In 1957, Walt Disney drew a Disney business model diagram showing how its films fuel other revenue streams like merchandise, theme park visits, and publications.
Sixty-five years later, Disney is exploring a membership program to make those connections more official, per The Wall Street Journal.
"Walt Disney is exploring a membership program that could offer discounts or special perks to encourage customers to spend more on its streaming services, theme parks, resorts, and merchandise, according to people familiar with the discussions.
The program would be somewhat akin to Amazon Prime, which offers advantages such as free shipping, discounts at Whole Foods, and a complementary streaming video service for a monthly or annual fee, the people said. Internally, some executives have referred to Disney’s initiative as “Disney Prime,” although that won’t be the name of the program, one of the people said.
Discussions at Disney are in the early stages. It couldn’t be learned how much the company would charge for membership and how long it would take to launch such a program.
By creating a membership program, Disney would be betting it could offer customers more value, prompting them to spend more on the company’s products and services while providing Disney with a trove of information about their preferences.
The effort is supported by Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek, who has been vocal internally and publicly about the opportunity for Disney to do more to cross-sell to customers, the people familiar with the discussions said."
… so it’s unclear exactly how the membership would work, but CEO Bob Chapek has alluded to Disney’s “franchise flywheel” that gives the company multiple ways to reach customers.
For example:
The company’s streaming bundle helped Disney pass Netflix in total streaming subscriptions last month.
If its new membership is nearly as successful as its streaming bundle, it can only mean one thing — more “Disney adults.”
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