Position Paper One: Demographics
"Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy." Just about every kid, and adult, dreams about going to Walt Disney World one day. Of leaving the world and all of its problems behind to enter the "Disney bubble" where everything is sunshine and nostalgia ... literally. Whether you are five, twenty-five, or seventy-five as soon as you drive under the famous "Welcome to Walt Disney World" arch your worldly problems fade away and the carefree, child like you comes out to play.
Walt Disney World is one of the most visited tourist destinations globally. The annual attendance across its four main parks averages around 49-58 million visitors a year. Magic Kingdom alone attracts over 17.8 - 18 million visitors annually. This makes it the most visited theme park in the world. On average the largest portion, around 47%, of visitors are adults ranging in ages between 25 and 49 often with minors traveling with them. While most people believes that it is only the higher-income households that are able to afford a trip to Disney world there is actually a wide range of household incomes. The largest concentration being the in the middle-income bracket ($35,000-$50,000).
Beginning around 1987 celebrity sports figures, especially Super Bowl MVPs, have proclaimed happily with confetti flying through the air and often holding their family close by that "I'm going to Disney World!" These interviews and commercials that come from it reinforce the idea that going to Disney World is the ultimate family vacation. This campaign helps Walt Disney World to reach broader viewers beyond already die-hard Disney fans.
Another campaign similar to the "I'm going to Disney World!" campaign is the #DreamBigPrincess. This campaign includes 19 female photographers who capture real-world role models such as female athletes and leaders. This helps to reframe Disney Princess characters as empowering figures. This campaign targets young girls, young adults and teens through social media post, and millennials and Gen Z parents by appealing to modern parenting values around diversity, representation, and empowerment. This campaign is especially important for content and activity on social media such as Tik Tok and Instagram.
Disney World's newest campaign "Infinite Worlds" debuted in early 2025 as a way to continue to go head-to-head as their biggest rival, Universal Studios, debuts Universal Epic Universe. In the campaign the resorts name is changed from "Walt Disney World" to "Walt Disney Worlds" making it plural. The purpose of the campaign is to show long-time favored experiences as well as new and upcoming experiences. The campaign could be considered as a bridge of sorts between all of Disney Worlds demographic groups. It showcases that whatever experience you are looking for that Disney World has it. The advertisement highlights the 4 theme parks, 2 water parks, over 25 resort hotels, and well over 675 shops and restaurants. This targets the thrill seekers by showing their most exciting attractions while also targeting those that are visiting for the experiences or even just for the food. This campaign offers nostalgia while simultaneously adding new and exciting attractions.
In a world where social media plays a major role in influencing consumers on where to go, what to buy, and what to do it is extremely important that a company such as Disney World is active on social media. It could be assumed that even a company as well-known as Walt Disney could be left behind in society if they do not keep up with social media. With Disney World biggest demographic group ranging in ages from 18-35 it is important that Disney reaches them where they are at: social media.
With this shift from traditional advertisement channels to digital and social channels so to has Disney's shift in advertisement tactics. Between the years of 2000 and 2014 Disney focused a large amount of their yearly advertisement budget on TV, linear media, and traditional channels. Come 2018 to 2020 Disney had shifted to a majority of its advertisement budgets to online and social platforms. In 2020, Disney spent an unimaginable amount of money on social media advertisements and was Facebooks top advertiser.
In the past couple of years, from 2021 to now, Disney has really grown their online presence. On Instagram alone the Walt Disney company and Walt Disney World has several different accounts. They range from the Official Walt Disney World account to the Walt Disney Ambassador's account, even an account for Disney weddings. These accounts also have comparable accounts across other social media platforms such as TikTok or YouTube. These social media posts not only to entice potential visitors to take the leap and book the vacation it also helps to continue to build the excitement around the brand for those that want to go to Disney World but haven't gotten the chance or does not get to visit as much as they like.
Like most companies Walt Disney World knows that influencers did not come to be called influencers for no reason. Social media users between the ages of 18-29, most of Walt Disney World's biggest demographic group, have stated that over 72% of them follow influencers or content creators. So why not invest in partnerships with influencers and content creators? Walt Disney World saw this advantage in creating authentic reach towards their demographic groups by outsourcing to influencers and content creators. This content helps to highlight the resort in a whole new light. These influencers are able to produce long videos that provide park tips, food reviews, experiences, and so much more in great detail. At the risk of sounding like a broken record this once again, helps to build excitement over the brand.
Potential visitors are able to get a sample of the Disney experience before every purchasing their park ticket or booking their hotel through these influencers content. And since many people do not like spending money without knowing what they are going to get back from it, this allows people to see if the investment that they are putting into their vacation is actually worth the expense. People can watch influencers ride attractions, eat at restaurants, view their hotel accommodations, and more.
In conclusion, catering to their demographics is something that Disney World does really well. Disney makes it known across all of their platforms that there is something and a place for everyone. They also show that while not all Disney World vacation experiences are the same it is still a place full of nostalgia, and happiness, and a place where your inner kid can come out to play.
Comments
Post a Comment