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Disney Case Study
Disney Case Study
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1-) List all the strategic alliances of Walt Disney. For each alliance, specify the strategic
partner or partners, the type of the alliance, and the reasons for the alliance from the
1- Disney has grown into a multi-billion-dollar company with the help of strategic
alliances and partnerships throughout the years to help realize its company goals.
Here is a list of the strategic alliances, their types and the reason behind the specific
a) Pixar and Disney – they created an equity based strategic alliance that would have
Disney had just initiated the process to introduce technology to create animation
movies. Pixar could profit from Disney’s popularity and marketing strategies and
depended on Disney to distribute the film. The alliance was ended in 2004 due to a
b) Hong Kong Gov and Disney- this joint venture between the Hong Kong International
Theme Parks Ltd (HKITP) owed 53% by the Hong Kong Government was done
mainly because Disney was entering a foreign market and required the help of the
Hong Kong Government to gain access whereas the Hong Kong Government entered
c) Disney and Target – to create stores within stores Disney and Target created a non-
equity alliance where Disney could sell its merchandise through large retailers like
Target where there is greater footfall and Target could benefit from creating Disney
stores in certain Target stores to provide the customers with a unique buying
d) Disney and NBC Universal- Hulu plus created as a joint venture between the two
companies who are also competitors. This form of co-opetition creates an atmosphere
of competition, and a learning race ensues which has a positive effect on both the
companies.
Total words:283
2-) List all acquisitions of Walt Disney. For each of them, name the company Walt
Disney bought and the reasons for the acquisition from the perspective of Walt Disney.
a) Pixar – To further their technology in animation Disney acquired Pixar to acquire their
technology which gave way to their blockbuster movies such as Toy Story. Disney also
b) Marvel Entertainment – Disney added a new set of superhero characters to increase profits
by diversifying their product offering to appeal to a different age group. Introducing these
characters also profited them when they made superhero merchandise and introduced
superhero rides.
c) Lucasfilm – The Star Wars franchise had gained much attention and Disney acquired
Lucasfilm to profit from the franchise through their merchandise and increased product
d) Maker Studios – Maker studios was a YouTube based network working with YouTube
content creators with a high number of subscribers. The real reason to acquire Maker Studios
was to reach audience that Disney was previously unable to reach with its content, thus they
provided content to audience on all available platforms and Maker Studio proved to be a new
provided through the Internet allowed Disney to expand its offerings and branch out to access
new markets in the streaming industry. BamTech helped create Disney+ and ESPN+ to
f) 21st Century Fox – This acquisition was mainly to access entertainment assets belonging to
21st Century Fox such as their movie studios, characters, and network assets. It also was
aimed to differentiate the market offering Disney had and improve profits.
g) CapCities ABC – tv networks and stations, radio networks and stations, cable networks
including ESPN helped Disney expand its distribution channels. It strengthened Disney’s
h) Euro Disney – To expand globally Disney acquired Disneyland Paris which was failing
due to the cultural differences. To increase competitive advantage Disney acquired it and now
receives ticket sales and merchandise sales with 49 percent ownership interest.
i) Blue Sky – To achieve economies of scale and cut costs Disney bought Blue Sky to release
Words: 353