Disney's America Case Study

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Disney should have better anticipated the opposition to its new theme park proposal based simply on the history of Prince George’s County. The local residents have a history of fighting, and winning, against large developers that have threatened to build on their hunting land. The residents are shrewd and know how to win, which is why I suspect that Disney attempted to keep the land purchase under wraps for as long as it did. When the idea began to take shape and the real-estate secured, Disney should have created a campaign to sell it to consumers before the story could have leaked. Once the media leaked the story, they also had control of the narrative. There should have been an ad with images of the proposed installations, as well as press releases and articles, However, instead of the Mr. Eisner or a member of the Imagineers teams, the statements and interviews should have been conducted with the historians that are involved with the project, as well as a national early education group and possibly respected members of an important museum. These spokespersons could have taken the image of Mickey Mouse out of the minds of the people and replaced it with one of respect, education and history.

In all honesty, my advice to Mr. Eisner would be to abandon the idea of Disney’s America. The project should be scrapped, but Disney should make sure to still develop the land with another project. Disney has many companies, including real estate, so they should then turn their plan away from an amusement park and build affordable homes and bring other middle class jobs to the area. Maybe work to build a true museum and event space to the area. A study should be conducted about what is needed in the area and create a project that answers those specific issues. At the end of the day, the company must make good on their promises to the government and should not give up totally, but it is important to shift the project to something that the community will welcome and stop the continued damage to the brand that is coming from the continued fight.

4. What advice would you give Eisner to protect and enhance Disney's corporate reputation?