Disney announces "D23" to decidedly mixed results
Mar 10, 2009

Disney has announced the 'big' secret that has had web forums buzzing for months. Back in January, Disney started a viral campaign by asking the simple question "Are You 23" - well, it seems the fans have answered with many saying "No, I'm not".

Are you 23 turns out to be Disney's attempt to capture a share of the 'online fan communities' - at least their idea of the online fan community - which, as it turns out, is a very flawed vision.

Membership in this community costs $75 per year, and includes, among other things, a quarterly magazine (albeit a high end / high production value magazine), access to exclusive merchandise, and a yearly convention to be held in September at the Anaheim Convention Center. Free of charge, D23 will offer a web site with various information from the Disney Archives, along with other content.

This is, for lack of a better definition, a club for collectors and those who have a strong affinity for Disney history. What Disney failed to consider in their efforts was the size and scope of the fan community that is based around their theme parks - people with less of an interest in merchandise and the contents of the Disney archives, and more of an interest in a loyalty program aimed at repeat visitors to their theme parks and hotels.

As a result, the existing online Disney community (the ones that Disney claims to have based this program on) have greeted this news with more than a bit of skepticism, and in some cases - downright anger. Even the Motley Fool, a site that is often very positive on Disney, released an article online that echos the sentiment found on many discussion forums "Disney got this one wrong".

Of course, this is Disney we're dealing with and they have a history of listening to this kind of feedback and adjusting themselves accordingly. Unfortunately, they also have a long history of looking at their 'theme park fans' as nothing more than standard consumers and doing little or nothing to take their needs, or loyalty into account.

Let's hope that there is some quick adjustments made to this program, otherwise it will go down in history as little more than a failed marketing ploy.