Why Mickey Mouse Made Me Scream Like A Girl
publication date: Sep 21, 2007
Hi
OK, I admit, I screamed like a girl!
I've never been keen on roller coasters and always
avoid going on the hardcore rides. But as we
were recently in Disney with my 4yr old son
Zac, I wanted to show him that his alpha
male father was afraid of nothing.
The way I figured it, there wouldn't be any
nasty rides for a 4 year old. So when I saw
the Finding Nemo attraction, I ushered the
family to the queue . . .
Bad move!
Standing there we could see the start of the
ride and it seemed nice and gentle, but that
was a devious trick! You see, what you
didn't realise (until it was too late) was that,
once out of sight, the ride started to climb . . .
and climb . . . and climb into the darkness
and then . . .
"AAAAaaaaaaaarrrggggghhhhhhh!!!"
The coaster drops, spins and veers this way
then that in total darkness (well I think it was
darkness because I had my eyes closed
throughout the 3-minute hellride!). And
during those long 3 minutes I screamed
uncontrollably. The last time I was that
scared was on the big dipper in Blackpool in
1981! Of course Zac loved every second of it
and wasn't bothered in the slightest.
"Daddy, why were you shouting on that
ride?"
"Um . . . because I was . . . er . . . so
excited to see Nemo?!"
Enough of my wimpy behaviour. Spending 3
days at Disneyland Paris was actually a great
opportunity to see how a hugely successful
business operates.
You know, I'd never realised before that the
rides are actually quite incidental to the
business. Of course, people pay to stay in the
hotels and purchase a pass to get into the
park, but the rides are ultimately nothing
more than ways of directing visitors to retail
opportunities.
Each major ride would have its own shop
that stocked a huge range of products related
to the particular character or film. You HAD
to walk through the shop to exit. Of course
the idea must be that the kids will be so
thrilled after the ride that they will want to
grab a piece of that experience.
Kerching!
Oh when you came off the ride you could
also see a photograph taken of you at the
most terrifying point (I didn't disgrace
myself by even looking at my Nemo shot!)
Kerching!
And here's another strange thing . . . there
were no green spaces where you could go
and sit down and the small patches that were
there had signs prohibiting picnics.
The reason? Of course, Disney doesn't want
you to bring your packed lunches, instead
they want you to patronise one of their own
food outlets.
Kerching!
You'd think the hotel would be pretty low
key, but oh no. Come down to breakfast and
you have to walk past the huge foyer where
one or another of the Disney characters
would be posing for photographs with the
kids. Never wanting to miss a potential sale,
they had an official photographer who would
take shots you could buy later.
Kerching!
For most people I suspect that this customer
manipulation was quite invisible. I guess it is
only because I was trained as a copywriter
and used similar 'cloaking' tricks to obscure
the 'sale'.
Truth is, no one likes being sold to. We all
recoil from the hard sell. But if we are in a
heightened the emotional state then it is far
easier to soften us up, reduce our resistance
and get us to buy.
What can we learn? Whatever business you
are in (or hope to be involved in), sales will
be a part of what you do. Think about your
target audience. What kind of experience
could you offer them through your marketing
or contact that gets them into an emotional
high?
On trick is projection - try to show your
prospect enjoying the future benefits of your
product or service. Use the present tense. So
don't phrase it as 'you will be
richer/thinner/smarter'. Instead it is 'you are
richer/thinner/smarter'. It's a subtle
difference, but there is as sense of immediacy
that will prime your prospect.
Back to Disney . . .
Now despite the fact that much Disney is a
successful operation with more than 12
million people visiting the park each year and
spending in excess of £700 million in the last
12 months, but I think they are missing a
trick.
Yes, there's no way you could miss the retail
outlets but they really hadn't catered for the
parents. Sure, there was plenty of
merchandise for the kids. And yes, I guess
some of the less fashion-conscious adults
might find some of the Disney clothing
appealing, but there was no real effort to
target the adult pound.
Now after spending serious money for the
train, accommodation, food and having to put
up with all the terrifying rides, this parent for
one felt like treating himself. But unless I
wanted a Mickey Mouse key ring or hilarious
Pirates of the Caribbean fake wig and hat or
porcelain figurines of Goofy, I was stuck!
What I would have given for a few designer
shops or a place to pick up the latest digital
gadget (cameras, handheld games)!
Now I can understand that the focus is on the
Disney franchise and the core demographic is
children, but surely they could are missing
out on significant additional revenue stream?
OK, enough of Disney.
In my next email I'll tell you all about
CharlieWright totally weird and wonderful
Biz Opp Wedding. . . plus full update on the
latest opportunities I'm investigating . . .
Best regards
Nick
PS: Apologies for being absent from your
inbox for a couple of weeks, but it's that time
of year where I seem to be working
simultaneously on about a dozen projects!
Normal and regular transmissions have now
resumed!
----------------------------------
http://www.canonburypublishing.com
----------------------------------
OK, I admit, I screamed like a girl!
I've never been keen on roller coasters and always
avoid going on the hardcore rides. But as we
were recently in Disney with my 4yr old son
Zac, I wanted to show him that his alpha
male father was afraid of nothing.
The way I figured it, there wouldn't be any
nasty rides for a 4 year old. So when I saw
the Finding Nemo attraction, I ushered the
family to the queue . . .
Bad move!
Standing there we could see the start of the
ride and it seemed nice and gentle, but that
was a devious trick! You see, what you
didn't realise (until it was too late) was that,
once out of sight, the ride started to climb . . .
and climb . . . and climb into the darkness
and then . . .
"AAAAaaaaaaaarrrggggghhhhhhh!!!"
The coaster drops, spins and veers this way
then that in total darkness (well I think it was
darkness because I had my eyes closed
throughout the 3-minute hellride!). And
during those long 3 minutes I screamed
uncontrollably. The last time I was that
scared was on the big dipper in Blackpool in
1981! Of course Zac loved every second of it
and wasn't bothered in the slightest.
"Daddy, why were you shouting on that
ride?"
"Um . . . because I was . . . er . . . so
excited to see Nemo?!"
Enough of my wimpy behaviour. Spending 3
days at Disneyland Paris was actually a great
opportunity to see how a hugely successful
business operates.
You know, I'd never realised before that the
rides are actually quite incidental to the
business. Of course, people pay to stay in the
hotels and purchase a pass to get into the
park, but the rides are ultimately nothing
more than ways of directing visitors to retail
opportunities.
Each major ride would have its own shop
that stocked a huge range of products related
to the particular character or film. You HAD
to walk through the shop to exit. Of course
the idea must be that the kids will be so
thrilled after the ride that they will want to
grab a piece of that experience.
Kerching!
Oh when you came off the ride you could
also see a photograph taken of you at the
most terrifying point (I didn't disgrace
myself by even looking at my Nemo shot!)
Kerching!
And here's another strange thing . . . there
were no green spaces where you could go
and sit down and the small patches that were
there had signs prohibiting picnics.
The reason? Of course, Disney doesn't want
you to bring your packed lunches, instead
they want you to patronise one of their own
food outlets.
Kerching!
You'd think the hotel would be pretty low
key, but oh no. Come down to breakfast and
you have to walk past the huge foyer where
one or another of the Disney characters
would be posing for photographs with the
kids. Never wanting to miss a potential sale,
they had an official photographer who would
take shots you could buy later.
Kerching!
For most people I suspect that this customer
manipulation was quite invisible. I guess it is
only because I was trained as a copywriter
and used similar 'cloaking' tricks to obscure
the 'sale'.
Truth is, no one likes being sold to. We all
recoil from the hard sell. But if we are in a
heightened the emotional state then it is far
easier to soften us up, reduce our resistance
and get us to buy.
What can we learn? Whatever business you
are in (or hope to be involved in), sales will
be a part of what you do. Think about your
target audience. What kind of experience
could you offer them through your marketing
or contact that gets them into an emotional
high?
On trick is projection - try to show your
prospect enjoying the future benefits of your
product or service. Use the present tense. So
don't phrase it as 'you will be
richer/thinner/smarter'. Instead it is 'you are
richer/thinner/smarter'. It's a subtle
difference, but there is as sense of immediacy
that will prime your prospect.
Back to Disney . . .
Now despite the fact that much Disney is a
successful operation with more than 12
million people visiting the park each year and
spending in excess of £700 million in the last
12 months, but I think they are missing a
trick.
Yes, there's no way you could miss the retail
outlets but they really hadn't catered for the
parents. Sure, there was plenty of
merchandise for the kids. And yes, I guess
some of the less fashion-conscious adults
might find some of the Disney clothing
appealing, but there was no real effort to
target the adult pound.
Now after spending serious money for the
train, accommodation, food and having to put
up with all the terrifying rides, this parent for
one felt like treating himself. But unless I
wanted a Mickey Mouse key ring or hilarious
Pirates of the Caribbean fake wig and hat or
porcelain figurines of Goofy, I was stuck!
What I would have given for a few designer
shops or a place to pick up the latest digital
gadget (cameras, handheld games)!
Now I can understand that the focus is on the
Disney franchise and the core demographic is
children, but surely they could are missing
out on significant additional revenue stream?
OK, enough of Disney.
In my next email I'll tell you all about
CharlieWright totally weird and wonderful
Biz Opp Wedding. . . plus full update on the
latest opportunities I'm investigating . . .
Best regards
Nick
PS: Apologies for being absent from your
inbox for a couple of weeks, but it's that time
of year where I seem to be working
simultaneously on about a dozen projects!
Normal and regular transmissions have now
resumed!
----------------------------------
http://www.canonburypublishing.com
----------------------------------