Disney takes fourth place: 2009 Mobile Marketer of the Year

By Giselle Tsirulnik

January 12, 2010

Disney is doing a lot in the mobile space

Disney took fourth place for the 2009 Mobile Marketer of the Year award.

Based on the nominations received from readers and submissions from this publication's editorial team, Mobile Marketer is convinced that Disney serves as role models for outstanding use of mobile advertising and marketing. Here is a breakdown of Disney�s work in the mobile space in 2009.

Disney�s mobile initiatives include SMS alerts and campaigns, games, sweepstakes programs and a video-enabled mobile Web site, both a WAP version and one optimized for the iPhone�s Safari browser and touch screen capabilities.

On Oct. 28, Disney released a free, ad-supported application for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Disney.com, the mobile Web gateway to all of the company's Disney-branded entertainment initiatives, provides information about Disney movies, travel, television, games, music, shopping and live events.

Here is a snapshot of the mobile site:

Disney claims that Disney.com ranks as the No. 1 entertainment site on the mobile Web.

Consumers can text the keyword MOBILE to the short code DISNEY to get information about the company.

Here is a snapshot of the communication:

In addition to the free Disney iPhone application, the company also has an expanding line-up of paid applications currently available in the App Store, including Toy Story Mania, Disney Fairies Fly, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Breakspin.

Disney Interactive Studios recently launched the latest addition to its slate of applications, The Muppets Animal Drummer for the iPhone and iPod touch.

Multichannel strategy
Disney takes a multichannel approach to marketing its many properties. Mobile continues to increase in its importance as a marketing channel for Disney.

There is a marketing campaign dedicated to drive downloads of the new Disney iPhone application.

The company is running TV spots on the Disney Channel, radio commercials, mobile calls-to-action in print and outdoor advertising, promoting it on the online version of its site and running mobile advertising and on-device search advertising, both natural organic search and paid search.

Here is what happens if a mobile consumer searches "Disney" on Google:

The entertainment giant works with several mobile ad networks, including Millennial Media, AdMob, Jumptap and Nokia.

Disney has found that ads promoting a specific TV show or movie are more successful than general Disney-branded ads.

The company has learned to be brand-specific�a Hannah Montana ad that is targeted generally does well, while a general Disney ad is not as effective.

Disney offers cobranded sponsorship opportunities and banner ads sold on a CPM basis. It offers both cross-channel buys and mobile-specific. About 40 percent of the campaigns it sells focus exclusively on the mobile channel.

Currently, Disney has three advertising sponsorship deals running on its mobile site, which represent the three types of mobile campaigns it typically sells.

Jonas Brothers and Xbox 360 are running a cobranded sponsorship campaign featured across the Disney mobile site.

Banner ads redirect users to a microsite that is also cobranded by the Jonas Brothers and Xbox. The site broadcasts a call-to-action for consumers to participate in a user-generated-content program letting kids submit video clips, then view and rate videos submitted by others.

There is a text-to-win sweepstakes integrated into the campaign as well, asking consumers to text the keyword XBOX to a short code to enter for the chance to meet the Jonas Brothers in person and win an Xbox 360 video game system.

Mobile gaming
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Disney reports that its core demographic on mobile skews older than its TV and radio properties.

Disney has a series of mobile games it calls �interactive adventures,� basically digital, mobile versions of the �Choose Your Own Adventure� series of books.

Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers both have their own mobile games. Other top Disney mobile games include Fairy Friends, Cannons of the Deep (based on the ride and film �The Pirates of the Caribbean�), trivia games based on various Disney film releases and the Princess and the Frog Swamp.

All Disney mobile games have free, WAP-based, ad-supported versions, and many are available within the iPhone application, which also has games with more robust functionality such as the Wizards of Waverly.

Mobile connects all channels
Disney continues to place a greater and greater emphasis on the mobile channel, both as a publisher and an advertiser.

The company is using mobile to connect and enhance larger campaigns for films and TV shows, and has pretty extensive mobile programs connected to its upcoming releases, including Tim Burton�s �Alice in Wonderland,� �The Sorcerer�s Apprentice� and �Toy Story 3."

Mobile is an important channel for Disney because it is seeing a lot of adoption and traffic on its properties and across the industry.