Has Disney’s Strategies To It’s Loyal Customers Finally Caught Up With It?

[jpbothwell]

Michael Eisner would want a word on this.

If you offer a potential CEO less than what their contemporaries make, that will greatly diminish the talent pool. Making it an even more of a “shot in the dark”, and at that level you can’t afford to role the dice.

Again you’re mad at the system

Again, not advocating paying CEOs less. Just saying they need to be incentivized to focus on the long term rather than delivering short term returns at the expense of the company's brand that was built over decades.

As for Eisner, without Frank Wells and Jeffrey Katzenberg, he wouldn't have been even remotely as successful as he was. Just look at Eisner's tenure after the mid-1990s until he was forced out through Roy E.'s second Save Disney campaign. We need a third Save Disney campaign.

I'm not mad at the system. The system can work when people stop being complacent.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Again, not advocating paying CEOs less. Just saying they need to be incentivized to focus on the long term rather than delivering short term returns at the expense of the company's brand that was built over decades.

As for Eisner, without Frank Wells and Jeffrey Katzenberg, he wouldn't have been even remotely as successful as he was. Just look at Eisner's tenure after the mid-1990s until he was forced out through Roy E.'s second Save Disney campaign. We need a third Save Disney campaign.

I'm not mad at the system. The system can work when people stop being complacent.

I agree Frank wells was instrumental in turning the company around. Katzenberg was an Eisner hire, so credit has to go to Eisner no matter how contentious their relationship was.

If you change CEO pay structure in anyway that could mess with acquiring talent, tying pay to company performance would be harder for them to earn their paycheck compared to their contemporaries making the job less desirable

The system only changes if everyone moves in lock step, otherwise you’re looking for charity from talent, or settling for less talent

 

[Jrb1979]

Yeah, this is true. I generally don't ahve a problem with CEOs getting paid a lot as long as they are delivering results for the company. I think that's the key, and there are too many useless CEOs who will run a company into the ground and get away with a golden parachute. They need to heavily tie the CEO compensation to the company's performance. I feel like Iger was doing a great job in his first tenure - this time, ehhhh. But he did inherit quite a mess too.

A mess he created.

 

[BrianL]

A mess he created.

Well, he's not blameless, but I do think Chapek exacerbated a lot of the cracks.

 

[Miffy]

The other main point I agree with is the value for money argument. As many have said it is not that Disney was ever cheap (although there were hotels/tickets that a lot could afford - more than today) but it was the value for your money. Now Disney has done away with both - everything is very expensive & your value/experience is so much worse. When you do away with both nobody is happy and your business suffers.

As CEO, yes it is Iger's job to keep investors happy. But how you keep investors happy is that you create and sustain your business. The theme parks are a service business and keeping your customers happy will ALWAYS bring in more money. A lot of CEOs forget this and that is why Disney is in decline. They need someone to refocus the brand back to that point. Until they put the customer first they will never recover and be the brand they once were.

I would like to put 10,000 hearts as a reaction to this post. I could not agree with you more. Thank you for posting this.

 

[jpbothwell]

I agree Frank wells was instrumental in turning the company around. Katzenberg was an Eisner hire, so credit has to go to Eisner no matter how contentious their relationship was.

If you change CEO pay structure in anyway that could mess with acquiring talent, tying pay to company performance would be harder for them to earn their paycheck compared to their contemporaries making the job less desirable

The system only changes if everyone moves in lock step, otherwise you’re looking for charity from talent, or settling for less talent

So are you saying CEOs don’t see themselves as responsable for their company’s performance? I think their board of directors would disagree. And once again, I’m not talking about pay…just the metrics by which their success is judged. I don’t think a truly talented CEO would shy away from delivering better customer and employee satisfaction, which would drive long term growth.

BTW, Eisner may have brought Katzenberg with him from Paramount, but his inability to cede any control after Wells died is what drove him out and ultimately resulted in the company having to pay him 250 million not to mention the creation of the biggest competitor in animation.

 

[Cfabar1]

I am willing to serve as Disney CEO for $457,902.47 per year. They are welcome to forgo stock options as well. I do request a meal allowance and a standing room available for me at the All Star Movies.

Oh? Disney still wants to keep Bob Iger.... Alas....

Would they take me for $457,901?

The reality is for these mega corporations they find the person they want, and they pay whatever it takes to get them. For whatever reason Iger has convinced the board that he is the horse to bet on. His first tenure was nothing short of stunning. Will his second act be as positive and remarkable? Only time will tell. I remain to be convinced he is the right CEO for this time, and the Stock is doing so much worse now than the initial run-up when he arrived. We got as high as around $125, and now we are back to the mid-high 80s/low 90s.

 

[Moliphino]

Musk and Bezos can have as much as they want IMO, they put in all the risk, they get the lions share of the reward, if you would do things differently, come up with a revolutionary idea and then make sure to give all the profits away. I don't think it's as easy as you're making it out to be, otherwise we'd all be billionaires

It's a lot easier to take risks when you're rich to begin with.

 

[Jwaire]

BTW, Eisner may have brought Katzenberg with him from Paramount, but his inability to cede any control after Wells died is what drove him out and ultimately resulted in the company having to pay him 250 million not to mention the creation of the biggest competitor in animation.

Katzenberg wasn't a peach either. He was an opportunist just like everyone else.

 

[DodgerGirl]

I think Disney really started to go downhill when Roy E. Disney died and ever since the death of Roy E. Disney Disney never was the same again. Because when Roy E. Disney was alive he would create all these plans and visions and dreams that he had wanted to do to improve Disney in general. But as I mentioned earlier once Roy E. Disney died you could tell that Disney was on the verge of going downhill? Because if you look at Disney they bought 20th Century Fox bought Marvel in 2016 and signed a deal with the Spanish language network Univision to have a Disney Junior block on Saturdays in Spanish and even bought National Geographic as well and you could tell that this was the new image of Disney. On the theme park side I think what really had destroyed Walt Disney World was Disney's Animal Kingdom and what could've worked better would've been a Star Wars theme park instead of Disney's Animal Kingdom because what do animals have to do with Disney parks? And another that had caused the slow attendance was the pandemic and when Walt Disney World closed due to the pandemic and reopened after the pandemic people were shocked at what had happened to Walt Disney World and the park attendance began to wane. Because so many of the iconic things that made Walt Disney worth visiting were suspended such as character meet and greets parades fireworks and park entertainment and the absence of Minnie Van services and the demise of Disney's Magical Express really hurt the parks and not many people went because of these changes but once the iconic things returned it helped a little. Disneyland is mainly the one park that is making a ton of money because ever since they reopened after the pandemic and things like parades and character meet and greets returned in April 2022 Disneyland keeps coming up with ways to get more visitors into the park and starting with this park reservation system this is the one thing that has ruined them along with Genie+ and debuting Magic Keys. But one thing that Disneyland should've done was make Avengers Campus a Marvel theme park rather than a land at DCA because the whole concept of Avengers Campus could've made a great theme park and people would've enjoyed it very much. In movies I agree that Disney needs to focus more on making more successful animated movies. Because ever since Frozen came out you could see that Disney had a blockbuster on their hands and Frozen was indeed a smash but Frozen II was weak in my eyes. And that's why Encanto was a hit because Disney gave it the same promotion as Frozen and I wouldn't be surprised if Encanto II is made. But the main reason why Pixar has come out with weak movies is because they want to appeal to an older audience. The only Pixar successes that have done good was Toy Story Toy Story 3 A Bug's Life Wall-E Brave and Inside Out and while Onward and Soul were great they didn't get proper promotion and I can bet that when Elemental debuts on Disney+ soon it will get popular just like Strange World did on it's Disney+ debut. But as long as Disney improves well people will be happy

 

[leiaorgana]

On the theme park side I think what really had destroyed Walt Disney World was Disney's Animal Kingdom and what could've worked better would've been a Star Wars theme park instead of Disney's Animal Kingdom because what do animals have to do with Disney parks?

A lot actually. Walt loved nature and animals. From the late 40s - 1960 there were a series of nature documentaries Disney put out called “True-Life Adventures”, one of which became the inspiration for The Jungle Cruise so nature and animals have always gone hand in hand with the Disney brand. Roy E. Disney even worked in the production of those films. Disney have had a lot of successful nature documentaries in more recent years too.

 

[NotUrsula]

A lot actually. Walt loved nature and animals. From the late 40s - 1960 there were a series of nature documentaries Disney put out called “True-Life Adventures”, one of which became the inspiration for The Jungle Cruise so nature and animals have always gone hand in hand with the Disney brand. Roy E. Disney even worked in the production of those films. Disney have had a lot of successful nature documentaries in more recent years too.

That's true, although many of the older films are seldom seen these days because the treatment of the animal subjects was sometimes pretty bad, most especially the lemming horror in White Wilderness. (Neither of the Disney brothers worked directly in on-site production of that film, though Walt was the executive producer and may have been aware of how the lemming scenes were created.)

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

It's a lot easier to take risks when you're rich to begin with.

Fair, it how did their families get rich? So now we should penalize people for their parents setting them up, I can only speak for myself, but if I could do that for my daughter it wouldn’t even be a question

 

[Moliphino]

Fair, it how did their families get rich? So now we should penalize people for their parents setting them up, I can only speak for myself, but if I could do that for my daughter it wouldn’t even be a question

Just pointing out it's not that great a risk when you're still rich if the venture fails. It's not like they were putting their life savings on the line. The poor people who work for them don't have that luxury.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Just pointing out it's not that great a risk when you're still rich if the venture fails. It's not like they were putting their life savings on the line. The poor people who work for them don't have that luxury.

You are correct, but there is still inherent risk. Musk almost went broke a few times even though he came from a rich family, the risk is obviously less for him then the majority of the population, but he still had to risk to get rewarded.

This is more of an in general thing, but you have as much choice being born into a wealthy family as you do being born in the US. US citizens are way better off than most of the world, should we be forced to give our wealth to lower income countries because the playing field isn't level. The point I'm trying to make is that it's all perspective, your risk is higher then the uber wealthy, but lower than most of the planet's population.

And now i sound like my dad, so thanks for that haha

 

[gmi3804]

This is more of an in general thing, but you have as much choice being born into a wealthy family as you do being born in the US...

And now i sound like my dad, so thanks for that haha

As my dad would tell my sister, it's just as easy to marry a rich man as it is to marry a poor man.

 

[disneyseniors]

As for the labor shortage (I know that there are a lot of politics with this) I would like to see something done better with immigration - both legal and illegal. We have so many migrants in this country right now for many reasons and it would be better to at least put them to work. And many of them want a job but if you are not legal than it is very hard to get a job.

So, let's work something out where if you are here - even if it is illegally - that you have to work in order to get other government benefits. It seems like a win-win scenario for everyone. I'm sure a lot of Latin American workers would love to work in the Orlando area (I know there are all sorts of challenges with this from political reasons to lack or housing but I'm sure American ingenuity could make it work if we wanted to) and would help with all of the tourism jobs. And let's face it immigrants are willing to take jobs most Americans don't want to do and are will to work for lower wages. Not saying that they should be taken advantage of but I'm sure there are millions willing to work.

It's time for the country to start thinking outside the box to fix some of these larger issues.

I agree with most of this. I also feel that the labor shortage is linked to the fact that us baby boomers are mostly retired now. We were a Big part of the work force, which is not there now. I don't think this gets mentioned much when talking about the work force.

 

[midwestdee]

I agree with most of this. I also feel that the labor shortage is linked to the fact that us baby boomers are mostly retired now. We were a Big part of the work force, which is not there now. I don't think this gets mentioned much when talking about the work force.

Yes, then when Covid hit, seniors had to make decisions on whether the extra $ was worth the risk. Even now that can be a factor in a senior deciding whether a part time gig is worth it.

 

[New Mouse]

You are correct, but there is still inherent risk. Musk almost went broke a few times even though he came from a rich family, the risk is obviously less for him then the majority of the population, but he still had to risk to get rewarded.

This is more of an in general thing, but you have as much choice being born into a wealthy family as you do being born in the US. US citizens are way better off than most of the world, should we be forced to give our wealth to lower income countries because the playing field isn't level. The point I'm trying to make is that it's all perspective, your risk is higher then the uber wealthy, but lower than most of the planet's population.

And now i sound like my dad, so thanks for that haha

We actually do give our wealth to lower income countries because the playing field isn't level. It makes the world as a whole a better place. The same concept applies if the wealth of a company is more equitably shared with its employees.

And for.the record, there are plenty of people who could and would do as good as Bob Iger for substantially less.

 

[Mle8308]

I think Disney really started to go downhill when Roy E. Disney died and ever since the death of Roy E. Disney Disney never was the same again. Because when Roy E. Disney was alive he would create all these plans and visions and dreams that he had wanted to do to improve Disney in general. But as I mentioned earlier once Roy E. Disney died you could tell that Disney was on the verge of going downhill? Because if you look at Disney they bought 20th Century Fox bought Marvel in 2016 and signed a deal with the Spanish language network Univision to have a Disney Junior block on Saturdays in Spanish and even bought National Geographic as well and you could tell that this was the new image of Disney. On the theme park side I think what really had destroyed Walt Disney World was Disney's Animal Kingdom and what could've worked better would've been a Star Wars theme park instead of Disney's Animal Kingdom because what do animals have to do with Disney parks? And another that had caused the slow attendance was the pandemic and when Walt Disney World closed due to the pandemic and reopened after the pandemic people were shocked at what had happened to Walt Disney World and the park attendance began to wane. Because so many of the iconic things that made Walt Disney worth visiting were suspended such as character meet and greets parades fireworks and park entertainment and the absence of Minnie Van services and the demise of Disney's Magical Express really hurt the parks and not many people went because of these changes but once the iconic things returned it helped a little. Disneyland is mainly the one park that is making a ton of money because ever since they reopened after the pandemic and things like parades and character meet and greets returned in April 2022 Disneyland keeps coming up with ways to get more visitors into the park and starting with this park reservation system this is the one thing that has ruined them along with Genie+ and debuting Magic Keys. But one thing that Disneyland should've done was make Avengers Campus a Marvel theme park rather than a land at DCA because the whole concept of Avengers Campus could've made a great theme park and people would've enjoyed it very much. In movies I agree that Disney needs to focus more on making more successful animated movies. Because ever since Frozen came out you could see that Disney had a blockbuster on their hands and Frozen was indeed a smash but Frozen II was weak in my eyes. And that's why Encanto was a hit because Disney gave it the same promotion as Frozen and I wouldn't be surprised if Encanto II is made. But the main reason why Pixar has come out with weak movies is because they want to appeal to an older audience. The only Pixar successes that have done good was Toy Story Toy Story 3 A Bug's Life Wall-E Brave and Inside Out and while Onward and Soul were great they didn't get proper promotion and I can bet that when Elemental debuts on Disney+ soon it will get popular just like Strange World did on it's Disney+ debut. But as long as Disney improves well people will be ha

Walt Disney World is not losing money, in 2022 the Magic Kingdom had higher attendance than Disneyland. And Animal Kingdom has a lot to do with Walt Disney himself, he was a big fan of nature and the wild. He produced many documentaries on this subject when he was alive. Animal Kingdom is not based on a current topic or film, which would require constant updating once the appeal wanes. I would have no interest in a Star Wars themed park, though I recognize that is not a universally shared opinion. Star Wars has zero to do with Disney or any vision of the Disney family. Popular, yes, but a whole park based on Star Wars would slowly lose popularity, as the movies are doing now. There is still controversy over Galaxy's Edge, in terms of where it fits in the Star Wars saga. Park attendance after opening from the pandemic was low because people were afraid of covid not because of the elimination of the Magical Express or no character meet and greets! Once that wore off, it was nuts in 2022. Getting back to normal in 2023. Are there things Disney needs to do better - absolutely yes. But to say that the Magic Kingdom is not making money and that the Animal Kingdom destroyed WDW is plain ridiculous.