"I Am A Walking Brand Survey"
By Abigail Disney

"I've been a walking marketing survey on the status of the name Disney ever since I could whip my driver's license out of my wallet. ...But I have to confess that the range of reactions has changed somewhat over the last ten to fifteen years..."

Read more from Roy's daughter at:

http://www.savedisney.com/news/features/fe070604.1.asp

The problem is that fifteen years ago, when I said "Disney" or someone saw it on my check or credit card, or took my name over the phone at the restaurant they used to come back to me with responses that indicated joy, wonder, passion, pleasure, or a longing for childhood things. Now they see dollar signs; they think of litigation and troubling headlines. They think of egregious corporate shenanigans.

Although I have nowhere near the association to "Disney" as Abigail Disney must have...I have to sadly say this comes as absolutely no surprise to me.

Even with my limited professional association with Disney and my personal "fan" status in the eyes of family, friends, associates, and often strangers...I too have experienced this same negative shift in public perception of the name Disney, and what the name evokes in people I come into contact with.

Instead of mostly the very positive "Wow!"....I find myself having to defend Disney much more these days. And most of my defensive ammo has to come from reminding them of what Disney used to mean and stand for.

:(

Disney is not just any name. It has the power to move merchandise, that is certain. But it came by that power precisely by not pursuing it. Disney grew to be the giant company that it is not by selling a dream, but by embodying it. And the vast majority of people the world over are smart enough to understand the difference.

Marvelous points, and truer words were never spoken. Shareholders need to SERIOUSLY listen to this woman. Eisner is and has been the company's primary liability, and he is killing the company every day he stays in charge of it.

But getting rid of Eisner is really just the start. Nothing short of a genuine spiritual restoration is needed for the company. The Walt Disney Company today is not the company Walt founded, not in spirit. I saw evidence of this, hints of it, back in 1990, when I worked at Disneyland, and it's even more in evidence today.

There's a reason that the "show" comes before the "business". It's because that's what's more important than the dollars and cents, the ROI, the shareholder impact, etc. Who cares if you're profitable and generating massive revenue year-over-year but people associate you with cold hard ugly facts, the death of dreams, & the stifling of imagination, and not magic, hope, and making the impossible possible?

You couldn't pay me enough to be Eisner. But I'd be Walt for free.