Cherryflava

Disney plans to [officially] use humans as lab rats

Posted on 10. Mar, 2011 by Jonathan Cherry.

To understand the triggers that make humans want / need to buy stuff – the Disney Corporation has set up an advertising laboratory to understand why certain ads work.

“To get to the ‘why’ you need to be able to control things, and the only way to do that is within a lab environment,” says Artie Bulgrin, senior VP of research and analytics for ESPN.

The lab doesn’t depend on viewers’ reports of how they reacted, because surveys turn out to be somewhat unreliable, even at the most basic level, Bulgrin says.

The lab gathers biometric data on the viewers: eye-gaze tracking, heart rate, skin conductivity. That information gives insight into their reactions that surveys couldn’t capture. For the future, the lab is looking at brainwave measurements as another tool.

The concept for the Disney lab was born at a Disney ad sales forum. The Mouse and its advertisers found it was becoming very difficult to know which ads were working.

Disney has been trading in trauma based mind control for decades under the guise of children’s entertainment. The news that they are setting up a laboratory to measure the success of their programming efforts isn’t exactly surprising.

Read the whole article here

Friday movie: Disney’s Imagineers – Scientists of Illusion

Posted on 28. Jan, 2011 by Jonathan Cherry.

Disney have been designing interactive experiences for decades – this short film is a look behind the scenes of how they do just that.

Disney joins Steve Jobs to create the future of retail

Posted on 13. Oct, 2009 by Jonathan Cherry.

The Walt Disney company has an ambitious retail plan. They’ve been reading Cherryflava and realise that the future of their brand is all in the experience. So they’ve roped in Apple god Steve Jobs, set aside $1 million for each store and have plans to turn each one of them into a Ratanga Junction on crack.

Theaters will allow children to watch film clips of their own selection, participate in karaoke contests or chat live with Disney Channel stars via satellite. Computer chips embedded in packaging will activate hidden features. Walk by a “magic mirror” while holding a Princess tiara, for instance, and Cinderella might appear and say something to you.

It’s your birthday? With the push of a button, eight 13-foot-tall Lucite trees will crackle with video-projected fireworks and sound. There will be a scent component; if a clip from Disney’s coming “A Christmas Carol” is playing in the theater, the whole store might suddenly be made to smell like a Christmas tree.

Of course it’s our opinion that all branding should go the experience route. From conferences to restaurants and promotional items – spending time on the user experience is a wise investment of your marketing budget.

Read: Disney plans extensive overhaul of mall store – NYTimes