Sunday, December 6, 2009

Walt Disney Company. Last words...


During this semester I have been exploring the business nature of a company dear to me, Walt Disney! The research that I have conducted opened to me a whole larger view on how the company is being run.
Thus, this blog contains all the projects that I have done throughout the semester as well as the information which was interesting to me and I felt like sharing with everybody else. For more detailed information on each of the topics discussed, I have posted the links, which will lead you to more specific details.
Hope you have enjoyed following my blog!

Walt Disney Company. Advertising Campaign.


The final presentation talks about the advertising campaign, which outlay was created by me. It promotes "Give a Day - Get a Day" program by Disney. One day of volunteering in a participating organization in your city gives you a free ticket to the enchanted world of Disney!

The PDF version of presentation is available at:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B8Ia7nVEI8OGM2IwMWM2NjItNGQ1Ny00YjU1LTk4YTctNGQ1MzYzYjExNGUw&hl=en

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Walt Disney Company. The most Successful visual.


I consider the first sketch of Mickey Mouse by Walt Disney to be the most successful visual ever created by Disney.

It all started with the Mouse, it is still all about the Mouse, it will always be about the Mouse!

Walt Disney Company. Visual Mishaps.

There have been found a lot of visual mishaps in the cartoon "Little Mermaid". Very often not noticeable to our eyes, but obvious when the cartoon is scrutinized, these mishaps show the mistakes the cartoon creators did while making the movie. Moreover, their presence may prove the fact that the editors didn't do the "spell check" on the episodes they had approved for release.
The "Little Mermaid" mishaps are available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIaHyG_gX7M&feature=related

Friday, November 20, 2009

Walt Disney Company. Final Presentation Visual Sample.



The set of posters will be united by one topic. They will show real people who volunteered and got the free tickets to the Disney World. They will stress the fun environment that one gets rewarded with for being socio-responsible!

Walt Disney Company. Final Presentation Idea.


As for the Final presentation, I am going to create a set of posters that promotes "Volunteer one day - get one day in Disney for free" program. As I happened to know there are only a few people in New York City who know about this program from Disney Land - in almost all cases they are those who searched the Walt Disney website for information about Disney Vacation Packages. Thus, I consider that my advertising campaign will increase the amount of people who might get interested in it and consider participating in the campaign in order to cut costs on their trip to Disney.
The primary target group is families with children.. The secondary group is teenagers and young people under 25, who has never been to the Disney World but would love to go there and have fun with their friends.
This set of posters is going to be places in subway cars as well as in the poster windows on top of the subway entrances.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Walt Disney Company. Recommendation.

Date: November 14, 2009
To: BUS 150-141 class
From: Olena Lazurenko
Re: Christmas celebration

If you have not decided how your family is going to celebrate Christmas, I would highly recommend to join Disney family for the spectacular holiday show.
Throughout the months of November and December, the Walt Disney World is conducting the celebration events, which include breathtaking fireworks, stage shows, character greetings and unlimited use of attractions. All small visitors are going to get a Christmas present from Santa Claus and the whole family will be warmed by the hot spell of cocoa and holiday cookies provided by Disney.
This is the best experience one can possibly desire for Christmas!

For more information, visit:
http://www.explorethemagic.com/disney-world-mickeys-very-merry-christmas-party.asp

Walt Disney Company. Memo of Congratulations.


Memorandum
Date: November 14, 2009
To: Mrs. Clement
From: Olena Lazurenko
Re: 4th quarter results

It was a great pleasure to find out that the Walt Disney Company has achieved an 18% rise in the fourth quarter profits. We, the shareholders, understand that a great work has been done by the Disney management team in order to maximize the company’s profits in such vague and unstable economic conditions. We are more than sure that with the strong expertise and management abilities that the Walt Disney executives have shown, the company will be able to accomplish higher achievements and bring the company’s shareholders new proofs to their right choice of investment.
My true congratulations on the company’s success!

Sincerely yours,
Olena Lazurenko
BMCC student

Friday, November 6, 2009

Walt Disney Company. Best Visual.



In my opinion, the best visual that represents the Walt Disney Company is its symbol, Mickey Mouse, and everything that is of its shape. When it is the shape of Mickey, you definitely know it is Disney!

First of all, it one of the first characters that appeared in Walt Disney's portfolio, and it is the character Walt Disney became famous for. Thus, now we can not imagine Disney without Mickey.
Secondly, any object that resembles the shape of Mickey, brings to us the image of Disney. Balloons, watches, iRivers and many many other consumer products have been made of Mickey's shape. Mickey is present almost in all Disney commercials, and is seen on the majority of Disney shirts.

Mickey is incomparable and the character that speaks for itself. It is the best visual that represents Disney!

Walt Disney Company. Visual Evolution.




In order to track the Visual Evolution and the way it affects representation of information, I have decided to track the choice of visuals in the Walt Disney Company Annual Reports in the period of 1995 to 2008.
The first and the most obvious feature is the fact that the earlier reports are more simplistic in structure. They do not contain as many graphs and table as the later reports do. They do not have background pictures as the later ones. Thus, it is very hard to identify what company it belongs to only by just looking and scrolling at the older versions of the reports. Meanwhile, when one scrolls down the 2008 annual report, for example, it is obvious that it belongs to Disney: the background pictures of Disney characters, movie stars speak for themselves.
Secondly, I have concentrated on the representation of financial information. Earlier reports contain mainly tables, while later reports are full of graphs: surface bar charts, regular bar charts and line charts. While the earlier reports give the financials like a dry piece of information, the later reports present it more vivid, clear, understandable and supportive towards everything that is being said and wanted to be heard and understood by the reader. As we know the great advance in technology (Excel, other computer programs) has made great improvements in graph structuring.
Thus, the usage of the products of visual evolution helps the writers to bring the information the way it looks more engaging to the reader as well as it is more complete and not dubiously presented, so that misinterpret the message the writers wanted to convey.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

My letter-request to Disney PR representative.


Dear Mrs. Clement,
My name is Olena Lazurenko and I am currently enrolled in the Business Communications course in the Borough of Manhattan Community College. As the major assignment for this course I have to blog about a company as per the information given in each of the chapters of the book on Business Communications. Having always been fascinated by Disney, I have chosen the Walt Disney Company for my analysis.
As the semester goes on and more analysis is being done, I have gone more deeply into the the nature of how the Walt Disney conducts communication, and frankly speaking, I have been amazed with this side of the company's work. If you would like to see my Business Communications blog on Disney, you are more then welcome to go to http://lazurenkobus150141.blogspot.com

As per my current assignment, I have to inquire about any new communications proposals for 2010. Thus, I would be very grateful to you if you help me with this task. If you have any communications initiations planned for 2010, and if it can be disclosed, I would be thanksfull if you could forward some information to me so I can present it in class.
If it happens that you are not able to help me on this question, I would greatly appreciate if you forward this email to the person who is more familiar with this matter and is able to help me on my semester project.

Remaining waiting for early reply,

Sincerely yours,
Olena Lazurenko
Business Communication Class
Borough of Manhattan Community College,
City University of New York
http://lazurenkobus150141.blogspot.com

Sunday, November 1, 2009

2004 Comcast Proposal to Merge with Disney. Analysis.


As in any proposal, the text of the letter can be divided in three parts (introduction, body and conclusion), which present the problem, discuss and give complete details, and urge the reader to react.

Thus, in the Introduction of the Comcast letter of proposal, the Comcast CEO refers the reader, the Disney CEO, about their previous experiences of discussing the problem, reminds the nature of the problem, and states the fact that this letter is the formal proposal to merge their companies.
In the Body of the Proposal, the Comcast CEO explains and gives complete details of: financial grounds of the merger, future opportunities, mutual benefits, projected financial performance and management solutions.
In the Closing Statement, Comcast CEO urges the Disney Board to pursue the opportunity of this proposal.

2004 Comcast Proposal to Merge with Disney.


February 11, 2004

Mr. Michael D. Eisner
The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, California 91521


Dear Michael:

I am writing following our conversation earlier this week in which I proposed that we enter into discussions to merge Disney and Comcast to create a premier entertainment and communications company. It is unfortunate that you are not willing to do so. Given this, the only way for us to proceed is to make a public proposal directly to you and your Board.

We have a wonderful opportunity to create a company that combines distribution and content in a way that is far stronger and more valuable than either Disney or Comcast can be standing alone. To this end, we are proposing a tax-free stock for stock merger in which Comcast would issue 0.78 of a share of its Class A voting common stock for each share of Disney. This represents a premium of over $5 billion for your shareholders, based on yesterday's closing prices. Under our proposal, your shareholders would own approximately 42% of the combined company.

The full text of the proposal can be found at (scroll down the page) http://www.comcast.com/About/PressRelease/PressReleaseDetail.ashx?PRID=261

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Scrubbing Bubbles@Bathroom Cleaner


Dear Sir/Madam,
Being one of the students of Business Communication class in BMCC, CUNY, I am writing to you to comment on the issue, which prof. Evans brought to our attention as per his dissatisfaction with Scrubbing Bubbles@Bathroom Cleaner and his attempt to communicate to you on this problem.
This case has been brought up in the class as a case study and applied to what we are reading in the book on Business Communication. Having analyzed the string of mutual e-mails and the phone calls, we came to the conclusion that SC Johnson, A Family Company, is not doing its best to keep the most loyal customers and is not eager to deal with their dissatisfaction and complaints. Thus, not proving the status of a "Family Company".
As far as of now, prof. Evans has not yet gotten a satisfactory resolution of his complaint. Therefore, the whole class is looking forward to it.
We hope that SC Johnson will turn to be more sensitive towards customers' complaints and more cooperative in the way of dealing with them.

Best regards,
Olena Lazurenko

Business Communication Class
Borough of Manhattan Community College

alyona_lazurenko@yahoo.com

The Walt Disney Company. 2008 Annual Report.


The Walt Disney Company 2008 Annual Report is a very well-constructed, organized and informative 104-page report. It tells us what the Walt Disney and its affiliated companies have achieved throughout the year. It is available for full download at the Disney corporate web-page as well as in its interactive single part viewing option at the same page, which gives the reader the flexibility, time efficiency and control while searching for particular information.
The major parts of the report are:
  • Introduction: Financial Highlights, Letter to Shareholders and Financial Overview.
  • Key Businesses:Studio Entertainment, Parks and Resorts, Consumer products, Media Networks, Disney Interactive Media Group, Walt Disney International, Corporate Responsibility.
  • Financials: Board of Directors, Senior Corporate Officers and Principal Businesses, Download Annual Report in pdf.
Every part of the report has it's own inner structure: in most cases, it starts with the general information of what the particular part is devoted to, followed by the numbers and facts that support those statements, and finished by the conclusion and projections for the future.
What also needs to be mentioned is the design of the report: the most famous Disney characters and projects are coming along on the background of each page. It keeps us emotionally engaged and makes a reference to what the particular part of the report is talking about.

The Interactive variant of the report is available at http://corporate.disney.go.com/investors/annual_reports/2008/index.html
The Full Version of the report is available at http://amedia.disney.go.com/investorrelations/annual_reports/WDC-AR-2008.pdf

Saturday, October 17, 2009

The Walt Disney Company. Writing a Business Message (2).


According to the fundamental stylistic principles, in order to create a more vivid piece of writing, we have to use different sentence structures. Not only does it helps to prevent the reader from getting bored of simple sentences and miss information, but also express the ideas more clear and dynamically.
The Walt Disney news release writers use the fundamental idea of different sentence types in order to sharpen their writing presentation. Let me take the beginning of the same article discussed in the previous blog post and show fours sentence types that are used in the process of conveying a massage:

George Kalogridis, a 38-year Disney veteran and former Disneyland executive, has been named president of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California (Simple Sentence). Kalogridis most recently served as chief operating officer for Disneyland Resort Paris, where he was responsible for leading the operations team and overseeing the highly successful 15th anniversary celebration of the resort (Complex Sentence).

Kalogridis, 55, will report to Al Weiss, president of Worldwide Operations for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts (Simple Sentence). He replaces Ed Grier, who is retiring from the company (Complex Sentence).

There were no compound or complex-compound sentences in the article. It might be explained by the fact that since the compound sentence requires two subjects (doers of the actions) and two predicates in one sentence, the writer decided to keep them in separate simple sentences in order not to confuse the reader and present two ideas in separate sentences. The article is structured as a combination of simple and complex sentences. Thus, it doesn't engage the reader into a business of establishing or loosing relationship between the ideas, which could have happened if the article was overwhelmed with compound and complex-compound sentences.

The text of the article can be found at http://corporate.disney.go.com/news/corporate/2009/2009_1015_george_kalogridis.html


The Walt Disney Company. Writing a Business Message (1).

LINGUISTICS - THAT'S WHERE THE BIG MONEY IS.

Having read the news releases from the Walt Disney corporate website, I have noticed that their articles correspond to the the rules of syntax, academic writing and high degree of linguistic literacy. Thus, if we look at the structure of any paragraph, we will see that mostly each of them contains three basic element: a topic sentence, supporting sentences and transitional elements. As an example, I suggest analyzing one of the paragraphs taken from the news release:
(Topic sentence)During Kalogridis' tenure with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, he has held numerous executive positions, gaining a breadth of experience beyond operations and sales. (Transition phrase)In addition to his leadership roles in both Paris and Anaheim, Kalogridis served as vice president of Travel Operations at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Kalogridis also served as vice president of Walt Disney World's EPCOT park, where, in addition to overseeing park operations, he led the Millennium Celebration for The Walt Disney Company(Supporting sentences, which prove his numerous executive positions).
Using these elements, the writer helps the readers comprehend the information better and not being confused. The paragraph mentioned above is the illustration-type paragraph, where the examples and explanations given support the general idea of a topic sentence.

The paragraph was taken from the article at:
http://corporate.disney.go.com/news/corporate/2009/2009_1015_george_kalogridis.html

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Walt Disney. Commercial. Persuasion.


"There is so much in life we are celebrating...from the smallest events to the biggest milestones" the Disney commercial promoting free birthday admission to the theme parks says, at the same time showing the touching moments of our lives... Hearing the song and watching those moments appealing to our emotions, we are being influenced on several levels: hearing, watching, memory flashbacks, which all together undermines our feeling and emotions towards those who we love and whose accomplishments we cherish more then anything else...our children.
"What will you celebrate in the place where dreams come true?", the commercial continues, taking us to the magical atmosphere of the Disney park and enchanting us with the presence of fairy tales heroes in real life. It pushes us to the thought that our beloved children do deserve to dive into whimsical themes of Disney and its exciting entertainment for their birthday.
Thus, the commercial persuades us to register for the free birthday admission to the Disney theme park and does it extremely well, in my opinion, by the means of vocabulary chosen and influencing us on the level of hearing, watching and triggering our emotional memory.
The commercial is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rz-c7Ees4QQ

Sunday, October 4, 2009

The Walt Disney Company. PowerPoint Presentation.


"Ways to Finance your Disney trip" presentation talks about affordable ways to finance a trip to Disney World Theme Parks and Resorts: free trips for your birthday, Disney and third-party promotions, 0% APR Disney credit card, and a lot more!
The minimized version of the Power Point Presentation, saved as a pdf, was uploaded to:
http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B8Ia7nVEI8OGM2I4N2Y5YTMtMGVhMi00MTI0LWE1MzMtMTM5MzhjMjk3ZDVi&hl=en
No sign-in necessary to view this document.

Monday, September 28, 2009

The Walt Disney Company. Finding,Evaluating and Processing Information.


There are a lot of way to find information about The Walt Disney Company. Search engines like Google direct you to two types of sources: the insiders' peek into the company and the outsiders' view.

First of all, the corporate and official Disney website www.disney.com present a wide range of information about the company, its history, products, ongoing projects etc.

Secondly, a more detailed and business-oriented information is available at www.hoovers.com, where one can find the following: company description, executives, financials, jobs, competition, industry, news releases, significant developments etc. http://www.hoovers.com/disney/--ID__11603--/free-co-factsheet.xhtml

Using these two sources, one can find any possible information about the company which is available to the public.

The Walt Disney Company. Communicating in Teams.

Disney International programs have been widely implemented by the Disney College. One of the prominent ones is Disney Communication Course, which introduces students to the communication within an organization as well as outside it. Not only do the students learn how the companies are run as teams and by teams, but they are also encouraged to work in groups assuming they are the corporate communication team. The course has the following modules:
  • Welcome!
  • Planning and research functions,
  • Media Relations,
  • Community Relations,
  • Employee Communications,
  • Government Relations,
  • Customer Relations,
  • Management and Surveillance,
  • Corporate Communication Technology,
  • Crisis Communication,
  • Group Presentations.
For a more detailed course description and syllabus, visit:
http://www.disneyinternationalprograms.com/_assets/pdf/CommunicSyll.pdf

Monday, September 21, 2009

The Walt Disney Company.My Business Message.


Disney Animation Studio is seeking experienced animators for upcoming project on developing Marvel characters and adapting them to fit the modern Disney atmosphere.
We are building a team of illustrators and animators, who are innovative and strong individuals, willing to work in teams and bring creativity to a new level.
Productive mind set is valued more then experience.
To apply, please, send a link to your animation portfolio as well as your resume and cover letter to:
marvelanimation@disney.hr.com

The Walt Disney Company. Diversity.



For a long time, Disney Company failed to present its young viewers with realistic cross-section of the society, thus not taking advantage of its persuasive influence.
Since Jasmine came out into picture, Disney has slowly but surely been incorporating more ethnicity into its feature films. Today, it has the following range of ethnic characters:

  • Jasmine (Indian),
  • Pocahontas (Native American),
  • Mulan (Chinese),
  • Lilo (Polynesian),
  • Maddy (Afro-American).
Now, every child has someone in the Disney Media with whome they can readily identify with, both personality and appearance.

Friday, September 11, 2009

The Walt Disney Company. Visuals and Presentations.


Walt Disney Company fact book provides corporate information, gives detailed overview of the company and describes each business branch it conducts business in.

To see the fact book, follow the link:
http://amedia.disney.go.com/investorrelations/factbook_2008.pdf

In my opinion, the information given in the book is fully integrated with the visuals. They are:
  • consistent (font, point size, layout, other elements);
  • contract (there is no boring repetitions);
  • balanced (the amount of visuals per page is balanced with the text);
  • emphasizing (the visuals reflect the ideas discussed on the same page);
  • conventional (the pattern of visuals and their choice reflects Disney spirit);
  • simple (the information is laid out in a way simple to follow and get the main idea of).

The Walt Disney Company. Persuasive Message.


Disney Rewards Visa Card!

Save with 0% APR vacation financing and a $40 statement credit!

The full offer can be viewed at:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/disney-visa-card/wdw/zero-percent/?trackcode=61Y

Disney's persuasive message to apply for the Disney Credit Card engages the following techniques of creating a persuasive message:
  • displays good intentions from the side of the company (help you get to the Disney World Parks and resorts and not to worry about financing);
  • personal appeal to the readers' emotions and values;
  • gives the promise (savings);
  • simply written and structured on the web page (we do not get lost in the amount of information presented), the most important information comes in a bigger font;
  • structured with the AIDA model (grasps our attention, provokes interest, evokes desire and leads to the action of pressing the link "Register and Card Application").

Saturday, September 5, 2009

The Walt Disney Company. Financial Overview.


The Walt Disney Company is a component of Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P500 index.
Number of Shares Outstanding - 1,858,560,000
Market Cap (billion) - 48.14 B
Indicated Annual Dividend - 0.35
Beta Coefficient - 1.10
Earnings per Share - 1.69
Yield (%) - 1.35
P/E ratio - 15.89
As for the last 12 months of trading activity, the highest price was hitting almost $35/share in September 2008, while the lowest price was around $15 share in April 2009.
Currently, it is being traded between $25-26/share and the pattern is heading towards growth.

The financial activity shown on the graph is as of September 5th, 2009.

For more information, visit:
http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=DIS
http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/invsub/results/statemnt.aspx?symbol=dis

The Walt Disney Company. The Most Recent News.


On Monday, August 31, 2009, Disney agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment Inc. ($4 billion), adding a legion of superheroes and other 5000 characters to the Disney family.
Under the agreement, Marvel holders will receive $30 a share in cash plus about 0.75 Disney share for each Marvel Share.
This deal is Disney's biggest since its 2006 purchase of Pixar Animation Studios Inc. for $7.4 billion in stock.
Disney CFO Tom Staggs, commented: "Marvel is worth more inside Disney that outside Disney", being the only one among the rival executives to pay a hefty premium.

For more information, visit:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125172509349072393.html

The Walt Disney Company. Current Overview.


Nowadays, The Walt Disney Company is one of the world's largest and the most recognized media industries. Together with its affiliated companies, The Walt Disney produces unparalleled entertainment characters and projects.

The company comprises four business segments:
  • media networks (The Disney-ABC Television group, The Disney Channels, Radio Disney Network, The Walt Disney Internet Group etc);
  • parks and resorts (Disney Land Parks, Disney Cruise Line, Vacation Club resorts, Adventures by Disney etc);
  • studio entertainment (Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Disney Theatrical Production, Walt Disney Records etc);
  • consumer products (toys, apparel, accessories and footwear, food, health and beauty, home decor, stationary).
For more information, visit:
http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/overview.html

The Walt Disney Company. Brief History.


The Walt Disney Company began its existence as a cartoon studio and made a prominent way to a global corporation. In 1923, brothers Walt and Roy Disney started their partnership under the name of Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. Nowadays, The Walt Disney Company is a global entertainment company, synonymous with quality interactive entertainment for the whole family. These eighty years of the company's existence have been marked with a great number of animators' innovative ideas and managerial decisions of new acquisitions and expansion projects that made The Walt Disney Company a leading diversified entertainment company.

For a more specific timeline and notable business events, visit:

http://corporate.disney.go.com/corporate/complete_history.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_The_Walt_Disney_Company