Written by: Vickie Sullivan | July 23, 2019
How Disney Grew a Market – And You Can, Too
Ya know, I like Mickey Mouse as much as anybody. What interests me, though, is his popularity. So many partners are flooding the market with the mouse! This Fast Company article is a fascinating look at how Disney expanded a children’s icon into a profitable product line for adults.
Move past the consumer market and products. You can use some of the tools here to expand your influence. Two ideas you can copy:
• Represent a broader idea. It’s easy to attribute “sweet memories” to the mouse’s appeal. But that is selling the strategy short. What Mickey really became was a symbol for something much bigger. He became an antidote, a symbol of innocence and hope in the midst of traumatic times (i.e. World War II). The big question: What can you be an antidote for? Identify that, and you just upped your universal appeal.
Listen: Two Things that Make You the Antidote
• Partner with a bigger cause. It started as a simple request: cartoons on warplanes to lift spirits. Disney leveraged the nostalgia factor with a shock-and-awe campaign to connect Mickey to the war effort. This mouse was everywhere, and it paid off later. Ask yourself: Is there a cause that represents your broader idea? If so, how can you join forces? Find your best entry point, and go for broke.
When you represent bigger than your insights and perspective, you not only expand your appeal to broader markets but also attract more partners to help you get the word out.
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