Television the key to spreading the gospel
Preaching the Magic Kingdom's gospel via radio and television is the most direct way to reach a mass audience and Douglas Miller, Walt Disney International's regional managing director, is eyeing this strategy for the Asian markets - its key to future growth.
Incoming Disney chief executive Robert Iger has stated his intention to focus on expanding the US entertainment giant's profile in international markets, from theme parks to movie and television content distribution.
Hong Kong-based Mr Miller, who joined Disney about three years ago, said the region offered great opportunities for growth.
'TV is the most direct way to get mass interaction with a brand,' Mr Miller said.
However, not all markets are equal. Mr Miller said the Disney Channel was commercial-free in all Asian markets except Taiwan and India. He said the return on subscription-based cable television was relatively low in these two markets and had to be supplemented with advertising to succeed.
Mr Miller said he expected a Disney Channel on the mainland, which has banned more joint ventures with foreign television networks, would use an advertising-based model 'on the conservative side'. He said commercials took eight minutes of every broadcast hour in India, but this would probably be less on the mainland.
'China should have a conservative ad-supported model,' he said.
Disney also recently launched its channel in Vietnam, which Mr Miller said paves the way for the brand to develop consumer products and gaming businesses in the emerging market.
However, the piracy of intellectual property and content has not made expansion easy. Mr Miller said a multi-pronged approach was necessary to combat the problem, involving law enforcement, educating consumers and distributors, and more strategic marketing and pricing.
On the mainland, Disney has slashed the retail price of its DVDs to less than US$10 in a bid to price out pirated goods.
Disney's plan to reach out to the masses with its family channel also involves developing local content. This could include acquiring local scripts and stories and then producing them in-house or adapting its own content to suit the market.
Mr Miller is also trying to expand Disney Radio, which has proved popular in Latin America, to develop inroads into key Asian markets. This would take the form of broadcasts on a FM band, although there are also opportunities to license content and format to broadcasters for a royalty fee.
