Why Disney’s Virtual Investor Day Made Disney’s Stock Soar
The Walt Disney Company just demonstrated how powerful a virtual investor day can be. Disney’s December 10 investor day generated massive media coverage and an explosion of social media conversation that any brand would envy. In addition, Disney’s stock price climbed dramatically:
So what happened?
Disney Shared Compelling Content
The Investor Day unveiled one exciting nugget of content after another. For instance, Disney announced that 10 Star Wars series are coming to the Disney+ streaming service that Disney launched in 2019. Disney also announced Disney+ is getting two new Star Wars shows, both spinoffs of The Mandalorian: Rangers of the New Republic and Ahsoka. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Disney unleashed a slew of other news, including new movies in the pipeline from Pixar and tons of Marvel content. As if to spike the ball, Disney also said that Disney+ subscribers have passed 86 million in just one year – an astounding total. (For more insight on everything Disney announced, check out this article.)
The Investor Day Was Strategic
The day’s presenters focused on the company’s embrace of digital content instead of dwelling on the performance of its theme parks and film studios. And for good reason: Disney has been banking its future on digital content. As noted, in 2019, Disney launched its vaunted Disney+ streaming service, which gave Disney an answer to already established brands such as Amazon Prime Video and Netflix. In addition, in 2019, Disney assumed ownership of popular streaming brand Hulu. And the timing was fortunate. During the pandemic, Disney’s theme parks and film projects have been hurt by closures and a drop-off in attendance at all brick-and-mortar venues. Disney made all the right moves as shown by the growth of Disney+ and, to a lesser extent, Hulu. The company wisely made digital content the focus of Investor Day.
Disney Maximized the Value of Digital
Digital gave Disney more space to maximize the news. This was not a parade of slides; rather, the focus was on Disney executives describing Disney’s strategies in their own words accompanied by powerful graphics. Instead of PowerPoint slides, audiences saw thrilling video footage from The Mandalorian, Disney’s smash series – the kind of content that creates brand love.
Disney integrated the day’s events well with social media, including Twitter to livestream the content. In addition, digital expanded Disney’s reach. Because the date of the investor day had been announced previously, fans could prepare for it. People were even planning watch parties online, as if the event were the Super Bowl.
Not all companies have content as exciting as Disney – but all companies can learn from Disney by using virtual events to play to a business’s strengths and to humanize its brand giving its executives room to shine.
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