For many Disney fans, the reason they love Disney so much is because of the emotion attached to it. They grew up watching Disney movies, going to the Disney parks, listening to Disney music, and generally feel a strong connection to the Disney brand.
Partners Statue in Magic Kingdom
MBLM is a Brand Intimacy Agency that, for the past 12 years, puts out an annual Brand Intimacy Study that measures and analyzes companies’ abilities to bond with their customers. In short, they can tell you the SCIENCE behind your obsession with Disney.
Disney has ranked the highest in this year’s study (for the second time since 2019) amongst hundreds of other well-known brands.
Mickey Mouse!
According to the study, Disney relies most heavily on nostalgia when creating relationships with their customers. Other major archetypes for the Disney brand are fulfillment, indulgence, enhancement, ritual, and identity. Some of the keywords that Disney is identified with on social media platforms are endorse, love, and anticipation.
©MBLM
Other hospitality brands didn’t even come close to Disney’s score, with Disney’s Intimacy Quotient at 58.4 and the next brand at 34.2. Universal scored 32.5. According to MLBM, some of Disney’s success in creating connections with consumers comes because of the parks’ focus on nostalgia. Since the parks remind guests of happy memories and warm feelings associated with those memories, people love to be there.
Main Street, U.S.A.
And if you’ve ever been inside Disney World, you know that the parks can feel incredibly immersive. This builds on the nostalgic feeling and also causes people to identify as part of the experience. You’re not just walking through a park — you’re part of the magic itself when you meet characters, watch shows, and experience immersive attractions. Being part of the magic also makes you feel like you’re part of the brand, which leads to increased loyalty from consumers. Essentially, the parks are so immersive that people link their own identities with the brand.
Adventureland!
This immersion comes from “360-degree experiences that engage consumers across their senses under a single, unified brand.” When you step into Magic Kingdom, you don’t just see the buildings and characters. You hear Disney music and smell delicious baked goods. Your sense of touch is engaged as well — Imagineers created different ground textures, which alert guests’ subconscious when they enter a new land. Walking around Adventureland will feel slightly different to Liberty Square, making each land more immersive!
Liberty Square
Another archetype that Disney excels in is indulgence. This focuses on pampering and gratification, which Disney does very well with high-quality service and beautiful, clean environments.
Wonderful Cast Members
The Disney parks also appeal to a wide range of audiences. Although there are some demographic groups that are more closely linked to Disney than others, generally the brand has a good rating with many different people. People of every age group — not just children — enjoy visiting Disney parks. In fact, the brand actually had a higher quotient with older groups than younger ones. This ability to “remain relevant to different generations” is a key to Disney’s continued success.
©MBLM
And Disney isn’t about to slow down. MBLM said that Disney’s “Brand Intimacy Quotient jumped over 24 points since last year.” The quotient with millennials jumped from 47.9 to 51.4, which shows that “younger consumers will grow more intimate with the brand as they age.”
Festival of Fantasy Parade in Magic Kingdom
Some of the other brands surveyed include companies like Amazon, Taco Bell, Airbnb, Netflix, Tesla, and Apple. Behind Disney, Tesla and Apple came in second and third place, respectively. The research from this study will be released in three phases. The first phase, was the ranking of the brands. The second will include insights from the industry, and the third phase will take a look at unique features and perspectives from various brands.
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Why WDW attracts and retains customers. For me, it really has nothing to do with any of those mentioned in the article.
It is all about the infrastructure that WDW has created for my family. The self-sustainable city that includes monorail and boat transportation, hundreds of dining options, entertainment and most importantly Alcohol.
Having a location on Earth that a person can visit with their kids, drink the entire time, eat at 5-star restaurants and then get “free” transportation back to 5-star hotels. Vegas is about the only other place in America that comes to mind; but the distance and cost from the north eastern US prevents it and makes it much harder to access.
For me, the parks or rides themselves don’t even need to be at WDW. That’s just another added bonus. We would care more that a dining location is closed then a ride.
Golf days are available right on property which is another huge reason for returns. Palm and Magnolia are great courses.
We visit WDW 2-3x per year. The nostalgia, the actual movies, rides, fulfillment, self-identity…. They all have nothing to do with it. I don’t even watch much Disney anyway. You could remove all of that and make the whole place a Marriott or Hilton and I’d still go just as much.
Maybe WDW doesn’t really know what causes all of its guests to visit after all?
Disney is my happy place! It has many types of entertainment and food . Beautiful surroundings and AMAZING cast members!!! Disney does not miss much! That’s why I love it!!