PDA

View Full Version : Disney Marketing People Just Don't Get It



coronamouseman
03-19-2002, 08:15 PM
Not sure if this fits under Disneyland Resort items but here goes anyway ............

Send an email to Mighty Ducks Hockey Team (Disney's "Festival of Fools" show replacement which airs every couple of days over at the Arrowhead Pond on Katella) complaining about how most everyone sitting around my two season hockey seats are there on discounted tickets (costing roughly half of what I paid 6 months in advance of the season last year) - response from a representative of the Mighty Ducks was that yes, indeed they had a multitude of discount programs in progress but that I should take this to mean that Disney was actually enhancing my hockey experience by having more people at the games thus making the game more exciting (yes - waiting in line at the rest rooms and concession stands and waiting in a long line of cars after the game is over sure makes my hockey experience a lot more fun .........) Even better was the Disney person's response to my reference to a heavily discounted ticket promotion to local youth hockey clubs of which my sons are members - he claimed it was a great promotion because it cost Disney very little marketing expense and effort to increase attendance with the discounted prices. So the heartfelt response of the organization to my feeling cheated by having most of the other fans around me paying half of what I payed to get into a hockey game was that I should be proud the team can get revenue so easily from certain sources .............

So I guess ME and his minions have managed to find enough yes-men and marketing interns who are willing to mindlessly follow them over the proverbial cliff in the gradual cheapening of the Disney brand - lucky for these guys that the competition at this point in time is so weak in the theme park business. On the hockey front, the MD's are getting killed at the gate and on the ice by the LA Kings who have at least committed the effort to having a winning team in recent acquisitions .........

It is no wonder that Disney can keep churning out mediocre theme parks, sports teams and movies with this kind of management ...........

justagrrl
03-20-2002, 06:52 AM
Nice response from them.

What- you didn't know they were doing it all for you so you'd have a better time??? LOL - whatever!

Why don't you write them again and explain that, as a loyal customer you'd love to continue your experience with them but that you can't, in good conscience because you feel you are getting gouged by pre-paying them... you might also add that you found their letter to be insulting... you could then suggest what would make things right for you...i.e. extending your pass another season or something.

You could also call them - explain the situation, their response, and go from there. Then, if you don't like the answer - ask for their supervisor.

socabch
03-20-2002, 06:57 AM
coronamouseman

This probably will be moved to another location, just not sure where.

Anyhow, I can sympathize with your situation. The head office should do something to satisfy it's season ticket holders. If you e-mailed Derek, then you need to e-mail someone higher up. His hands are tied. I have talked to him a few times on getting tickets and he a great person to deal with but he probably has limits set from above.

I am a hockey fan, (NHL SJ Sharks, WCHL SD Gulls). Sorry about trading you Freisen & Sheilds for Selane. I think we got the better deal. Freisen's good, but Sheilds just doesn't have it anymore. I went to a couple of Ducks games since we moved back to San Diego from the Bay area. I was sad about the lack of Ducks fans at the game. Especially the Ducks/Red Wings in Nov 2001. The place was packed but with Red Wing fans. Has it always been that way?

Cadaverous Pallor
03-20-2002, 03:22 PM
Thanks for the report, Corona. This is yet more evidence that they have no clue what they are doing to true fans. I'm slowly realizing that they really don't care what the fans think - they just want to make money.

So there's your answer - if they didn't lower prices one way or another, those seats would be empty, less people would be buying food and souveniers, and they would have less money.

JoeCanadian
03-20-2002, 03:42 PM
It's extremely weird they'd treat a season ticket holder like that. Having season pass holders is one of the only ways hockey organizations make money. Here in Vancouver our a$$-kickin' Canucks have sold out 23 home games and yet the management still complains they're in the hole cause of our low season ticket base. The Ducks management should have the same priorities...

Discounting tickets isn't out of the norm though....if that's what this topic is all about. Empty seats don't look good and if seats aren't filling up fast enough sometimes clubs will just hand out tickets for free. Case in point - the horrible Vancouver Grizzlies. Attendance was so bad at times they'd literally throw around tickets like it was a ticker tape parade.

coronamouseman
03-20-2002, 05:37 PM
socabch - One of my sons is a big Red Wings fan and we have been to games at Anaheim, LA, San Jose and Phoenix this past year and in each arena there are almost as many Wings fans as home team fans .........

CP - I don't think the big issue here is hockey - it seems to me that with the lack of concern over the quality of new theme parks and the continuous closing of park attractions in the old parks indicates an overall company attitude of who cares what the customer thinks as long as we (the company) make money somehow .........

That a company executive would try to console me with the thought that offering cheap tickets to local hockey clubs is a great idea because it requires very little effort from the club management just seems like a ridiculous way to answer my concerns about the fact that I feel somewhat cheated by paying full price for my tickets well in advance of the season.

How many more times should I have to hear what seems to be the same song from both the sports arm and the theme park arm of the Disney empire:

Sports: Don't worry - someday your patience as a season ticket holder will be rewarded with a winning season by the (choose: Ducks or Angels - doesn't matter as both are equally sorry)
Theme Parks: Don't worry - someday we will add some new rides to the woeful DCA or we will add some new attractions to the three still left in Tomorrowland at DL or we will once again start building theme parks of quality and innovation rather than simply as additional gates for our resorts ..........

The "Synergy" that Disney often refers to as company strength appears now to be simply a common company excuse ...........