Disney’s Clever TikTok Plot
Disney just announced a new TikTok deal that will place your favorite company at the forefront of entertainment.
TikTok is adding an entire hub for Disney100 content, a first for the social media app.
You shouldn’t sleep on what seems like a month-long corporate partnership deal, though. It hints at something much deeper.
Disney has put down roots at TikTok, but few have noticed yet.
Let’s talk about Disney’s clever TikTok decision and what it represents.
The Ties That Bind
In the days leading up to The Walt Disney Company’s promotion of Bob Chapek to CEO, he was no longer considered the leading candidate.
Wall Street eyed a different contender, someone Bob Iger personally favored.
Based on what we know of these events, Iger hand-picked his successor.
However, based on Iger’s actions, Chapek never seemed like the one.
As I’ve referenced several times, Iger’s autobiography name-drops Kevin Mayer nearly 15 times.
Chapek’s primary mention happens due to circumstances, as Chapek and Iger faced an Orlando crisis together while they were in China.
Meanwhile, Iger hand-picked Mayer to handle significant projects like Disney+ and the acquisitions of BAMTech, Marvel, Fox, and Star Wars.
You can understand why observers felt confident that Mayer was the guy.
Alas, Disney’s Board of Directors favored the financially driven Chapek, especially once word of the pandemic’s virulence spread.
With Chapek the new CEO, Mayer’s career suffered immediately. The executive flipped from being Iger’s potential successor to someone facing a glass ceiling.
Also, Chapek knew that Mayer had nearly won the job and perceived his co-worker as a potential threat.
Mayer did the math and determined that his best career trajectory existed outside the comfy confines of the Disney Bubble.
The executive left Disney and found a presumably soft landing spot. Mayer joined ByteDance as the CEO of TikTok.
Sadly, Mayer’s timing proved terrible, though. Soon afterward, the Donald Trump administration deemed TikTok a threat due to its Chinese ownership.
TikTok turned into a political struggle for a time. Mayer hadn’t signed on for that sort of quarrel and quickly exited.
Since then, TikTok has befriended a different former Iger ally, though. And that connection matters even more.
TikTok’s Latest Hire
The Chapek, Mayer, and Iger stories intersect in an odd fashion. They connect via TikTok and Zenia Mucha.
During Iger’s first Disney tenure, he earned acclaim for his deft handling of several challenging public relations incidents.
Each time, Iger deftly managed to come out smelling like a rose, but he couldn’t take all the credit.
The CEO leaned on his PR guru, Zenia Mucha, who envisioned Iger running for President of the United States one day under her guidance.
Once Chapek became CEO, he understandably didn’t trust Mucha to have his best interests at heart, what with his feuding with Iger and all.
Mucha found herself excluded from Disney’s new inner circle and contemplated a career change.
Meanwhile, Mayer’s TikTok issues became ByteDance’s problem. The Chinese company faced a sustained government investigation.
During some preparation for a Congressional meeting, ByteDance’s leadership hired Mucha in a limited role.
The group leaned on her expertise and knowledge when they presented the American government with testimony.
In June 2023, Mucha officially joined TikTok as Chief Brand and Communications Officer.
You don’t have to connect many dots to understand why this is good for Disney and its leader, Bob Iger.
For nearly the entire 21st century, Mucha and Iger worked closely in building Disney into a top media company.
While Iger was out at Disney, one of his proteges, Mayer, put a brief stamp on TikTok, one that made enough of an impression for the company to remember.
Later, when TikTok needed crisis supporter, it turned to Mucha, and that relationship worked so well that she’s in charge of the TikTok brand now.
Iger’s fingerprints are all over a company where he has never worked.
The Significance of TikTok to Disney
This seems like a good time to mention that TikTok’s most recent valuations suggest that company is worth $223 billion.
That’s about $70 billion more than Disney at the moment.
Yes, those stupid animal videos and trends/memes you watch are worth more than Mickey Mouse.
In fact, that gap was previously even more dramatic. During a previous investment round, ByteDance had valued TikTok at $300 billion!
Obviously, Disney and TikTok could both be doing better. And the companies recognize a fit here.
After all, the TikTok generation agrees with Disney more than many of its oldest fans do.
Disney has found itself embroiled in culture wars, whose track record suggests that people grow more conservative as they grow older.
Meanwhile, the current Gen Z and young Millennials represent THE most progressive generations on record.
So, their politics align with Disney’s core beliefs of tolerance and inclusion.
A few years ago, Bob Iger toyed with the idea of acquiring Twitter, which would have been a disaster.
The latest ubiquitous social media app, TikTok, has proven a much better fit.
As MickeyBlog noted, Disney has already added 145 million TikTok subscribers through the service.
This monthlong Disney100 hub will add even more. Here’s the adorable announcement TikTok:
https://www.tiktok.com/@disneyanimation/video/7281311548197408042
That’s the kind of short-form content Disney has created specifically for this service.
While a simple marketing ploy, this one will always be my favorite:
@disneyparks It really works! Minnie Vans connected by @Lyft are rolling back in this #Summer at #DisneyWorld 🚗 #Disney #DisneyParks #MinnieMouse #ToyCars #MinnieVan #CarTok #Water #Lyft
The van grows when sprinkled with water! Yes, I’m easily amused.
Anyway, TikTok’s short-form format blends perfectly with Disney’s marketing strategy.
Every day, it can splash reminders of how much fans love Disney characters and stories.
Disney direct-dials willing fans with these clips. In the process, it reinforces their fandom while accomplishing something else.
Disney is indoctrinating the next generation of parents about family-friendly entertainment. It’s brilliant.
Friends with Benefits
This partnership legitimately benefits both sides.
On TikTok’s end, all the negative headlines about data privacy and Chinese spying have become an endless headache.
A strong promotional tie-in with Disney generates goodwill. Nobody who posts free Disney content could be bad, right?
From Disney’s perspective, that indoctrination of Gen Z is like Branding 101.
At some point, these people will start having children. When they do, they’ll want to share their love of Disney with their kids.
That behavior leads to more Disney merchandise sales, more Disney+ subscriptions, and more Disney theme park visits.
While Disney has benefited from other social media apps, particularly Instagram and, before that, Facebook, TikTok is pretty much the perfect medium.
Disney can strengthen its brand’s perception with an entire generation of consumers.
Coincidentally or not, Iger has accidentally seeded TikTok with his loyalists, who have, in turn, hired others being trained in Disney business practices.
There’s a term for this known as a virtuous circle (aka virtuous cycle), where a sustained positive feedback loop improves a brand over time.
This Disney100 TikTok deal signifies the start of an intricate strategy for Disney to market to an entire generation of people.
As long as Zenia Mucha and her proteges remain at TikTok, you can expect plenty more of this. The Disney ties run deep.
I’m confident TikTok wouldn’t have made this agreement with anybody else.
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Feature Photo: Walt Disney Company