Disney Synergy. Something that is very special to me, in many ways was the magic behind the magic. Michael Eisner, the champion of Synergy often talked of 1 + 1 = 3. Some call it cross-promotion, others integration, but Synergy went deeper. I was fortunate be involved with it from the start and was part of the committee that pre-dated the Synergy Committee that worked on Mickey’s 60th birthday and then continued to be a member of the Synergy Committee until I left the company some twenty years later. I was in The Disney University in those early days and was responsible for “informing and exciting” employees, and Cast Members, about new company initiatives. Whether my role was employee focused, or with our heritage through the Disney Legends program, or tying company priorities with our philanthropy and employee volunteering, I was fortunate to have worked with the Synergy greats including Linda Warren, Jody Dreyer, Patrick Alo, Laura Simpson and Lorraine Santoli.
Lorraine has written a book titled “Inside the Disney Marketing Machine, In the Era of Michael Eisner and Frank Wells.” This book chronicles the initiatives that propelled Disney to new heights after a “sleepy” time in the company’s history. The book is divided into two sections. Marketing Outside of the Company and Marketing Inside of the Company. Both are equally fascinating and revealing. Stories include getting “Toy Story” integrated at Walt Disney World, “INSERT NAME, you just won the Super Bowl, what are you going to do next? I’m going to Disneyland!” and seeing the bottom line results of “the Lion King” which is one of the most successfully Synergy initiatives in the company’s history.
While I was fortunate to be involved, in some way, with many of the initiatives in the book, Lorraine put a shout out in to me with mention of the Employee Forums, the internal version of the shareholders annual meeting, and the year where I had Disney President Frank Wells fly to the stage escorted by Tinker Bell. My most Synergistic project was The Walt Disney Company’s 75th Anniversary. As this was an “institutional” anniversary versus a “product” anniversary or birthday, a majority of the elements fell under my prevue. All held on the Company’s birthday of October 16, 1998, we did a live media satellite tour with Roy E. Disney, Disney Legends Ceremony along with the dedication of Disney Legends Plaza, dedication of the Frank G. Wells Building and a historical lunchtime event on the Studio Lot. That kicked off a weekend of giving called the Disney VoluntEARS Global Celebration of Children. At all four Magic Kingdoms at that time (Anaheim, Orlando, Paris and Tokyo) we held the Small World 5K Ride where employee “VoluntEARS” got pledges and raised money for children in need based on how many times in a row they rode “it’s a small world.” At other sites, Disney Store locations, offices, television and radio stations employees were out in force with the achieved goal of helping 75,000 children. Even Michael Eisner and his executive team helped to build a house for Habitat for Humanity that weekend. All of this celebrating the Disney’s legacy and heart wrapped up in the 75th bow. Lorraine was an important partner in this global project along with so many others mentioned in her book.
While for me this book is a walk down memory lane, or to use a famous Disney street “Main Street USA,” I think it would be both interesting and helpful to any marketing executive who is working to get various parts of a company, with multiple brands and products, to cohesively work together to fully exploit assets, or a “how to” make 1 + 1 = 3!