Hong Kong Disney Case Analysis

1. The situation

The case introduces the Disney Parks that were opened outsides of the United States (Tokyo, Paris). It reveals the reasons why it is successful in Japan and failing in French. Then it focuses on the park which was opened in Hong Kong. Managers tried their best to avoid the mistakes they made in French and thought about culture differences as many as possible. However, it still produced some negative effects, such as The Lunar New Year Holiday Fiasco, during consumers because of inappropriate operation. Thus, Disney tried to get the consumers back with using some useful strategies, such as new promotion with lower price, external liaison with mainland travel agent.

2. Industry

Hong Kong Disneyland belongs to entertainment industry. For entertainment industry, the health of the industry depends on the attendance of visitors. This is a very simple way of saying something much more complicated: The is in business to produce entertaining theatrical productions that are family oriented and family friendly; they are in business to create products and actions that will promote their theatrical productions that are both entertaining and safe for children, and also stimulating enough to attract new customers; they are in business to entertain families with children who are looking for a fun, interactive and safe vacation spot both with resorts and parks, and also cruise lines; and finally they are in the business in keeping. Their name reputable and substantial in a growing business.

3. Competition

All the parks for entertainment in Hong Kong or near Hong Kong can be treated as Ocean Park and HKD’s competitors. Ocean Park and HKD is the competitor for each other. Besides, no only the entertainment firm, but also the other entertainment ways in Hong Kong are its competitors, such as other places of interest，or even shopping in HK.

4. Target Market

Its primary target market is the tourists who come from Mainland Chinese. According to case, the mangers of HKD set the primary target market as their main revenue. Many tourists who come from the city near Hong Kong or mainland area may come to the park. What’s more, the number of tourists come from mainland nowadays has increased fast because of the political policy of Chinese government. Thus, it should be a big opportunity for them to occupy the tourists’ market. The secondary target market is local visitors. The first choice for local might be Ocean park since it has a longer history and was the “first mover” in this industry in Hong Kong. Thus, it is hard for HKD to occupy the most local market in a short time; thus, it is its secondary target market.

5. Main problems and solutions

* Managers ignored the culture differences when they operated Disneyland in French. So they failed in Paris. Solution: To avoid the same mistakes, they noticed the different culture of their target market consumers very much. a. Using the lucky number of Chinese and avoid unlucky number. For instance, number of 4 is Chinese culture means dead. Thus, they avoided number of 4 when they organized the rooms. b. Cast members at HKD were expected to converse proficiently in English, Cantonese and Mandarin, and signs in the park were written in both Chinese and English. c. Restaurants offered a wide variety of food, ranging from American-style burgers and French fries to Chinese dim sum and sweet and sour pork.

* The Lunar New Year Holiday Fiasco.

Solution:

a. New Promotion

* Lower the price. In order to improve more people come to park, they produced some kinds of discount on price of tickets, such as the price of weekdays is lower than weekend. * Invited taxi drivers visit park for free in order to let them share their experiences with tourists. In mid-2006, 50,000 taxi drivers were invited to HKD free of charge. Their primary market is tourists from mainland area of Chin, thus, many tourists may take taxi to travel around Hong Kong. The real experience taxi divers had can help them give recommendations about HKD to visitors more vividly. * HKD also introduced a “one-day trip guide” in Chinese during November of 2005. This initiative was intended to explain HKD to local travel guides. Furthermore, special VIP treatment was extended to local celebrities in the form of a Dining with Disney program.

b. External Liaison with Mainland
Travel Agent. HKD offered Chinese travel agents a 50 per cent discount on visits to the park and hotels. Incentives of approximately US$2.50 per adult ticket were also given to tour operators who incorporated an HKD visit into their package tours. HKD also changed the sales packages to open-ended tickets, from just fixed-date tickets, which offered greater flexibility for visitors and minimized the number of returned tickets.

6. Main Strategy

“Bringing the original Disneyland model to a new territory, and then, if feasible, adding a specialty theme park.” The advantage of this strategy may make the company more unique. They offered the same things in different countries and areas. So they can have the same product line and design plan. It should be easier to operate and manage. Also, it saves time to do other useful things instead of thinking about more ideas about local issue. However, the strategy ignores the culture differences among different countries. Different countries have their own different culture and background. Thus, they prefer different kind of way for choosing play in the park. The strategy ignores the differences between different countries, which may cause that people don’t want to go to their park instead of their local park.

7. Suggestions

HKD can try to corporate with several local companies whose business are related with its, such as the brand of children’s clothes, or the companies that offer services for children. Thus, they can produce bigger effects among the children and their parents, which can bring HKD more market share. Also , it can employ pop singer or movie starts who come from mainland of China to help them advertise their brand and attractions in their park to expend their effects and market into mainland area of China.