The Walt Disney company is by common agreement the most powerful entertainment brand in the world, generating $59.43bn USD in 2018 after a wave of acquisitions and dominant performances at the box office over the past 7 years since the purchase of Marvel in 2012 and Lucasfilm in 2014.
Ben had the privilege to work in a central marketing role for Disney Consumer Products, interacting with all lines of business, from theme-parks to TV & Movie Studios. For 5 amazing years during one of the most dynamic periods in the company’s history, Ben worked to integrate Marvel and Star Wars brands with the existing Disney brands, and played a leading role as Marketing Director first for the UK and then the EMEA business, as the company transformed itself to become a franchise-led organisation; creating high quality content, fully embracing technology, and becoming a truly global company.
One of Ben’s proudest achievements came when Disney’s CMO and SVP of Consumer Products set him this challenge…
- We’re losing relevance with families…
- We’re perceived as overly commercial by some…
- Revenues are flat outside of peak movie periods…
We went back to the basics of what makes Disney loved all over the world… Unforgettable family moments… especially Parties.
We took a stressful, emotionally taxing and disorganised guest experience and logistical nightmare…and turned it into a “Thank you” Disney moment…
…a new e-commerce and social platform (Disney Party) tested in the UK, now integrated with the Disney family site….
- Substantial projected incremental sales
- Step-change margin improvement
- Disney CMO joins Marketing Hall of fame!