More Sponsorship Bailouts

[Sarangel]

WDWMagic reports the following:

Reports are in that GE has ended their sponsorship of the show. Announcements are to be removed from the audio track, and the GE logos on the barges are likely to be removed shortly. This information has not yet been officially confirmed.

With AT&T, FedEx, Monsonato, etc. already abandoning ship, it does make one wonder if they know something we don't.

Sarangel

 

[Figmentrocks]

Sarangel,

It certainly makes one wonder...Well, obviously not a good sign, to say the least, but I can tell you from personal knowledge that our business has two manufacturers who Disney has tried to work with and the businesses said that they had never dealt with a more ruthless company. We have an artist here who was handled the same way.

Just as an observation without an inside track, I'm not surprised if Disney tried to play hardball and dramatically increase the sponsorship cost and these companies didn't want to play the game of the mouse.

Loss of the sponsors is nothing but bad for the guests because vital funds are taken away from an already cheap company and the parks. Geez. GE, talk about another long standing relationship gone.

 

[Bstanley]

Given the sheer number of sponsors who are leaving - I mean, who's left? - Is it possible that something else is at work here?

Wild speculation here, but maybe Disney is about to sell the place?

Or something else equally dramatic that would cause them to dump the sponsors?

 

[bkcwilliams]

I hope that I am right about this and it is not due to Disney, but I think with the economy in the tank right now, businesses are really cutting their advertising budgets and that is where the sponsorship comes from. When people don't have any money to purchase things, why advertise to them, especially in a sponsorship that is just targeted at name recognition, not actual products.

 

[All Aboard]

It's low hanging fruit, easiest dollars to cut without feeling it internally. And, it's a snowball with the other corporations pulling out. Soon, perhaps only Coke, GM, McD's & Kodak will be left.

 

[WDWHound]

I beleive there are 2 causes for this. The bad economy makes it hard for corporations to justify spending funds on sponsorships, and (in yet another short sighted management decision from the mouse) Disney is charging a lot more for the privilage of hanging your name on an attraction.

 

[Experiment626]

I would have to agree that it seems most companies would see a sponsorship like this as an easy cost cutting target with no really visible impact.

I just hope that GE leaving doesn't cause disney to consider not running illuminations every night

 

[mudhen]

"I just hope that GE leaving doesn't cause Disney
to consider not running Illuminations every night"

Can you say....." Due to recent guest surveys,
Illuminations will only be shown on selected weekends. In it's place during the off nights,
guests will be treated to "Characters Around
the World", as Disney characters will be stationed
en Masse around the World Showcase to sign
autographs and pose for pictures."

Dear God,
Please let me be wrong

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

If the famed synergy of Disney's various divisions is such a good thing, why don't we have:

• The Living Seas, sponsored by Disney Cruise Line
• Illuminations, sponsored by ABC (not GE, owner of NBC)
• The Wonders of Life, sponsored by ESPN
• it's a small world, sponsored by The Baby Einstein Company

I'm sure you can think of some more.

Of course, there are the issues involving the various P&Ls of these divisions and Disney's internal bookkeeping -- but such synergy could be enforced at a corporate executive level.

As guests, we'd see signs, exhibits, attraction updates, post-shows, shops and whatever else, related to these internal sponsors -- just as we do when the sponsor is an external company.

In the end, it would help the bottom line of The Walt Disney Company if such internal sponsorships drive additional name recognition, program awareness, sales, etc.

 

[KNWVIKING]

When we were at Epcot in Dec, we noticed out on the islands what looked to be signs or some other type structure that were under tarps. Could these possibly have been new sponsor logo's ? If not,anybody know what they were ?

Also,didn't WDW just rcently pick up MicroSoft as a new sponsor, as well as HP a couple years ago ? Sponsors come,sponsors go.

 

[raidermatt]

More sponsers are going than coming...

Microsoft was rumored, but I don't remember seeing any verification. Anyone no more?

Could these possibly have been new sponsor logo's ? If not,anybody know what they were ?

I doubt they would be new sponsor logos, given that the GE announcement is just now coming out. But again, don't know for sure.

 

[Bob O]

More sponsors leave, less money for the disney company yet eisner gets a bonus. Maybe he could sponsor a attraction. of course he would cut it to the bone so it likely would be worth going too!!!
Just another example of disney sliding where companies dont think it is a postiive to be associated with disney or woth the money to do business with them!!!

 

[BKP]

i am sad that fedex pulled out, i work for fedex and i worked for disney, it always made me smile when i would see the two names together, oh well, i hope when the economy comes back they will sponcer something again

 

[sgtdisney]

Given Michael Eisner's vast income and his recent bonuses, perhaps we wil have Illuminations 2003 sponsered in part by Michael Eisner?

Speaking along those lines how long until we see Eisnerland in Anaheim and Mike Eisner World in Orlando?

 

[Luv2Roam]

Or how about Mrs ME?
I was reading a thread on another board, between two college students who work(ed?) at WDW in the college program.
I was (ahem) awed by how much the students AND the state of FL pay MRS Eyes&Ears for the CM rent, as they wrote the Mrs owns the apartments. (If what was being posted between the two of them was correct.)
Keepin' the $$$ all in the family....

 

[rpink58]

WDW is not the only one losing sponsors , it seems NASCAR might be losing Winston and MBNA .Unical(76 gasoline) is pulling out.
Ray

 

[KNWVIKING]

Well, since Dale's death, NASCAR just doesn't "get it" anymore.

 

[tarzanman]

The NASCAR thing about them "just not getting it" is obviously wrong. The viewership of NASCAR racing is the highest tht it has ever been and will be only second to football as the most watched sport in North America. It is more than evident that the economy is leading to the reduction of sponsors for Disney and NASCAR and the NBA. The company's share holders just want to see the results of pumping out ad money and that easier done with TV commercials that a continued sponsorship of a car or an attraction. Those seem to be more of a goodwill type of ad. ost companies just can't afford it right now. I was wondering if they have asked Ford Motor Company to sponsor something at the Animal Kingdom because they are so environmentally conscious.

 

[KNWVIKING]

.... my previous post was oozing with well intented sarcasm.

However... have you checked out the availibility of NASCAR tickets after Dale's death ? Our dealership went into a lottery system every year for the CHANCE to buy four tickets from GM for the Daytona 500. For the 2002 500, GM informed all dealers they could buy at will,no ticket limit. Both races in Talladaga had tickets availible at the gate.

 

[tarzanman]

That is easy to figure out. Travel is down. Disney having trouble too. TV revenue is still way up so the ad $$$ gets pumped into that.