Source | LinkedIn | Patrick Leddin, Ph.D.
Over the last 15 years, CEO Bob Iger has been at the helm of the Walt Disney Company. Under his stewardship, Iger and team have acquired Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox. Many of Disney’s moves have reaped huge rewards (Avengers: Endgame $2.8 billion in worldwide box office), some are struggling (Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge), and others are soon to be released (Disney+).
What underpins all of these moves, continues to grow int he process, is Disney’s extremely strong brand. That’s not just me speaking. Forbes ranks Disney #8 on its 2019 list of World’s Most Valuable Brands at $52.2 billion. That’s up three spots and nearly $5 billion in value over the past year.
Whether you are looking to build your personal or corporate brand, allow me to offer you 5 lessons from Disney’s success:
1. Lead; Don’t Just Differentiate
Disney doesn’t claim that 9 out of 10 kids prefer Mickey Mouse. They don’t advertise that Goofy is 13% funnier than others in his line of work.
Disney opted to be a leader from inception. They chose to be different in kind. The company received acclaim in the 1930s for the first ever full-length animated film. When land was tight in California, they transformed a Florida swamp into a world like no other.
What’s the point?
Differentiation is often a zero sum game.
