By James Warda
While guesting on the “Skull Rock Podcast,” I listened intently as the host, David Bossert, author and former Producer, Creative Director and Head of Special Projects for Walt Disney Animation Studios, shared what he believes make up the best Disney stories.
“They include a storyline you care about,” David said, “along with characters you want to spend time with, and a place you want to spend time in.”
Hmmm…. sounds like good PR, too.
After all, as I see it, a compelling storyline should be the “through line” of every organization’s public relations strategy, including their messaging, publications, and channels; events and exhibiting; products and services; media relations activity; and brand image reinforcement. And that storyline (your organization’s “what” and “why”) will include the characters who make it happen (leaders, employees, and others), and the place it happens in (where and when it’s all coming to life).
And by “compelling,” I mean it must powerfully draw us in.
And, for that, you need a storyteller.
Like Walt Disney and, by extension, his company.
After all, I don’t know of anyone who was so naturally good at promoting their brand, and its offerings and continuous focus on customer experience and innovation. And he generally did it in such a positive way that it drove an emotional connection with his employees and customers, driving engagement, word-of-mouth, loyalty, and revenue.
So, knowing this, let’s look at the five ways any PR professional (and PR student who is either already working in the field or will be) can apply how Disney does PR to their own work, adapted from my book:
- Remember that everything starts with story. As a PR professional, your job is to find the emotionally engaging storylines in your organization, in its vision and mission, products and services, events, announcements, leadership and staff, and so on. Then, to convey those storylines in a compelling, consistent way to your audiences. Want to know if it’s compelling? Try it out. On colleagues, customers, family members, and more.
- Reinforce your story with details. Next, layer details into your storylines to invite your audiences in, like Disney does in every attraction and cruise, so that instead of thinking transactionally about how they interact with your brand, they’ll feel more immersed in the experience of interacting with you. Details such as product benefits for the industry and impacts for the community. But don’t try to cover it all. Leave them curious enough to contact you to learn more. A curious customer and reporter are very good things.
- Build anticipation. You want your audiences on the edge of their seats, eagerly asking, “What’s coming?” So, build excitement around the things your brand will do next, how its new leader will be a “game changer,” etc. To get this, think about the queue for any Disney ride, or how Walt Disney acted out every scene and character of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs for his Studio staff to inspire them before making the 1937 movie. How quickly do you think they wanted to get back to their (literally) drawing boards after his presentation to make it happen?
- Help your audiences see things in a new way. I wrote my book after riding Flight of Passage for the first time at the Animal Kingdom at Disney World. The details of the attraction were amazing (see above), my anticipation was built (see above again), and I was then transported to an imagined world that became real. Afterwards, I asked myself “How does Disney do that?” In the same way, help your audiences see and feel your brand differently through the stories you tell, the people who tell them, and the ways you share them. Surprise them.
- Create an emotional connection. People generally make decisions based on their emotions. So, do what Disney does. Build an emotional connection with your audiences through your messaging, offerings, media, and more. To paraphrase what my main contributor, former Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Executive and founder of The Designer’s Creative Studio Theron Skees, shared in my book: For Disney guests, some of the stories were aspirational, some gave glimpses back to things that happened in their lives, and many were often about redemption… And, of course, that emotional component is why story is so important at Disney.
How will you know you’ve done the above well? You’ll see it in the hard results and, more softly, in the way your organization feels. More engagement. Streamlined projects. Reduced costs. Increased revenue. Less turnover. And ultimately, someone may just write a book about your organization, called How Does (Your Organization’s Name) Do That?
Remember, as Walt said, “I only hope that we don’t lose sight of one thing – that it was all started by a mouse.”
Yep, a wonderful mouse… with great PR.
James Warda, author of