THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL TRAINING ON BRAND LOYALTY
Textual Analysis Theoretical Framework and Method:
The Impact of Organizational Training on Brand Loyalty
Michelle F. Tanner
COMM 610G, Queens University of Charlotte
Dr. Elizabeth Stephens
November 16, 2014
THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL TRAINING ON BRAND LOYALTY
In today’s competitive corporate environment, leading management teams are continually
working to improve the public perception of their brand. They understand that by enhancing
brand appeal, customer loyalty increases. However, the corporations that are most successful not
only recognize the positive impact of customer loyalty, but also the importance of employee
loyalty. Therefore, the call to companies has never been clearer: invest in your employees.
Fram and McCarthy (2003) write that employee investment is important as it “not only increases
employee purchases and enhances profits, but also develops brand champions who influence
others to buy” (p. 26). Many organizations are working to create this dynamic among their
employees with the use of internal training practices. In this paper, I will specifically focus on
the way that the Walt Disney Company incites brand loyalty in their employees through unique
onboarding training practices, while using the cybernetic tradition as a theoretical framework.
Although customer loyalty is an important goal for organizations, it is important
understand that this concept differs greatly from brand loyalty. According to James (2013),
brand loyalty is not the same as customer loyalty as “brand loyalty is not transactional; it is
collaborative” (p. 16). In other words, customer loyalty is “primarily defined by what people
do,” such as return and repurchase, but brand loyalty is “defined by how people feel” (p. 16). In
order to accomplish brand loyalty, organizations must recognize that their employees are crucial
to this process. The cybernetic tradition supports the idea of this collaborative process.
According to Littlejohn and Foss (2011), “within cybernetics, communication is understood as a
system of parts that influence one another” to “shape and control the character of the overall
system” (p. 49). With brand loyalty-centric training, employees are taught to understand that
they are an integral part of the system known as the organization. By believing they are a part of
the Disney system, feelings of accountability and pride in the brand are nurtured.
THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL TRAINING ON BRAND LOYALTY
The Walt Disney Company has become a respected example of brand loyalty in the
corporate environment. They believe that to achieve brand loyalty, employees must be
motivated and engaged in the organizational values that the company emphasizes during the
training process. The training model that Disney developed seeks to produce employees who are
enthusiastic about the organization, and therefore, emotionally invested in the product. Disney
understands that the relationships that “guests build with employees are essential to establishing
an emotional connection” (James, 2013, p. 19). However, this concept does not only benefit the
customer, or the “guest” as Disney calls them, but also the employee, or “cast member”. Studies
have found that “higher levels of employee brand loyalty may be related to higher levels of
employee job satisfaction” (Fram & McCarthy, 2003, p. 26). Increased job satisfaction may lead
to reduced turnover, which in turn promotes sustainable, long-term relationships between an
organization and their employees.
Through my textual analysis project, I would like to highlight how the Walt Disney
Company uses internal marketing and training materials to promote feelings of belonging and
brand loyalty in their employees. In my project, I will discuss the role that Disney University
training plays in creating this experience for cast members, and how their methods motivate
employees to deliver superior customer service. Although their branding may be strong through
advertising or films, Disney understands that they must have the same consistency in product
delivery through their employees. By using the cybernetic theory of organizational
communication as a theoretical framework, I will emphasize how each Disney cast member is
part of the system that is directly related to the success of the corporation. Although I may focus
on the training that Disney delivers to their employees, similar techniques are used successfully
by other companies in an organizational context.
THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL TRAINING ON BRAND LOYALTY
Method
Disney’s training model has gained attention over the years as a leadership blueprint for
employee engagement. To demonstrate their commitment to training, the company has an
employee center dedicated to molding employees into brand champions called “Disney
University”. Upon being hired by the company, employees are sent to this center to undergo
intensive customer service and retention training. The leadership team members delivering the
training focus on motivating each employee to embody the core values of the corporation. Lipp
(2013) describes Disney’s intentions further as he writes that “training needs to instill a spirit, a
feeling, and an emotional connection” (p. 144). This is achieved by stressing the importance of
each interaction that a cast member has with a guest. Cast members are taught they are a part of
the show known as Disneyland, or Disney World, and as part of this system, they are an
extension of the brand.
For my textual analysis project, I will look further into the role that Disney University
plays in developing brand loyalty among employees. To do this, I will conduct an ideological
analysis of their internal communication strategy. Specifically, I would like to focus on a piece
of collateral that Disney University provides every employee during training entitled The Look
Book. Within the book, expectations of appearance are laid out. However, this does not only
include general guidelines for dress code. It goes into detail regarding body language and
attitude that each employee is expected to exude at all times. The importance placed on body
language and appearance emerges from an understanding of Disney’s core values of
performance, show, and the impact of the presentation as a whole. I will analyze these core
values that I believe Disney has embedded in the text for their employee’s consumption.
THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONAL TRAINING ON BRAND LOYALTY
Following Brummett’s (2010) framework for ideological analysis, I will seek to answer
the following questions: (1) “What should the audience think or do?” (2) “What does the text ask
audiences to assume?” (3) “How does the audience know what the text claims? And (4) “Who is
empowered or disempowered?” (p. 101). By answering these questions, I intend to emphasize
the strength of the messaging in Disney’s internal communication strategies. I will also seek to
relate the impact of this messaging to the cybernetic theoretical framework. By viewing
Disney’s training materials, specifically The Look Book, through the lens of cybernetic theory,
my project will provide insight on how details such as appearance and body language are
impactful in influencing employee behavior I will focus on the ideology that I believe Disney is
promoting—that each employee is connected to the performance of the organizational as whole.
Works Cited
Brummett, B. (2010). Techniques of close reading. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Fram, E. H., & McCarthy, M. S. (2003). From employee to brand champion. Marketing
management, 12 (1), 24-29.
James, J. (2013). The heart makes the mouse: Disney’s approach to brand loyalty. Journal of
brand strategy, 2 (1), 16-20.
Lipp, D. (2013). Disney u: How Disney university develops the world’s most engaged, loyal and
customer-centric employees (1st ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education.
Littlejohn, S. W., & Foss, K. A. (2011). Theories of human communication (10th ed.).
Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, Inc.