FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCE

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONS.) BIOLOGY (AS201)

PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE OF MARKETING (MKT420)

GROUP ASSIGNMENT 1
MARKETING ENVIRONMENT

COMPANY: THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY

PREPARED BY:
NO. NAME STUDENT ID
1
2
3
4
5

GROUP:

PREPARED FOR:

SUBMISSION DATE:

Table of Contents
1
1.0 INTRODUCTION 3

2.0 MICROENVIRONMENT 5

❖ CUSTOMERS 5

❖ COMPANY 6

❖ PUBLIC 6

❖ INTERMEDIARIES 7

❖ COMPETITORS 7

❖ SUPPLIERS 8

3.0 MACROENVIRONMENT 9

❖ ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 9

❖ NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 9

❖ TECHNOLOGIES ENVIRONMENT 10

❖ DEMOGRAPHIC ENVIRONMENT 10

❖ POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT 10

❖ CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT 11

4.0 COMPANY’S RESPONSIBILITY TOWARDS THE FORCES 12

5.0 OPINION ON REASONS TO RESPOND TO THE FORCES 13

6.0 CONCLUSION 15

7.0 REFERENCES 16

8.0 TURNITIN REPORT 18

9.0 RUBRICS 19

2
1.0 INTRODUCTION

Figure 1: The Walt Disney Company’s logo

The Walt Disney Company was founded in 1923 by Walt Disney and his brother, Roy
Disney. In the beginning, the company was known as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. In
1928, the creation of Mickey Mouse had a positive impact on the Walt Disney Company. At
that time, Disney had launched various famous characters such as Mickey Mouse, Minnie
Mouse, Goofy, Daisy Duck, and Donald Duck. These characters have also been the
foundation of the Walt Disney Company's success. Nowadays, the Disney Company has
branched out from animation, and there are various studios that are under the company, such
as Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Entertainment, and Lucasfilm.

Moreover, the Disney Company received its first Academy Award for Best Cartoon in
1932. The company also began to produce its first full-length movie, "Snow White and the
Seven Dwarves" in 1934. The film was released in 1937, and the company managed to earn
the highest income. Furthermore, the Disney Company also announced the establishment of
Disneyland, the first Disney theme park, in California, which has caused the popularity of the
company to keep rising. Since 1980, the Disney Company has increased its market share and
established a stronger presence in the entertainment industry. Besides that, the company also
established various studios, including Touchstone Pictures, in order to make movies other
than its usual family-oriented entertainment. Besides that, the Disney Company has also
become the Disney Digital Network by obtaining a YouTube content creator in 2017.
Moreover, the company also created its digital streaming network, which allows customers to
watch movies and shows in 2019.

This assignment analyzes the marketing environment of Walt Disney Company. A

marketing environment includes each of the internal and external aspects that impact a
company's marketing efforts, and it consists of both controlled and uncontrollable
components. A marketing environment is also relative, dynamic, complex, and uncertain
which can help an organization to identify any opportunities and threats. There are two major
3
types of marketing environments which are microenvironment and macroenvironment.
Microenvironment has a direct impact on the marketing operations where it includes many
factors such as suppliers, customers, business partners, competitors, and vendors.
Microenvironment factors can be controlled to some level. However, the macroenvironment
includes all aspects outside of the organization's control, such as political, economic,
demographic, regulatory, technology advancement, and environmental aspects. These
uncontrollable circumstances might have a major impact on marketing operations.

4
2.0 MICROENVIRONMENT
The micromarketing environment consists of specific forces that are internal to a company
but affect its marketing strategy. They may be naturally complex, but the company holds the
power and controls how its organization is performing in this environment. Figure 1
illustrates six factors of the microenvironment: customers, company, publics, intermediaries,
competitors, and suppliers.

Figure 2: Factors in The Microenvironment

❖ CUSTOMERS
One who buys products from a company is referred to as a "customer." Customers are critical
to a company's success because they provide profit; without them, the company would have
to close its doors. Disney customers are those who purchase a variety of products from the
Disney brand. These include the Disney+ Hotstar video streaming app, Disney retail and
consumer goods, Disney theme parks, and Disney movies and TV shows. Contrary to what
might seem to be the case, Disney does not only focus on children. Disney appeals to all age
demographics, although families are its main audience. Although Disney has customers all
over the world, a significant proportion of Disney's earnings derived from the United States.
On average, customers of Disney are mostly from lower- to middle-class backgrounds.
Regrettably, this group's access to Disney theme parks is becoming more expensive. In the
fall of 2019, Disney+ Hotstar was introduced. The company anticipates reaching a sizable
audience, not only for kids and families but also for adult viewers, in the on-demand video
streaming industry.

5
 ❖ COMPANY
When developing marketing plans, marketing management must consider a number of groups
inside a company, including top management, finance, research and development (R&D), and
accounting. They must collaborate closely with marketing managers to decide on more
detailed strategies and programs. The organizational structure of Disney seems to have been
created in a manner that emphasizes cooperation and coordination among multiple
departments. Because of its size, the company has many divisions and subsidiary firms and
does not operate as a single system. The three main parts of Disney's organizational structure
are business segments and divisions, centralized functional groups, and geographic divisions.

One of Disney's tactics for expanding its international company is diversification.

Disney additionally benefits from centralized managerial control, which is essential for
collaboration amongst the company's business units or departments. Furthermore,
geographical divisions have the added benefit of being strategically appropriate on the basis
of markets.

❖ PUBLIC
A "public" is a group of people who have an interest in or influence over the success of an
organization, whether directly or indirectly. They have such power to enhance or degrade a
company's reputation, as well as influence the target market's purchasing choices. There are
several categories of public, including financial publics, government publics, and media
publics.

A financial public is a group of people who influence a company's funding. The three
most important financial publics, for instance, are banks, investment analysts, and
stockholders. According to the article, Robert A. Iger was listed as one of the top three
individual insider stockholders of the Disney Company. Iger significantly increased Disney's
influence and size during his tenure as CEO through a number of significant acquisitions,
such as Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel, and 21st Century Fox (2019) (Top Disney Shareholders,
2020).

The next category is media publics. This group includes professionals who have the
authority to publish news, articles, and editorial comments about a company that could
influence what other people think about the company. This platform has been utilized by the
Disney Company to promote its goods and identify its target audience. We can look at the

6
launch of Disney+ Hotstar as an example. A month before Disney+ Hotstar premiered, Tom
Bergeron, the host of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," announced in front of his 7 million
viewers that they could pre-register for the Disney+ Hotstar service at the moment. This has
resulted in a significant boost in pre-enrolment for the streaming service.

Aside from that, government publics are one of the categories of publics. The
companies need to consider governmental developments. In regards to Disney, they require
legal assistance to purchase the land that makes up Disney World. Disney also requested a
special district from the Florida legislature, giving the company authority over sewage, roads,
construction permits, and numerous other aspects of local government governance.

❖ INTERMEDIARIES
Another important deciding factor in business is intermediaries. These intermediaries support
companies in the market distribution of their products. Typically, wholesalers, retailers, and
distributors act as market intermediaries. On July 12, 2022, Disney announced that they had
signed a partnership with The Trade Desk, an American organization that connects marketers
and platforms that provide ad insertions (Weinberg, 2022). The collaboration has permitted
Disney to automate its advertising services.

❖ COMPETITORS
Competitors are different businesses that face off against one another for resources and
markets. To remain competitive and protect its market share, a business must keep track of its
rivals and be aware of the threats that exist in its industry. Moreover, an organization's
competitors can be either direct or indirect. Competition for markets and raw materials arises
when two or more businesses engage in the same economic business. This is known as direct
competition.

7
 Figure 3: Disney’s Top Competitors

Few companies in the entertainment sector can be considered Disney's direct rivals in
every category. Comcast, TimeWarner, and 21st Century Fox are some of Walt Disney's
rivals in the movie production and distribution industry. Disney's competitors in the theme
park industry include Six Flags, Universal Studios, and China's Chimelong Ocean Kingdom.
Netflix, which has a market share of over 41% in 2021, is Disney's main rival in the digital
streaming business. The next biggest rival to Disney+ is Amazon Prime Video, which has a
market share of 11.3% as opposed to 9.9% for Disney+ (Carmely, 2022). Disney must
consistently express its unique selling points and its symbolic benefits in order to uphold its
solid brand identity and differentiate itself from rivals.

❖ SUPPLIERS
The suppliers make up another important component of the microenvironment. To continue
their production, businesses rely on numerous suppliers for equipment, raw materials, etc. A
supplier's role in a company is to acquire premium materials from a manufacturer at a
reasonable rate so that a merchant can resell them. Disney's preferred supplier for maintaining
inventory is OOCL Logistics China. The company purchases goods from other Asian
businesses and ships them abroad. Disney seems to be OOCL Logistics China's single-largest
client. Another major supplier for Disney theme parks is Chengteh Chinaware Thailand. This
company was featured in Disney's 2018 Facility List, indicating that Disney is satisfied with
this company being openly known as their supplier.