The 2014 Zonta International Convention will be held in Orlando, Florida USA - The home of Mrs. Banks at Walt Disney World. Marriott World Center, June 27 - July 1, 2014. Aussie Zontians will be at Walt Disney World June 20 - June 26.
I think you've got the message that when you stay at a Disney hotel you can have the fully immersive experience and stay in room unlike any other. And of course, you realised that Disney wasn't going to just leave it alone with Pirates - didn't you?
So let's wrap up accommodations for now with an Epic Room Roundup!
Disney have jumped into this room theming idea with both feet and here's a quick look at the whole lot:
Royal 'Princess' rooms at the Port Orleans Resort
Wellbeing rooms at the Contemporary Resort:
With sustainable bamboo flooring, 100% cotton linen, rainwater showerheads and your personal use cardio equipment. Yoga classes will be available in the Wellness Studio
A Haunted Mansion Room, (this is another example of Disney turning an attraction into a movie):
Apparently the bathroom is secretly hidden behind the bookcase!
If you happen to be going to Disneyland, Anaheim, you can stay in the Mickey Mouse room:
The Fairytale Suite:
The Adventureland Suite:
and my favourite: The Big Thunder Mountain Railway Suite (I wonder if there is a movie in planning?)
Apparently the door bell sounds of howling wolves
I'm sure I've seen Clint Eastwood in that bath
Now the poor Tokyo Disney Resort, for all it's real Italian marble, hasn't quite kept up. So they took another route and introduced a seasonal overlay for Easter this year:
If the chocolate eggs don't cause cavities, the sweetness of this room will.
Now I think this is bringing a new dimension to the rooms - guests would want to return at different times of the year to see the different overlays. Can you imagine Christmassy Pirates?
So where would you sleep? If you could have your dream themed room, what would it be?
all photos from Walt Disney Company and the Oriental Land Company
Used to be that you'd make a film, and if it was successful you'd sell some matching merchandise. When Uncle Walt decided to build Disneyland he took merchandising to a whole new level - with a matching ride attraction! (sorry - gotta get my Disney lingo correct).
"What youngster has not dreamed of flying with Peter Pan over moonlit London, or tumbling into Alice's nonsensical Wonderland? In Fantasyland, these classic stories of everyone's youth have become realities for youngsters - of all ages - to participate in." Walt Disney(apparently - I can't prove it)
And so Fantasyland has Snow White's Scary Adventure, Peter Pan's Flight, The Mad Tea Party and the iconic Flying Dumbos.
In 2003, Disney turned the formula on its head and instead made a movie based on one of its early and most famous rides: Pirates of the Caribbean.
Added bonus! Gratuitous picture of Johnny Depp for my friend, Penny:
OK - So stories abound on how long it took to get the project off the ground --blah blah --- no one interested in pirates -- yada yada ---- Johnny Depp makes Jack Sparrow gay and drunk & frightens then Disney CEO, Michael Eisner -- etc etc -- and SUCCESS and everyone got into the pirate act
So Disney starting thumping the piratey treasure chest pinata and the Disney dollars started raining down.
I thought the method was blindfolded and with a stick, but this kid, much like Disney's approach to merchandising, goes in with a baseball bat
Given, this post is meant to continue our voyage around Walt Disney World Resorts accommodation options, guess what happened next ..... yes ... yes they did .... have a look after the jump
Found this short electronic presentation on the ZIF website, giving a quick overview of the ZIF International Project supporting the Fistual Hospital in Liberia.
A good reminder of the strength of the ZIF Projects and why we all contribute
In my last post I showed examples of advertising targeted at young women with the aim of encouraging alcohol consumption, and then questioned the 'success' of such advertising given the rapid expansion of that market.
One approach is to link alcohol to independence, success, confidence, glamour - and what young woman isn't attracted by those things? (None of my parties are that glam .... then again I don't drink Jacob's Creek .... that must be the reason!)
And another tactic alcohol companies have taken is to use those appealing stories and imagery to make drinks traditionally favoured by men, like beer, attractive to women. One of my favourites is this ad for Canadian beer, Molson, which was placed in Cosmopolitan magazine in North America:
Puppies.
In continuing with Prof. Jones, we now add a new, modern dimension to this tale.
Social Networking
beyond videos and websites.
The big brands are setting up Facebook and Twitter accounts and interacting directly with their audience. No more hoping someone sees your TV ad and picks your product, from among the many, off the shelf. You can now be 'friends' with your friends AND your favourite bevvie!
The emphasis on "get together with your close friends" was made by Baileys, not me.
The Bailey's Australia Facebook page has 53,829 likes - and Baileys are having direct conversations with these people. I've blanked out the names. Of 61 comments in this thread, 57 were female.
61 comments on this thread and not one negative comment - in fact no negative comments on any of the Facebook pages. How does that happen?
Yes the brands are taking marketing to their logical extension. It has long been the dream of a product manager to lock in repeat business through building relationship. Cheaper than finding new customers all the time. And social networking has the benefits of being cheap, direct and immediate.
Social media also has the added benefit of not being subject to the advertising code of practice and regulations restricting what is allowed in the public media. Thus through this media marketers can push the boundaries a bit further than usual.
Here is an extreme example of this phenonomen, and nothing to do with alcohol marketing, but it demonstrates what an advertiser can get away with on Youtube that would never been shown on TV. And given it is for Air New Zealand, perhaps it is representative of the acceptability of such practices in corporate settings. Now this stuff doesn't bug me - but viewer discretion is advised. (see how I care for you?)
And that was one of the tame ones. Rico is quite risque. Yet I still share this with you - see how pervasive is this medium?!
So back to alcohol advertising. The other BIG force in advertising is partnerships - hoping the credibility and acceptability from another entity rubs off onto you. The breast cancer research NFPs have been into this area for a long time. Here in Australia, we have seen the NBCC stick it's pink ribbon on airplanes, bottled water, chocolate biscuits, and even oven gloves and washing up sponges. Makes everyone a winner!
Unfortunately, in the US in 2010 the motives of such marketing was called into question and was labelled 'pinkwashing'. I think Steven Colbert summarises the situation quite succinctly (although you have make your way through an earthworm story first). As we all know, behind the humour is a grain of truth.
when a bloke's gotta do what a bloke's gotta do ..... or is this for women who wanna drink like blokes? It's as confusing as the nationality of Air NZ's furry bathmat creature
So after a bit of wandering, let me return to Prof. Jones and some final statistics that will give you pause.
In the UK (Hickley, 2008) there has been a 50% increase in the number of women arrested for drunk and disorderly offences between 2003 - 2007; and women aged 35 - 44 are seven times more likely to die of liver disease than they were 30 years ago.
Data from Australia shows a 200% increase among 18 - 24 yr old females in alcohol related hospital admissions. (Fitzgerald & Jordan, 2009). Australian women rank 3rd in the world (behind Uganda and New Zealand) for negative consequences of drinking (Dietze et al, 2011)
So we have increasing complex and covert marketing of alcohol products aimed directly at young women. We have dramatic increases in the alcohol related incidents and diseases. Some would say the two are linked. Whatever is happening our young women are being encouraged to buy into an illusive story of glamour that is eventually liver disease or worse.
I am not adverse to the odd drink myself - and I have enjoyed many a bottle of good wine or a fun cocktail with my Zonta friends. Fortunately, I have never met a Zontian I would classify as a binge drinker.
For a Zontian, how does this issue affect the status of young women? What could be an appropriate response from Zontians?
Thank you to Prof. Sandra Jones for most of the content of this post, and to Janette Curtis, D24 Area 2 Director - firstly for arranging the presentation, and for supporting me.I have sourced all examples of advertising content, directly from the brand websites.
I have, unfortunately & unexpectedly, found myself without internet access - for a whole week! In the middle of the UNSW Business Campus no less. (what uni won't give internet access??)
I am stealing a bit of time to tell you that I will finish the current thread on Alcohol Marketing to Young Women soon.
My Zonta experiences run to the obvious: help women with breast cancer, in refuges, support educational and personal development.
I suppose I didn't realise that sometimes our bright, young colleagues, friends and neighbours in this 'white bread' world are also the ones in need. These women are intelligent, highly educated, have jobs and yet they are the target market for an insidious mass campaign that destroys their wealth and health, both now and in the long term. Through Zonta I have been able to support those very obvious issues of concern; issues that I assume are not part of my world. However I recently discovered an issue that is highly damaging to the status of our fellow women and it is insidious because it looks clean, white collar, and legal.
I'm referring to alcohol advertising to young women
At the April Zonta Area 2 meeting, I was privileged to see a presentation by Prof. Sandra Jones, Centre for Health Initiatives, Wollongong University and Sandra explained what was going on. I am going to do 2 or 3 posts, in which, I hope to accurately portray her message. And there is a nasty twist at the end.
Prof Jones has given me permission to share these details with you, and at the end I will ask you to honour her work and honour young women in our community by considering your response to this alarming situation. I will mostly stick to the Prof's data and try to make it clear when I am adding my opinion.I tracked down all the advertising samples.
Women are drinking more. In the UK, over the past 10 years alcohol comsumption for women in the 45 - 55 age bracket has doubled! For women 16 - 25 it has increased approx. 50%. For men - they're still drinking roughly the same amount.(Pykett 2009)
In the US, 19% of 9th grade boys and 21% of 9th grade girls report binge drinking in the previous 30 days. (John Hopkins Uni 2006)
So why do you think women are drinking more?
Has equality swung too far and women are acting like the 'lads'? Social acceptance? Greater independance and wealth? I'm sure if you stop to think you would realise a range of dynamics that drive alcohol comsumption.
Russell Parkins of Marketing Week has thought about it. He noted in March 2010:
"According to TNS data .....women accounted for 37% of on-trade volume, up from 26% in 2001 .... drink makers are waking up to the fact that there is an untapped opportunity to grow their business .... Carlsberg and Bittersweet intend to use marketing channels that exploit what they believe is a woman's tendency to enthusiastically recommend products that they like."
So women are a lucrative target market and marketing is designed to suit. Products are 'female friendly': sweet and fruity, claim low calories, portray glamour, fun and confidence.
There are the 'sophistocated' drinks like Diageo's NUVO.
Looks more like a bottle of high end perfume than a drink.
and there are 'light' drinks:
The marketers use techniques that appeal to young women, like role reversal of men as sex objects. This promotes an "alcohol stimulated sexually active lifestyle" (Lass and Hart 2004). And Gill (2007, 2008) discusses how advertisers have constructed a new figure: "the sexually autonomous heterosexual young woman who plays with her sexual power ..."
So now you might wondering who is affected by this. Surely it is the usual suspects or stereotypes? Does this research fit your stereotype?
In the UK women with some qualifications are 71% more likely to drink on most days than unqualified women. Women with degrees are 86% more likely to drink on most days; and women who achieved 'medium' or 'high' test marks in primary school are twice as likely to drink daily in their 30s. (Borgonovi & Huerta 2010)
So alcohol marketing is increasingly focusing on positioning drinking as a sign of independance, freedom and confidence. The same approach cigarette advertisers were using.
However, cigarette advertising was banned
So we've seen that advertisers are using their time honoured 'feel good' techniques and that over the past decade women are drinking more - perhaps some are falling prey to these techniques.
In the next post, I'll continue with Prof. Jones by showing how this old concept uses modern techniques.
