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							                                        Original Case Study
                               Disney ‘Give a Day, Get a Disney Day’
                                               Fall 2010
II. SITUATION OVERVIEW (Candice DeForest)
A. Description – Nature of the problem/opportunity
        At the beginning of January 2009, President Obama announced a call to service for the
American people. Solely using the internet as a communication platform, Obama said, "I will ask all
Americans to make a renewed commitment to serving their community and their country. Just visit
USAService.org to find service projects in your community, or even organize your own around the
causes you care about." The goal of this initiative was to use technology to increase participation in
volunteerism and empower Americans to join together to create positive change (Scherer.)
        Later in 2009, reports from the Corporation for National and Community Service (through
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) indicated “that young adults, ages 16-24, are helping lead the
way in volunteerism - with more than 441,000 young volunteers in 2008 versus 2007. It also found
that the youth today believe it is essential and "very important" to help others in need.” Additionally,
New-York based Kelton Research conducted a survey of 1,000 people through an online platform
indicating that 59% of Americans resolved to volunteer for the 2010 New Year. Disney identified
the results from Kelton Research as an opportunity to launch their caused-based campaign, “Give a
Day, Get a Disney Day.”
        Disney chose HandsOn Network, the nation's largest volunteer network, to partner with to
help realize those goals and make volunteering a family resolution in 2010. "Disney Parks, through
HandsOn Network, is making it easy for volunteers of all ages to find an organization in need," said
Maggie Jones Patton, executive director of Youth HandsOn Network, the youth activating arm of
HON. According to a press release on PR newswire, "There has never been a better time to start a
new tradition of volunteering together as Disney Parks celebrates good deeds with a free Disney
theme park ticket" said Patton.
        Additionally, giving back to the community is embedded in Disney‟s culture. Straight from
the 2008 Corporate Responsibility report online, Disney states:
        “At The Walt Disney Company, we believe that being a good corporate citizen is not just the
        right thing to do; it also benefits our guests, our employees and our businesses. It makes the
        Company a desirable place to work, reinforces the attractiveness of our brands and products
        and strengthens our bonds with consumers and neighbors in communities the world over.”
B. SWOT Analysis
       With the success of the 2009 „What Will You Celebrate?‟ birthday campaign, the Disney
brand already had a strong and reputable image with key publics, as well as a general knowledge of
successful promotion strategies and tactics prior to the launch of the campaign. Additionally, the
Disney company has the strengths of a positive image within the community, iconic characters that
people all over the world identify with and relate to and resources to promote the campaign and
utilize multiple outlets for endorsements and marketing opportunities.
       Weaknesses for the campaign include the perception by many active bloggers and social
media users that Disney was “bribing” people to volunteer for a material benefit or reward, including
one in particular, Sharon Schneider, the philanthropic director at Foundation Source (a company that
helps donors with giving and assets.) Schneider voiced her concern over Disney's motives for this
campaign and questioned why people need to be bribed to give back to the community and that
overall concept of "giving to get" is a selfish one. Additionally, she tweeted to voice her concern, "I
find it wrong-headed to bribe people into 'volunteering' by offering them a ticket to Disney if they
do."
       The campaign had a timely opportunity to partner with President Obama‟s plea to the
American people to increase volunteerism and give back to the community. Additionally, with the
rise of popularity within social media, particularly YouTube, the company had an opportunity to
have a widespread campaign utilizing multiple channels of communication to reach the maximum
amount of people. The partnership with HandsOn Network, using the recognizable Muppet
characters for advertisements and setting a record with the food drive canned sculpture on Extreme
Home Makeover were just a few other opportunities that Disney had when creating and
implementing the campaign. Additionally, to coincide with Obama‟s call to America, many schools
and organizations were taking initiative to be active with volunteering, which presented another
partnership opportunity for Disney. For example, the University of Southern Alabama‟s “Semester of
Service” kicked off on MLK Day 2009. Several service projects took place throughout the
neighborhood, all of which were registered with Disney‟s “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” program.
According to an article written by Carey Cox on the university‟s web site, the expected turnout of
volunteers was at least 500 students.
       Potential threats for Disney‟s campaign are limited, as the company has a strong image and a
significant amount of resources to prevent any chance of losing money or investor confidence.
However, one threat that cannot be overlooked is the potential of creating a negative connotation
within the community that instead of doing “good” in the community, volunteers are just in it for the
reward of the free day at the Disney parks. This image, if impactful enough, could inspire bloggers
and active social media users to spread negative comments about the campaign and the company
which would be difficult to respond to in a timely manner. Additionally, the campaign‟s goal of
involving one million people could potentially be too aggressive and not be met within the given
time frame. Lastly, there is potential that the Muppets will not resonate with the key publics and the
humor will not be well received. According to Duncan Wardle, Vice President at Creative Inc. –
Disney Destinations LLC, “We chose Muppets to help with our Give-A-Day, Get-A-Day campaign
across the board because of the sense of irreverent humor and chaos that only they could bring to the
campaign.”
C. The Context
       Disney‟s decision to launch the campaign was not based solely on hard data, however. At the
time, aside from Obama‟s call to America to encourage volunteerism, the integration of new
technology platforms was skyrocketing. Social media, blogging, viral YouTube campaigns and
online widgets are among a few things that Disney seamlessly integrated into their campaign due to
the powerful presence among the core target audience at the time of the campaign.
       Social and economic factors, including the current financial and unemployment crisis that
America is faced with, also influenced the direction of the campaign. “The economic crisis continues
to test the nation‟s ability to support some of the most vulnerable populations. Leaders across the
nation are responding by rallying Americans to use service as a solution in addressing these
challenges. Research at VolunteeringInAmerica.gov through the Corporation for National and
Community Service shows that despite all the additional stresses of a difficult economy, the nation
experienced the largest single-year increase in volunteering since 2003.”
IV. EVALUATION (Candice DeForest)
A. Criteria for Evaluation/Measurement
       "By any measure, the 'Give a Day, Get a Disney Day' program exceeded our expectations,”
according to Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, in a press release issued on
March 9, 2010. Success with the “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” was directly related to the number
of volunteers reached through the campaign. Within 67 days of the launch date, Disney reached the
goal of one million people who pledged to volunteer in exchange for receiving one free ticket to a
Disney park.
       While the campaign did reach the goal of one million people in three short months, there was
no follow up evaluative research completed to identify if people would continue to volunteer after
participating in the event. For Disney, the campaign was a great success and quickly surpassed their
own expectations. For the social and political environment in the U.S., and for Obama‟s call to
action, it is unclear if the campaign had any long-lasting or significant impact. HandsOn Network did
not mention any increase in volunteer activity within their organizations after the partnership with
Disney‟s campaign. This research would have been helpful in identifying the true impact the
campaign had on the one million people who participated, and others across the country who were
familiar with it but did not necessarily take part.
B. Evidence of Success
        To celebrate reaching 600,000 participants within the first six weeks, Disney partnered with
“Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” to unveil a record-breaking 115,527 canned food structure that
had enough food for 70,000 meals. According to the post on the Disney Parks blog, the structure
spelled out "Celebrate Volunteers" and was a tribute to the thousands of people who had participated
in the program, as well as a plug to inspire others to volunteer as well.
        Additionally, the campaign won two Promo Magazine awards for “Best Promotion 2010”
and “Best Multidiscipline Campaign,” up against campaigns such as “LG US National Texting
Championship” and “Duracell Times Square Smart Power Lab.” The Promo Magazine web site
stated that the campaign was an exceptional example because it “involved PR, advertising, digital
media, promotion, broadcast radio and television …a Muppets viral video, events, community
relations, CRM, park operations and more."
C. Unanticipated Problems
        Though few, there were some problems with the execution of the campaign. On the first day
of the web site launch, user traffic was so heavy that the registration temporarily stopped working,
igniting a widespread reaction from users on the Disney Parks blog. Seventy-eight comments were
posted from concerned users attempting to register for the program, saying things such as “No luck
signing in to volunteer, it keeps logging me off among other problems. We have been trying all day.
Hopefully Disney will get this resolved soon!!! It‟s very frustrating, but at least I know we are not
alone…!!!” Within less than two hours of the first comment, Thomas Smith, social media director,
wrote: “Try now, Ken. If you still have a problem, please keep trying or come back later. Here‟s the
message currently posted on the site, “Due to strong interest, we are currently experiencing a high
volume with the registration process. We apologize for the inconvenience.” Although there was a
technical issue within the first day of the campaign, Disney took control and communicated updates
to keep everyone informed.
D. Transparency in Communication
        Disney‟s communication efforts throughout the campaign were consistent, clear and
responsive. The blog was actively updated and users who left negative comments were often
responded to in a quick manner. Research of other social media sites and news outlets also indicated
that the majority of people interacting with the campaign had a positive response and were satisfied
with their experience. The negative comments were minimal which indicates that overall, the
campaign was wildly successful beyond what Disney originally anticipated.
E. Strengths and Weaknesses
       While the main focus was reaching numbers, the award-winning campaign clearly had many
strengths. „Give a Day, Get a Disney Day‟ successfully provided opportunities for one million people
to volunteer, engaged youth, families, and people of all ages in giving back to the community,
exceeded the initial expectations of the company, maintained a high standard for clear
communication procedures, and the overall positive feedback from the public. A great example of
the widespread impact of the campaign is the 500 students at University of Southern Alabama who
kicked off the “Semester of Service” program at their school on MLK day through registering with
„Give a Day, Get a Disney Day.” This is further proof that Disney‟s campaign did not really have a
target audience – as most people around the globe are familiar with the brand and the positive image
of the company.
       A weakness of the campaign was ironically, the fact that it reached the goal of one million
participants significantly earlier than projected. This is indicative of the possibility that Disney
should have either 1) set the participation goal higher, or 2) increased the number of volunteer hours
that people had to complete in order to receive the ticket. Additionally, it was noted by a blogger on
Sponsorship.com that HandsOn Network was not mentioned in the „Give a Day, Get a Disney Day‟
television ads. This is another weakness of the campaign as it does not give visibility to HandsOn
Network, nor does it advocate volunteerism outside of the purpose of getting a ticket to Disney.
Another major weakness was that once the campaign was over, press releases and other media failed
to sincerely encourage people to continue volunteering through HandsOn Network. In a blog post on
March 9, Thomas Smith writes: “Although the „Give a Day, Get a Disney Day‟ program has ended
and guests may no longer register and sign up for projects to earn a free Disney theme park ticket, the
need for volunteers is ongoing. You can still continue the good work by volunteering through
HandsOn Network at http://HandsOnNetwork.org.” Overall, it is very clear that the goal of the
campaign was strictly to reach the impressive “one million” mark, but not to significantly impact and
improve communities across the United States.
V. RECOMMENDATIONS
A. Detailed Recommendations & Audiences
        While social media efforts were integrated into the campaign, YouTube or the Disney Park
blog had potential to further engage all three of the target audiences in volunteering by demonstrating
the powerful impact of the community service projects carried out. If successful, this would have
ultimately increased the number of continuing volunteers after the campaign ended, and addressed a
major weakness of „Give a Day, Get a Disney Day‟ – that there was zero effort to engage volunteers
for the long term. The Disney Park blog was a prime communication vehicle to all three target
audiences, as indicated by the ten posts in the short three month period of the campaign. However,
Thomas Smith, social media director, should have focused more on sharing the stories of people
whose lives were touched through the volunteer projects that participants were involved with. Habitat
for Humanity, one of the many organizations involved in the campaign, provided a prime opportunity
to give the campaign a more personal and “real” aspect by sharing the stories of not only the
volunteers, but the people whose lives were positively impacted through their act of kindness. The
Disney Park blog and YouTube videos could have provided outlets for this “story telling” style of
communication.
        Another strategy Disney should have implemented was to involve existing volunteer
audiences more and reward them for the time they already had committed to their communities.
Youth volunteer groups such as Kiwanis Key Club, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts and the Boys &
Girls Club and similar organizations would be perfect to target since they represent two of the target
audiences, youth and volunteers.
        Lastly, since one of the major weaknesses of the campaign was how quickly one million
volunteers was achieved, Disney should work with HandsOn to make the volunteer activities
consistent in length, requiring at least five hours of service from each participant in order to receive a
free ticket. This way more volunteer hours would be completed, which would help create more of an
impact in communities and the campaign would potentially last for a longer period of time.
B. What does the future hold?
        Despite the small amount of negative feedback regarding the unexpected ending of the
campaign in March instead of December, the „Give a Day, Get a Disney Day‟ program was
extremely successful and only added to Disney‟s long list of accomplishments. Their internal
marketing agency, Creative Inc. has gained more credibility, winning two awards for their use of
public relations, advertising, digital media, promotion, broadcast radio and television, events, and
community relations in this campaign. Disney has gained more brand recognition worldwide and a
stronger social media presence as a result of this campaign and they will only grow stronger as a
company and brand from this point on.
VI. FINAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. CANDICE:
Cox, Carey. "USA Sponsors MLK Day Volunteer Projects." The Vanguard University of
       Southern Alabama. N.p., 11 Jan 2010. Web. 9 Nov 2010.
       <http://www.usavanguard.com/usa-sponsors-mlk-day-volunteer-projects-1.1008553>.

This article gives an overview of The University of Southern Alabama‟s “Semester of Service”
which kicked off on MLK Day 2009. Several service projects took place throughout the
neighborhood, all of which were registered with Disney‟s “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” program.
The expected turnout of volunteers was at least 500 students.

"Disney‟s “Give a Day, Get a Disney Day” Registration Site Crashes on First Day." Disneyland
       Blog. The Travelears, 02 Jan 2010. Web. 8 Nov 2010.
       <http://www.thetravelears.com/2010/01/02/disneys-give-a-day-get-a-disney-day
       registration-site-crashes-on-first-day/>

The author gives her feedback on the issues regarding Disney‟s website during the first day of the
campaign. She also mentions that she is “less than impressed” with the volunteer choices available
through the program, and overall has doubts about the impact of the promotion.

"Disney Gets 1 Million Pledges To Volunteer, Ends Program." Cause Integration. Causecast, 11
       Mar 2010. Web. 7 Nov 2010. <http://www.causeintegration.com/tag/volunteer/>.

This blog post reflects on Disney‟s “cause integration” in this campaign. It also remarks that the
entire campaign lasted ten short weeks due to its‟ unexpected and quick success, and the “win-win”
for everyone who participated (including nonprofits, Disney, and volunteers.)

"'Give a Day, Get a Disney Day' Reaches Goal." PR Newswire. Walt Disney Parks and Resorts,
        09 Mar 2010. Web. 10 Oct 2010. <http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/give-a-day-
        get-a-disney-day-reaches-goal---1-million-people-inspired-to-volunteer-in-2010-through-the-
        disney-parks-program-87168082.html>.

This press release gives an overview of the successes of the campaign, and quotes Tom Staggs,
chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, saying "By any measure, the 'Give a Day, Get a Disney
Day' program exceeded our expectations." The press release further explores volunteer activities that
took place in various cities (through Disney's partnership with HandsOn Network), and the positive
impact that Disney had in communities through this program.

"'Give a Day, Get a Disney Day' 2010 Pro Awards Finalist." PROMO Magazine. 2010 Pro
        Awards, 29 Jul 2010. Web. 10 Oct 2010. <http://promomagazine.com/pro_awards/disney-
        give-get-day/>.

This article gives a brief overview of the campaign's successes and further explains why it is in the
running for two awards - Best Multidiscipline Campaign & Best Cause-Based Promotion. "The
campaign involved PR, advertising, digital media, promotion, broadcast radio and television,
including a tie-in with ABC‟s Extreme Home Makeover, a Muppets viral video, events, community
relations, CRM, park operations and more."

"How Your Company Can Get HandsOn." HandsOn Network. Points of Light Institute, 2010.
        Web. 10 Oct 2010. <http://www.handsonnetwork.org/companies>.

HandsOn Network is the company that Disney partnered with to make this campaign happen. The
company, HandsOn Network, "enables leading companies to meet our Nation‟s most pressing needs
- while strengthening their own organizations by engaging employees in service." This page in
particular gives an overview of how HandsOn can help companies achieve their corporate
responsibility goals and commitments to the community through volunteer programs.

R, Lauren. " 1. Home » 2. Travel Free Disney Ticket: Disney to Launch "Give a Day, Get a
       Disney Day" Campaign." Associated Content. Associated Content, 29 Sept 2009. Web. 8
       Nov. 2010.
       <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2230793/free_disney_ticket_disney_to_launc
       h.html?cat=16>.

Brief overview of the Disney campaign and how it coincides with Obama‟s timely announcement
encouraging Americans to step up and volunteer.

"Research and Policy." Corporation for National & Community Service. Corporation for
       National & Community Service, 2010. Web. 9 Nov 2010.
       <http://www.nationalservice.gov/about/role_impact/performance_research.asp>.

Research through the Corporation for National and Community Service indicates “People who
volunteer are more likely to participate in the other elements of civic life; Use of the Internet is
positively related to civic engagement can be a real driver of civic engagement.” (“Civic life” defined
as service, participating in a group, connecting to information and current events, social
connectedness, and political action.)

Schneider, Sharon. "Disney Volunteer Vacation Day: Needed Encouragement or Wrong-Headed
       Bribe?." The Philanthropic Family. Sharon Schneider, 17 Mar 2010. Web. 10 Oct 2010.
       <http://thephilanthropicfamily.com/2010/03/17/disney-volunteer-vacation-day-needed-
       encouragement-or-wrong-headed-bribe/>.

Sharon Schneider, Philanthropic Director at Foundation Source (a company that helps donors with
giving and assets), voiced her concern over Disney's motives for this campaign. She questions why
people need to be bribed to give back to the community and that overall concept of "giving to get" is
a selfish one. Additionally, she tweeted to voice her concern, "I find it wrong-headed to bribe people
into 'volunteering' by offering them a ticket to Disney if they do."

Smith, Thomas. "'Mickey Notes‟ – Disney Parks Celebrates Volunteering." Disney Parks Blog.
       Disney, 24 Feb 2010. Web. 10 Oct 2010.
       <http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/tag/gdgdd/>.

This post shares the "Give a Day Get a Disney Day" story through a video created by Disney
employees. This is an interesting social media tactic used to gain more visibility and spark more
interest among people to sign up and be a part of the celebration. It is also important to note that this
post is immediately following the post that announced "Program Reaches 600,000 Volunteer Sign-
Ups."

Smith, Thomas. "'Give a Day, Get a Disney Day' Reaches Goal - 1M Inspired to Volunteer"."
       Disney Parks Blog. Disney, 09 Mar 2010. Web. 13 Nov 2010.
       <http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/03/%E2%80%98give-a-day-get-a-disney-
       day%E2%80%99-reaches-goal-%E2%80%93-1m-inspired-to-volunteer/>.

This post marks the end of the „Give a Day, Get a Disney Day‟ campaign as the goal of one million
volunteers was reached. The post is a short six-sentence re-cap of the campaign, and briefly mentions
HandsOn Network as a continued source for volunteer opportunities, despite the Disney campaign
ending.

"The Walt Disney Company 2008 Corporate Responsibility Report." Disney. The Walt Disney
      Company, 2010. Web. 10 Oct 2010.
      <http://corporate.disney.go.com/responsibility/index.html>.

The Corporate Responsibility Report gives insight into the company's mission, values, and
commitment to giving back to the community. This ties in with the "Give a Day, Get a Day"
campaign as that was one part of the overall goal of "addressing crucial issues related to the
environment, community, workplaces and product development."

Tully, Sarah. "Get a free Disney pass for volunteering." OC Register. OC Register, 29 Sept 2009.
        Web. 21 Sep 2010. <http://ocresort.ocregister.com/2009/09/29/get-a-free-disneyland-pass-
        for-volunteering/19965/>.

This article announces Disney's campaign to the Orange County community. It also states that the
chairman (at the time), Jay Rasulo, said he expects the program will result in the performance of
about 8 to 10 million hours of volunteer work at about 70,000 locations, and has "set the bar pretty
high" with that goal.

"Volunteers Building Habitat Homes in Lynwood Today Got a Big Surprise - Free Disney
       Tickets." Pitch Engine. Habitat For Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, 09 Sept 2009. Web.
       10 Oct 2010.
       <http://www.pitchengine.com/habitatforhumanityofgreaterlosangeles/volunteers-building-
       habitat-homes-in-lynwood-today-got-a-big-surprise--free-tickets-to-disney-parks/27404/>

Disney partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles to officially launch the "Give a
Day Get a Day campaign" by surprising over one hundred volunteers with free tickets to Disney.
CEO Bob Iger announced that Disney wanted to reward them and one million volunteers in 2010,
with a free pass to Disney parks. "Today was about celebrating volunteerism and jump starting a
program that is sure to inspire a lot of people to come out and build with us, or give back in other
ways to their community in 2010,” says Erin Rank, president/CEO of Habitat for Humanity of
Greater Los Angeles.

"Walt Disney World – Give A Day, Get A Day Celebration." The Official Ticket Center. Walt
       Disney World Public Relations, 12 Feb 2010. Web. 10 Oct 2010.
       <http://blog.officialticketcenter.com/2010/02/walt-disney-world-give-a-day-get-a-day-
       celebration/>.

This press release summarizes the campaign's tie into Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, when Ty
Pentington (the show's host), and Goofy, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto unveiled the
record-breaking 115,527 canned food structure that had enough food for 70,000 meals. The structure
spelled out "Celebrate Volunteers" and was a tribute to the thousands of people who had participated
in the program, as well as a plug to inspire others to volunteer as well.

Wilhelm, Ian. "Disney Volunteering Effort Draws Praise and Criticism." The Chronicle of
       Philanthropy. The Chronicle of Philanthropy, 2919. Web. 10 Oct 2010.
       <http://philanthropy.com/blogs/giveandtake/disney-volunteering-effort-draws-
       praisecriticism/21815>.

This site gives a different perspective from the typical positive response that the majority of sources
tend to side with. The author questions whether Disney's idea was a good one, or if it was simply a
bribe. The article links to two other authors who have the same perception of the campaign.