{"id":590,"date":"2021-03-14T01:19:13","date_gmt":"2021-03-14T01:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.tedtopping.com\/?page_id=590"},"modified":"2021-03-19T23:51:18","modified_gmt":"2021-03-19T23:51:18","slug":"benchmarking-disney-coming-soon-builds-a-relationship-three-ways","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tedtopping.com\/index.php\/benchmarking-disney-coming-soon-builds-a-relationship-three-ways\/","title":{"rendered":"Coming Soon"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\u201cComing Soon\u201d Helps Disney Build a Relationship<\/h4>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Although every business needs to \u201ccut expenses\u201d sometimes, an unfortunate side effect of doing that can be a shift in strategic focus from the long term to the short term. Efforts aimed at building repeat business give way to a desperate \u201cwe need a sale\u201d panic. But there is an alternative.<\/p>

In Benchmarking the Disney Guest Experience<\/strong>, our Disneyland benchmarking program, we look at three ways in which Disney avoids that shift by directing Guests\u2019 attention to what is \u201cComing Soon.\u201d The first of these creates a sale. The second adds value to the sale so that the customer is getting more. The third converts the sale into an ongoing relationship. Together, they represent a strategy that businesses in many other fields could use.<\/p>

In the context of benchmarking, they are an effective way to manage and grow a business-customer relationship.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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A cavalcade of themed vehicles visited various west-coast cities in May and June of 2007. <\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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1. NEMO Creates a Sale<\/strong><\/p>

Disney used the first form of Coming Soon<\/em> just before the opening of Disneyland\u2019s Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage attraction in 2007. A cavalcade of vehicles, provided and fueled by park sponsors, visited various west-coast cities in May and June of that year. My partner and I caught the first stop on the tour: the Vancouver Aquarium.<\/p>

The NEMO team had traveled north from Anaheim on the I-5, and was now beginning the return trip. The plan was to visit marine, science and other appropriate facilities along the way where the group could set up, draw a crowd and \u201cbang the drum\u201d a little.<\/p>

The centerpiece of the show was a road-worthy version of the yellow Nautical Exploration and Marine Observation Institute (NEMO) research submarine. In the new Disneyland attraction, Guests would sit at a similar submarine\u2019s porthole while the vessel traveled \u201cfathoms beneath the surface,\u201d letting people experience underwater curiosities including an undersea volcano.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Beyond the fun of Disneyland visiting us for a change, we got to experience a mobile version of the then-new Turtle Talk with Crush attraction.<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Beyond the fun of Disneyland visiting us for a change, we got to experience a mobile version of the Turtle Talk with Crush attraction that had then just recently opened in Anaheim. And while people interacted with Crush, we got to speak at length with Mike Novak, the vehicle\u2019s professional driver, who once drove floats in the Main Street Electrical Parade.<\/p>

From that day forward, we hoped that a trip to Anaheim would be Coming Soon<\/em> because we now had a personal link to the Nemo attraction and wanted to experience it more than ever.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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In 1957, large Coming Soon attraction posters were located on the wall in front of Disneyland\u2019s famous Mickey floral.<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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2. Posters Add Value to the Sale<\/strong><\/p>

The second form of Coming Soon<\/em> has been a part of Disneyland since its earliest years.<\/p>

Many of the people who imagined and engineered Disneyland in 1955 came to the project from the Walt Disney Studios. They were movie people who understood the art and science of making movies, and they tended to envision Walt\u2019s new park in the same way.<\/p>

This is why the Disneyland customer experience incorporates what would be called long shots, medium shots and close-ups in film, as well as transitions that are equivalent to dissolves and fades as the Guests move from area to area.<\/p>

In this context, it feels somewhat natural that Disneyland features large Coming Soon<\/em> attraction posters at the park entrance.\u00a0Similar to the posters you see outside a movie theater, these tell park Guests what they have to look forward to that day: rides and attractions, many of them based on Disney movies.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Today\u2019s attraction posters tell arriving Guests what they have to look forward to.<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Originally located on the wall in front of the famous Mickey floral \u2013 a popular photo background for Guests \u2013 the attraction posters were eventually moved into the tunnels that lead into the park.<\/p>

These posters are powerful in their emotional promise. The silk screen process used to create many of them communicates the \u201cfeel\u201d of the attraction immediately, and the images feel \u201cfamiliar,\u201d having been used on post cards, coffee mugs, posters and pins over the years.<\/p>

By adding to the \u201cspecialness\u201d and anticipation of the attractions they depict, these Coming Soon<\/em> posters increase the value of the admission-ticket purchase that a Guest has already made.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Promoted as an inside peak at what Disney Imagineers had in store, Blue Sky Cellar let Guests \u201csee the future.\u201d<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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3. Cellar Converts the Sale into a Relationship<\/strong><\/p>

The Blue Sky Cellar<\/em>, opened in October 2008 and updated several times in the next few years, represents the\u00a0third form of Coming Soon<\/em>. It helped Disney build long-term relationships with its Guests.<\/p>

Before each stage of the $1.2-billion construction project that brought Disney California Adventure<\/strong> closer to the customer experience that Guests expect from Disney, the company showcased what was Coming Soon in this small in-park location.<\/p>

Promoted as an inside peak at what Disney Imagineers had in store, Blue Sky Cellar let Guests \u201csee the future\u201d while looking at the creative process used to develop current ideas into future attractions. Exhibits included things that Guests would not normally see: sketches, concept art, models, maquettes and a video journal documenting the creative progress.<\/p>

The idea for this grew out of the fond memories that many Guests had of previous Disneyland preview centers, including one that operated when Disney California Adventure<\/strong> was added to the property in 2001. Its success lay partly in the \u201cbehind the scenes\u201d access that Guests felt they had.<\/p>

From the business perspective, Guests viewing the exhibits were already thinking at a subtle level about their next visit \u2013 and perhaps even the one after that. In other words, they were buying-in to an ongoing relationship.<\/p>

When we start to discuss Disney promotions, marketing or advertising, someone typically suggests that it is all a matter of budget. And we typically reply that, actually, it\u2019s not. Coming Soon<\/em>, like so many worthwhile ideas, is a way of thinking \u2013 one that keeps the focus on the long-term relationship Disney wants to have with its Guests.<\/p>

Now\u2026 let\u2019s discuss the ways that\u00a0you<\/strong> can apply this Disney benchmarking experience to increase the success of your<\/strong> business.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Written and photographed by Ted Topping<\/h6>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Benchmarking the Disney Guest Experience<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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