone else about why their local sausages weren’t a(ailable.

This time around# the park caters to the multiple indigenous culturesthroughout Europe&which includes a wider selection of sausages.

0ong ong

• there were complaints about the park si+e just not big enough' and %not (ery di8erent from theamusement parks we ha(e' in ;hina. 0ong ong Disneyland hasonly 4< attractions and only one a classic Disney thrill ride# pace2ountain# compared with =6 rides at Disneyland >aris.

• unfamiliarity of Disney characters• early ad(ertising that featured the

family missed its mark somewhat by featuring a family consistingof two kids and two parents# which did not ha(e the impact it

was supposed to ha(e# because ;hina’s go(ernment limits mostcouples to just one child.

To what degree do you consider that these factors were ?a@foreseeable and ?b@ controllable by EuroDisney# 0ong ong

Disney# or the parent company# DisneyA

$ll the factors listed abo(e could ha(e been foreseen. !t was ob(ious that not

enough research was conducted prior to creating EuroDisney. "or the rst factor# if

there were "rench cartoon characters# why would $merican characters be usedA

They should ha(e taken that into consideration and utili+ed their own famous

cartoons in order to capture the consumer’s attention. The factors regarding the

wine and breakfast could ha(e been pre(ented. !f research were conducted# they

would ha(e found out that Europeans lo(e their wine and breakfast is important to

them. The last factor# the World "air and The 3lympic 9ames occurring at the same

time as opening day# could ha(e been pre(ented also. !f they had changed the

opening date# they would ha(e had more attendees.

EuroDisney management took steps to rectify immediate problemsin 4556 by cutting rates at two hotels up to 6= percent# introducingsome cheaper meals at restaurants# and launching a >aris

ad blit+ that proclaimed %;alifornia is only 6B miles from >aris.'

What role does ethnocentrism play in the story of



EuroDisney’s launchA

Ethnocentrism is judging another culture solely by the (alues and standards of oneCs

own culture. The EuroDisney was launched with the $merican theme# without

considering the fact that they ha(e their own cartoon characters. The Europeans did

not react to the amusement park as Disney had hoped. Europeans also belie(e intaking shorter (acations# which was not taken into consideration. They would not

stay for long# sometimes did not stay the night# and also would cut e-penses as

needed. 3(erall# $merican and Europeans are (ery di8erent cultural wise. ots of

research should ha(e been conducted prior to creating the park.

The "rench see EuroDisney as $merican imperialism&plastics at its worst.'

>aris theaterdirector $riane 2nouchkine became famous for her description of EuroDisney as %a cultural ;hernobyl.' !n fall 455# during a (isit

to >arisEarly ad(ertising by EuroDisney seemed to aggra(ate local"rench sentiment by emphasi+ing glit+ and si+e rather than

the (ariety of rides and attractions.

0ow do you assess the cross)cultural marketing skills of DisneyA

Disney did well in the marketing aspect for both $merica’s and Fapan’s Disney

theme parks. They went in with about the same mind set for EuroDisney# while

when they set up building and marketing. They did not take into consideration the

di8erences of the cultures. Europeans cared mostly about /uality and /uantity# but

when EuroDisney opened# it was ad(ertised as being big and glamorous# which they

did not care for. Top E-ecuti(es were misinformed regarding the breakfast situation#

which was another strike against them. Disney did not understand the European

cultural# therefore EuroDisney was not successful.

After thateparate marketing o1 ceswere opened in ondon# "rankfurt# 2ilan# 7russels# $msterdam#and 2adrid# and each was charged with tailoring ad(ertising and

packages to its own market. >rices were cut by 6B percent for parkadmission and GB percent for some hotel room rates. pecial promotionswere also run for the winter months.

The central theme of the new marketing and operations approachis that people (isit the park for an %authentic' Disney dayout. They may not be completely sure what that means# e-cept thatit entails something $merican. This approach is reH ected in thetransformation of the park’s name. The %Euro' in EuroDisney was rst shrunk in the logo# and the word %land' added. Then in 3ctober



455I the %Euro' was eliminated completely* the park was ne-tcalled Disneyland >aris* and now Disneyland Jesort >aris.

Why did success in Tokyo predispose Disney management tobe too optimistic in their e-pectations of success in "ranceA

!n ;hinaA Discuss.Disney took the entire K.. theme park and transplanted it in

Fapan. !t worked because of the Fapanese attachment to Disneycharacters. chools ha(e eld trips to meet 2ickey and his friendsto the point that the Disney e-perience has become ingrained in

Fapanese life. !n the book Disneyland as Holy Land , Kni(ersityof Tokyo professor 2asako Lotoji wrote: %The opening of TokyoDisneyland was# in retrospect# the greatest cultural e(ent in Fapanduring the MBs.' With such success# is there any wonder thatDisney thought they had the right model when they rst went to"ranceA The Tokyo Disney constitutes a (ery rare case in that the

number of (isitors has not decreased since the opening.

!n Fapan# Disney did not change much. They simply took the K theme parkand put it in Tokyo. They did not anticipate such a huge success. The

Fapanese lo(ed ha(ing a piece of $merica brought to their country. 0owe(er#this huge success led to a downfall when EuroDisney was built. They tried thesame concept and it was an epic fail. The lack of marketing research# led to adisaster in Europe# but with lessons learned# not /uite as bad in 0ong ong.

Why do you think the e-perience in "rance didn’t helpDisney a(oid some of the problems in 0ong ongA

During the opening of the 0ong ong Disney park# Disney was faced with a di8erent

set of problems then EuroDisney. 0ong ong did not think their cartoon characterswere better# but simply was not familiar with $merican characters# such as 2ickey

2ouse. 0ong ong wanted something di8erent from what they already ha(e. They

wanted to feel they were in a fairy tale. Disney in 0ong ong was not as much of a

failure as EuroDisney# but did face di1culties. !n the future# more research must be

conducted to completed understand the di8erent cultures.

Low that 0ong ong Disney is up and running# will

the hanghai de(elopment bene t from the 0ong onge-perienceA

The hanghai de(elopment will benet from the 0ong ong e-perience. Disney now

has a better understanding of the ;hinese cultural and what they people want. They

want a fairy tale# not an amusement park that looks like all the others. Disney will

now being able to market the park much better considering what they ha(e learned

from the 0ong ong e-perience. They must continue their research and found out



what their target audience wants to see. With that being said# hanghai

De(elopment should be a success.

Low that Disney has opened 0ong ong Disney and begun

work on the hanghai location# where and when should itgo ne-tA $ssume you are a consultant hired to gi(e Disneyad(ice on the issue of where and when to go ne-t. >ick threelocations and select the one you think will be the best new

location for %Disneyland N.' Discuss.

The three locations that ! would consider are eoul# outh orea# 2oscow# Jussia#

and Delhi# !ndia. These cities ha(e large population with potential large target

markets. ! belie(e Disney should wait until hanghai location is completed before

starting the ne-t. ! recommend building at one of the three locations listed abo(e =

years after hanghai is completed. ! would start with eoul# outh orea due to the

fact that it is another $sian country. $n understanding has been made with 0ongong and Tokyo. With all that Disney has learned# they could create an ama+ing

park at this location.

9i(en your choice of locale N for the newest Disneyland#what are the operational implications of the history of

EuroDisney and Disney 0ong ong for the new parkA

! belie(e that with all the issues that Disney came across with EuroDisney and0ong ong# which were completely opposite issues# Disney has learned agreat deal. ! know they would hate to lose more money# therefore would

research (ery carefully their ne-t project before going forward with it. Theydid make a lot of mistakes# but they also learned from them. They really needto understand the cultural in order to satisfy their target market.

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