Disneyland’s Public Relations
TEACHING NOTE
Purpose of the Case Study
1.
To give students a greater understanding of how to properly respond to a crisis
situation, regardless of how tragic the situation may be and how bad the
company may appear because of the crisis.
2.
To provide students with the understanding that public relations is more than
just reacting to crisis situations. It is being proactive, so reactive measures do
not have to always be taken.
3.
To show students how integrity, trust and accountability to the customer
cannot be overlooked or put aside in any circumstance.
4.
To give students the opportunity to see how even a large, well-respected
company like Disney has to make changes to their organization to meet the
needs of their customer.
5.
To show students that the media has a substantial influence on public opinion,
and that it is critical to anticipate media reaction in all circumstances.
Identifying the Business Problem
After having the same response procedures to park accidents since inception, Disneyland
was, for the first time, challenged with negative media and public reaction to their
handling of the Columbia ship fatal accident on Christmas Eve, 1998. Because no other
death occurring within the park had Disneyland culpability, the company found
themselves in uncharted territory with the Columbia ship accident. Because all other
fatal accidents had been the fault of a park guest, Disneyland never had to be accountable
or apologetic for these accidents. Disneyland assumed incorrectly and publicly blamed
the employee for the accident. They also cleaned up the accident site and held
investigators back for several hours as Disneyland performed their own private
investigation. In this fatality, however, Disneyland was found to be 100% responsible
for the death due to lack of appropriate employee training. The absence of accountability
or empathy from Disneyland created more public strife.
The second problem occurred when just a short time later, another accident happened on
the Roger Rabbit ride in Toon Town. Although not fatal, this accident again received
public backlash and media attention because a 4-year old boy suffered serious brain
damage. Disneyland officials and employees had made public comments that the
accident was the fault of the parents, and not that of Disneyland or the ride itself.
Implementing little change in the reaction to this accident, and being implicated a second
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time for inappropriate employee training and safety standards, Disneyland was now in a
position to have to repair a damaged reputation and answer to a flawed safety record.
The final problem was the Big Thunder Mountain fatal accident, which occurred
September 2003. Again, appearing to be a mechanical failure, Disneyland, for the third
time in five years was facing another major accident in the park where not only their
dependability, but their safety record and magical image was truly being questioned.
The study identifies the business problems as:
1.
Disneyland had to recognize the need to change company policies and
practices because the current situations were drastically different,
2.
Disneyland had to recognize that the needs and expectations of their
customers had changed,
3.
Disneyland had to find a solution to meet those needs, while still
maintaining the company’s magical image, and
4.
Disneyland had to rebuild a well-established reputation that had been
damaged because of the accidents in which they were
deemed responsible.
Forecasting the Most Desirable Outcome
The most desirable outcome for the company would be:
1.
For Disneyland to be able to change their company policies and practices
to crisis situations and let the customers see the change without having to
experience another tragic accident within the park.
2.
To have the public feel “safe” within the park without having to change
the fantasy and magical aura of the Disneyland appearance.
3.
For Disneyland to regain their well-established reputation with the media
and the pubic without losing any shareholder or audience interest in the
company.
4.
For Disneyland to understand how to share safety changes and how to
inform their audience how to be safe within the park without providing
additional fear
5.
For Disneyland to be able to show their audience that they care about their
safety and well-being.
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Identifying the Critical Issues
1.
Re-establish the magical image of Disneyland with both the media and the
public.
2.
Maintain financial stability and industry reputation by not having shareholders
lose interest or paying customers not visit the park due to the series of
accidents within Disneyland
3.
Discover a manner in which to prove to the audience and the media that
Disneyland does care about guest safety.
Listing the Possible Solutions to the Business Problem
The study shows that Disneyland recognized the need to change their company practices
in regards to their reactions to accidents because rides have become riskier and safety is
thus, more important to their audience. Disneyland can no longer assume that they are
not responsible or accountable for accidents occurring within the park.
Disneyland recognized that the needs and expectations of their customers had changed,
and therefore they worked to implement a safety campaign showing not only their
involvement and commitment to guest safety, but the public’s partnership in the quest.
Disneyland also found a way to get the safety message across to the public with humor
and fun. They used characters and silly tag lines to express specific safety messages.
Disneyland had to rebuild a well-established reputation that had been damaged because
of the accidents in which they were deemed responsible.
Disneyland regained media credibility by implementing the safety campaign and
involving the press via press releases, fact sheets and press conferences.
Explaining How to Communicate the Solution
This case showed the need for Disneyland to implement drastic changes to their crisis
management policies and processes, which included the need for stronger, faster and
more enhanced communication methods to the media.
Once Disneyland recognized they had a real image problem with safety, they hired strong
corporate communication and chief safety leadership to help them solve the problem. By
creating a public safety campaign, Disneyland was able to reach not only the public, but
the media, as well. The campaign featured communication tools such as press releases
about the new communication executive’s impressive background, about the role and
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duties assigned to the newly appointed chief safety officer, fact sheets about the safety
program and what Disneyland was doing to insure safety at the park, as well as a fun,
12-step message campaign featuring two silly Lion King Characters.
The measurement in this process was the handling of the accident at Big Thunder
Mountain. Because Disneyland had already regained public credibility with the safety
campaign, they were able to prove their commitment to safety when the Big Thunder
Mountain accident occurred.
Teaching the Case
One Week Prior
Distribute the first part of the case study and have the students read it before the next
class meeting Prepare the students to be ready to discuss the following:
The importance of being forthright with the public about crisis situations and the
outcome of not portraying this behavior,
The influence the media has on the public and how a company can predict the
media’s response and communicate appropriately,
The importance of ethical behavior from a company in all situations and discuss
how the lack of integrity can achieve a negative outcome,
The critical role of public relations in the business world and the positive impact it
plays in times of crisis.
The First 30 Minutes of Class
In the first 5 minutes, recap the case study and review the topics for discussion that the
students were given at the previous class. Then, for the next 25 minutes, have the
students discuss the following:
The critical issues involved in the case study and why they are critical to the
problem,
The decisions and public behavior that Disneyland portrayed in the first two crisis
situations, (Columbia ship and Roger Rabbit) and the implications derived from those
decisions.
After the class discussion on the above topics, put the student’s into small groups
and without them knowing the outcome to the case study, tell them that another accident
will occur at Disneyland and have them do the following:
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a)
Design a public relations strategy to resolve the business issues and the
damaged image of Disneyland,
b)
What types of tools can they use to get the message out?
c)
Who is the message geared toward?
d)
What is the most important message they need to send?
e)
What is an appropriate reaction and communication strategy in
response to the up and coming accident?
Last 15 Minutes of Class
Distribute the conclusion to the case study and allow the students to read.
Now that they are aware of the outcome, discuss the plans they created and compare
those to Disneyland’s plan.
Assignment for Following Week
Assign a one week project in which the students, in their same groups, must develop a
communication plan and crisis situation response with the following scenario:
Each group is a public relations team representing a large, popular restaurant in a major
city. The following situation has occurred:
Part I -The restaurant has suffered recent media scrutiny and public outrage
because within 5 days, over two dozen young children had received food poisoning after
eating at that restaurant. No children have died, but two are still in critical condition. At
this time, the cause of the food poisoning is unknown.
Develop a communication plan:
1.
2.
3.
4.
How to address the situation?
What tools to use?
What message is clearly stated to the public? To the victims and their
families?
What steps are being taken to find the cause?
Part II – After a full investigation, the restaurant has been cleared of all
wrong-doing, however, one of the suppliers that the restaurant uses was found to have
been negligent in the refrigeration of their meat. This appears to be the cause of the food
poisoning.
Develop a new communication plan:
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1. How to address the situation with the media and the public?
2. What tools to use?
3. What message is clearly stated this time? What message is stated to the victims
and their families?
4. What steps are now being taken to make sure this does not occur again?
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