If there was an example of ultimate brand loyalty, it’s Toy Story. Whether or not the writers of this Disney Pixar cult classic wrote a story about toys with the intention of one day transforming playgrounds forever more is unbeknown, but one thing is sure, it was clever. The overall result is loyal customers and a huge brand.
So how exactly did they use merchandise to build their brand?
The first thing that Toy Story got right was that their audience was always number one when it came to merchandising. Generally speaking, Disney already has a fantastic understanding of their target audience so all they had to do was to tap into their audience’s feelings. Having said that, there are hundreds of Disney films, so why has Toy Story become one of the most successful of Disney’s franchises?
The film is about toys…
Plain and simple, children love toys and the decision to make a film about toys is fantastic for two reasons. Firstly, the sole premise of toys coming alive once you leave the room taps into every child’s imagination. The story is set from the toy’s perspective so that it enables the viewer to gain an imaginary insight into the life of toys.
Secondly, from a marketing point of view, making a film based around toys also means that children are able to purchase the toys after they’ve seen the film and create their own stories at home and with their friends. Very clever brand-building indeed – so much so that the official merchandise offers everything you can imagine from the characters to branded stickers available at Stay Sourced to home décor and clothing to take brand loyalty to the next level.
A variety of different characters including a spaceman, a cowboy, a damsel in distress and a loveable dog mean Toy Story have opened themselves up to more choice of characters for their audience to relate to.
Woody vs. Buzz
By creating rival characters children are able to pick their favourite character (and the dress-up suit to match, the Disney website even has a drop-down option of ‘Pick your favourite character’ for the official merchandise – nice touch).
It’s a good film
There have already been 3 successful films delivered by Disney for the Toy Story franchise which has led to loyal brand ambassadors eagerly awaiting rumoured fourth and fifth instalments. This might be a basic point but customers who enjoy the film will help build the brand voluntarily and use the merchandise to be advocates of the film rather than merely producing branded material with the hopes of people buying into it.
The result?
With clever and loveable character choices, a firm understanding of what the target audience is interested in and great products, the Toy Story franchise has become one of the biggest and most successful Disney brands. Aside from merchandising, Toy Story is everywhere from theme park rides to being plastered onto every thinkable item that a child could own, there’s no shortage of smart promotional ideas, available at Stay Sourced.
Consideration was provided for the editing and publising of this article.