The initial hullabaloo over the new official Disney fan club, Club 23, has settled down some, so I thought I’d take a second to share with you my thoughts on this new offering… I’m giving it a chance.
I WANT the company to succeed (heck, I want my blog and my job quests and President Obama to succeed too). I want it to succeed so much so that I’m willing to put my money where my mouth is and pony up to give Disney (and more importantly the folks inside of Disney) championing this cause a chance to prove something. To prove that we folks who are ardent fans are worth catering too… that we love our times in the parks, but desire a closer ‘relationship’ with the company and the many faces behind it. That we can be a part of a community that can be accepting and still be critical, without being stupid, ideological or even plain rude.
I’m also willing to step out and be part of something that is, in many cases, wholly unnatural for a company of both the size of a Disney Company and the history of the Disney Company… very few companies that are over 10 years old are willing to acknowledge the community thing and ever fewer ‘get’ the community thing. Possibly the closest example I can think of are some of the pseudo company sponsored auto clubs like the Harley Owners Group (HOG) or maybe the Porsche Club of America (PCA) as examples. Can you name another company (besides Apple) that has a large a following as Disney and yet has no official outlet?
I could regale you with analysis this and analysis that about the price point in comparison to other groups or the how much the membership is only a little more than the 4 issues of the magazine I would have bought anyhow… but I won’t.
I’m simply going to say this… if you want the guys and gals like us inside to win the discussion about how important the Disney community is and can be and how much the community has to offer. If you truly want that, then you need to think long and hard about if they deserve your vote of confidence in giving them a chance to earn your respect (and more than get your money’s worth in the end).
Numbers speak volumes…
Posts
This work is licensed under a
1 comments:
I think you're using false logic. Nowadays, every large company is starting to do community outreach and within 5 years, they all will. What none (or very few) of them are doing is charging, especially in this economic environment. I'm a Disney season passholder and have been for years, but this offering is too lame and too expensive for what they offer. Another example of Disney nickle and diming us (like their yearly season pass price increases). And if you look at their financials this year, it's finally coming back to bite them.
Post a Comment