Tuesday, March 7, 2017

R#3: Make A Wish Campaign

Disney Proves That Wishes Do Come True 



One of my favorite marketing campaigns was Disney’s Make A Wish Campaign. The campaign worked with different social media platforms in order to gain success and recognition. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts invited users to share images of them wearing Mickey Mouse ears or their own interpretations of ears. By uploading photos with the hashtag #ShareYourEars on social media, users would unlock a $5 donation from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.


Social media marketing is a smart idea because not only does it make people feel like they are a part of the process, but it also generates awareness which leads to free advertisement. I am going to refer back to the Make A Wish campaign, Disney is influencing users to wear “Mickey” ears and post them, in order for the company to make a donation. With this campaign, I look at it as a win to win for everyone, the user gains pleasure because they believe their “Make A Wish” posts are for a good cause and the company (Disney) gains good reputation and free advertisement.


After doing some research, I noticed the hashtag “ShareYourEars” is the key element for this campaign to be successful for every single social media platform. #ShareYourEars not only labels your picture as a “Make A Wish” donation, but also as a sharing item. Without the hashtag symbol, your photo would be very difficult to trace and share. For example, in “Confessions of an Instagram Influencer” by Max Chafkin, the author states, “How do you get people to discover you? Your best hope is to use hashtags—that is, sticking a pound sign in front of a keyword to make it easier for users searching for a specific type of photo to find you.”

After the “Make A Wish” Campaign reached their goal, Disney held a special thank-you celebration, during their celebration; they announced that they will double their original donation from $1 million to $2 million in recognition of the overwhelming support from fans around the globe. However, my question is, what made this campaign so successful? Is it because Disney has a lot of fans? Do people really care about the “Make A Wish” donations? Even though some of those reasons may be apart of the success for this campaign, I believe it truly became successful due to how it was marketed. Disney was able to utilize every main popular social media to the best of its ability to gain awareness.

What I took away from this research is that it is hard to stand out in the world of social media. For example, there are people like Max Chafkin who can’t standout without the help of paid professionals. In order to be successful one must know how to use each different social media platform correctly. According to Chafkin, “Unlike Twitter, for instance, where a clever quip can be quickly retweeted, bringing a deluge of followers, Instagram is relatively resistant to viral growth. Pretty much the only way you can add to your flock is if someone happens on your profile, likes what he sees, and decides to follow you.” Towards the end of Chafkins Instagram experiment, he quickly learned how to develop the right skills for Instagram specifically. At the end, Chafkin became a successful Instagram influencer. Its all about learning your audience and utilizing the social media to the best of your ability.

Sources:
Chafkin, Max. "Confessions of an Instagram Influencer." Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 30 Nov. 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

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