Are there enough hardcore Disney fans to make Disney Care about us??

[snotgonnatellu]

I am Very new here, but have been listening to the podcast for a long time, hello all ! Sometimes i wonder how many hardcore fans Disney has, i know there is a lot, but is there a lot relative to their entire customer base?? As everyone seems to agree on here, it seems Disney doesnt truly care about the real fans, as we can see with the D23 promotion. I wonder if we over estimate our numbers? I hope not, but it almost seems like Disney figures even if NONE of us supported the company anymore, they would still be fine, there are enough casual fans and families that visit every few years to keep them afloat. I worked at Disneyland in the mid 90's and the annual passholders were almost seen as annoyance by some cast members, they caused more trouble than regular tourist, i dont agree with this but that was a common attitude. Anyone have any estimates on what percentage of people in the parks everyday are annual pass holders/ Disney fans versus the normal tourist???

 

[wilde_oscar]

there is the rub... a lot of traditional companies are not getting the social component of the internet. We maybe small in number, but we have voices that carry... Gary Vaynerchuck, who has made a good chunk of $$ on the internet has a really good take on the subject. He is kinda intense... but he is right. Check it out:

http://garyvaynerchuk.com/post/84431839/the-value-of-each-viewer-user-customer-is-not-the-same

all it takes is the right squeeky wheel, and you loose more than one customer.

 

[cathie1327]

I am Very new here, but have been listening to the podcast for a long time, hello all ! Sometimes i wonder how many hardcore fans Disney has, i know there is a lot, but is there a lot relative to their entire customer base?? As everyone seems to agree on here, it seems Disney doesnt truly care about the real fans, as we can see with the D23 promotion. I wonder if we over estimate our numbers? I hope not, but it almost seems like Disney figures even if NONE of us supported the company anymore, they would still be fine, there are enough casual fans and families that visit every few years to keep them afloat. I worked at Disneyland in the mid 90's and the annual passholders were almost seen as annoyance by some cast members, they caused more trouble than regular tourist, i dont agree with this but that was a common attitude. Anyone have any estimates on what percentage of people in the parks everyday are annual pass holders/ Disney fans versus the normal tourist???

First of all,

I think that there are more hardcore fans than Disney realizes, not even just speaking in terms of parks. There are millions of hardcore fans out there for ever aspect of the company that are hard to count because they don't have a place to really "congregate".

To me, I think just looking at the amount of people on the Dis is a really huge indicator as to how many of us are really out there.

 

[andrewilley]

To me, I think just looking at the amount of people on the Dis is a really huge indicator as to how many of us are really out there.

I agree that's a good indicator (even after allowing for Disney fans who don't/won't/can't use the DIS) but the figure you'd really want to check is the number of people who actively post (regularly) in areas such as this one, not users who log in once in a while or who just ask some questions about their upcoming trip.

Believe me, it's not millions. Probably not even tens of thousands, which compared to the overall park admission numbers is a trivial percentage to Disney's marketing people. That said, it can be a very vocal minority (aren't most minorities?) and serious dissent could well spread further field.

It's still big enough to make it worth running a fan club for though, if you can get $75 a year out of a few thousand people...

Andre

 

[snotgonnatellu]

there is the rub... a lot of traditional companies are not getting the social component of the internet. We maybe small in number, but we have voices that carry... Gary Vaynerchuck, who has made a good chunk of $$ on the internet has a really good take on the subject. He is kinda intense... but he is right. Check it out:



all it takes is the right squeeky wheel, and you loose more than one customer.

that guys seems interesting and he is very right. I dont really even remember much that i see on TV, but if i find a brand or product that i LOVE i will tell people on my facebook, or myspace about it. i dont think most people even know what D23 is at this point except for the hardcore fans, and most dont seem to like it much, hopefully Disney reads the boards, and at least considers SOME of what people say, and they will make changes accordingly. Time will tell....