2009 November, 18th

Kristen Nicole

It’s Mickey Mouse’s birthday.  He turns 81, highlighting his span of eras from Steamboat Willie to his unavoidable ears headbands at retail Disney stores.  But his birthday also comes with travel plans, as Disney World plans on building another theme park in Shanghai, China.  The plans for the new China-based Disney theme park were recently approved, and the controversy that has arisen as a result of Disney’s ongoing globalization has the potential to taint what could be a big bash of a birthday year.

From a business perspective there are several great advantages to Disney landing a theme park in China.  It spreads a great deal of revenue opportunities and brings the Disney experience to an entirely new audience.  The less distance a Disney fan has to travel in order to have the Disney experience, the more likely they are to return.

The China Disney World theme park has been a goal for the company for some time, as it has spent much of the past 10 years or so expanding its theme parks on a worldwide scale.  Mickey Mouse has even been celebrating his own birthday across the various theme parks in different countries, including the Disney theme park in Paris.

Along with discounts and special offers, Disney’s own Mickey Mouse is flipping the script, finding a way to give gifts to all those that desire to celebrate his birthday along with him.  The major milestone along with the plans for Disney World in Shanghai remind us of the commercial opportunities such mile markers offer, as well as the long-standing branding power of a cheerful rodent named Mickey ( below in 1928’s Steamboat Willie).

Opportunistic or just plain smart? You could look at it from either perspective.  Disney is doing something right to maintain its brand for eight decades.  Tapping into the sentiment of an entire globe, Disney has become a very powerful media company.  Extending that media company to include theme parks only helps to instill that sentiment across multiple generations.

With divorced parents I only saw my father during the summers.  Our summer tradition was to see the new Disney movie that came out during the annual school vacation.  I understand how much a brand can be involved on a personal level.  Despite Disney’s globalizing efforts I think that the company has done a good job in respecting the personal involvement of its consumers.

This is a lesson many brands can learn from, especially those that seek cult followings or large scale culture penetration.  There is, of course, the undying appeal Disney  has for children, which works its way back up to parents with just a tug of a shirt.  So forget about the fact that Disney is a globalizing force to be reckoned with and take advantage of all the birthday discounts Mickey is doling out.  Share a special moment with your younger (or older) family members and put on your mouse ears.

• 2009/08/12 -- Minnie Mouse Assailant Gets Light Sentence, Mickey Is Furious

About the Author

Kristen was the lead writer and Field Editor of Mashable, a popular publication that covers social media and tech. She has contributed to a number of other publications including CenterNetworks, VentureBeat, Bubblicious and The Industry Standard. Her work has been syndicated across a number of main stream media outlets, including Reuters, The New York Times, and NBC. Her latest accomplishment has been co-authoring The Twitter Survival Guide, which you can purchase here. She is also completing her second book, Twitter for Women.

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