This is a two-part series examining Hong Kong Disneyland.
Hong Kong Disneyland [HKD] is a well-known amusement park set up by both the government of Hong Kong and the Walt Disney Studios. Based in Burbank, California, Walt Disney Studios complex, The Walt Disney Corporation, commonly referred to as Disney, is an American international interactive and film conglomerate. Other major divisions and reporting categories of Disney are Disney Parks, Disney Television Networks, Attractions and Goods, and Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & Foreign. The business is famed for its film production division Disney Parks, Attractions and, Merchandise is a worldwide community of 14 theme parks. (Hong Kong Cooperate, 2019)
Hong Kong Disneyland, the franchise's smallest amusement park, opened its doors to the public on September 12th, 2005, located on Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, on reclaimed land. It is located at the Disneyland Resort of Hong Kong and is owned and operated by the International Theme Parks of Hong Kong. This entirely new entity is a joint venture between the Hong Kong authorities (52% shares) and The Walt Disney Company (48% shares). (South China Morning Post, 2019) The organization provides rides, dining, festivals, sports, and other leisure services.
The Company effect
An organizational atmosphere is perhaps the most critical aspect of the brand, as all teams must be able to work together and consider the needs of the client and build customer service. The company must function successfully every day. The hand-picked board of directors consists of eleven heads of directors, including five directors nominated by the Hong Kong government, four directors nominated by the Walt Disney Corporation, and two separate non-executive directors jointly appointed by the Hong Kong government and the Walt Disney Group.
Hong Kong Disneyland announced and hired a new CEO in 2018, Stephanie Young. After the appointment of director Stephanie Young, her leadership relates an unprecedented 6.7 million people to the increased attendance success of 8%, which is an 18% rise in sales to about USD 774 million, amid an improvement in Hong Kong Disneyland's sales, which is a healthy improvement for Hong Kong Disneyland. Shareholders are optimistic that things will turn up and generate profits shortly. The main goals now have shifted to surviving the COVID-19 pandemic losses (South China Morning Post, 2019).
Suppliers effect
Running a theme park requires a lot of material to keep the customers happy. Hong Kong Disneyland is home to many foods and beverage stalls, gift shops, and restaurants. However, HKD does not have enough authority to determine vendors, as Walt Disney Company sets the standard and deals with required suppliers, whether in the United States, Europe, or even Asia (Suppliers Document, The Walt Disney).
One major supplier for Disneyland Hong Kong, Mengniu, fell into a controversy when the discovery of melamine, a plastic used for laminated coatings, was found in the milk they made (West, 2011). Hong Kong Disneyland immediately pulled from its shelves any milk product made by Mengniu after this troubling finding and broke ties with the business they had been working with since 2008. After this event, Hong Kong Disneyland looked for a new provider of dairy products in the form of Nestle, a more reputable company headquartered in Switzerland.
Marketing Intermediaries Effect
Disney refused to properly understand the difference that existed between the American brand and Chinese society amid its attempts. Many mainland tourists were unsure what to expect or how to appreciate the park as they had little idea about the tales of Disney and their characters. Some left after walking for a couple of hours around the park. Before the opening of the park, Disney had already based its publicity strategy on teaching people about key Disney stories but admitted in retrospect that its promotion was not strong enough. One such example was when a discounted one-day pass was introduced by Disney in early 2006, enabling ticket buyers to visit the park at any time within six months, apart from the special days allocated by the park. The four days that Hong Kongers observed as public holidays during Chinese New Year were marked as special days by Disney. It was unaware that mainland China enjoyed seven days instead, so when hordes of mainland visitors swamped its walls, seeking admission to the park, it was utterly unprepared. Local TV channels filmed the commotion that erupted, leading to a lot of condemnation from the local press. The humiliating blunder led Bill Ernest, the executive vice-president and managing director of the park, to an unprecedented public apology.
Hong Kong Disneyland also requires the help of Marketing Intermediaries frankly near the holiday season. According to Writer, Hong Kong Disneyland is no different as it partnered up with two firms, Mindshare and TVB's myTV SUPER when it came to programmatic TV advertisements for Hong Kong Disneyland’s online TVB Christmas promotion in January 2018. HKD split the crowd into a few different categories for specific targeting: families of children, Disney fans, young adults, and so on in an attempt to represent multiple innovative divisions of the crowd (2018).
Competitors effect
Theme parks are large investment ideas that have the potential to generate millions, if not billions of dollars, annually. In the small city of Hong Kong, before the establishment of Hong Kong Disneyland, there was only one theme park, Ocean Park. At the time, it was much smaller and less elaborate than the expected Disneyland and did not see them as competition. Shenzhen's vast amusement theme parks just over the border, which may pose a challenge to Hong Kong Disney, seemed to have been overlooked but if these numerous facilities were to co-market their services, they may coexist happily as regional tourist attractions. Due to the great distances and expenses involved in visiting them, competition from other Disney locations was of little importance.
Ocean Park Hong Kong understood the threat Hong Kong Disney land could become and developed a 6-year development scheme that would make Disneyland seem adequate. Ocean park ticked all the boxes after the addition of a funicular railway, two theme areas, and an impressive aquarium designed by Frank Gehry, and, after many years of expansion. Ocean Park, with its educational stance, has earned a few brownie points because a majority of the population finds education as a luxury aspect. Disney had ignored this complexity while holding an eye out for cultural factors China Daily, 2019). While Ocean Park is much closer to the city than Disneyland, Ocean Park provides no lodging options for customers, unlike Disneyland Resorts.
Publics affect
Due to the constant censorship in China, many Chinese Teenagers were not aware of the wonders of Disney movies. Therefore a theme park dedicated to the wonders of Disney fairy tales became doomed for failure. The attempts of Hong Kong Disneyland to incorporate famous Disney characters that were common with all Americans failed and thus struggled to draw the millions of mainland Chinese who had been the potential target market.
Only Minnie and Mickey Mouse were familiar to the mainland Chinese, but that failed to entice customers to spend money for the entire day at an unfamiliar site.
Customers affect
Hong Kong Disneyland is a business in the services industry, supplying its clients with different types of exclusive experiences that you can’t find anywhere else for entertainment. Customers are important to every enterprise. This is why the key priority of HKD is to meet the desires and wishes of its customers. Disneyland is also famous for its "family-oriented" experiences, which can be enjoyed by both children and parents. Many of its services are often used to draw the customer group's target; products, rides, and even live shows.
With almost 7.5 million visitors in about a decade from 2009 to 2018, Hong Kong Disneyland’s attendance was the highest in 2014.In the five years previous to this high amount of 7.5 million, which comes on the heels of year-on-year rises.
Internally Hong Kong Disneyland has a lot of potential especially after the recent appointment of new CEO Stephanie Young. However, there are external factors that have shaped HKD's path through out the years.
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