news

Tencent News "First Line"

Author: Liu Yudian Editor: Liu Peng

Starting from August 9, 2024, the three-day Disney global fan conference D23 Expo will be held in California, USA.

During the conference, Asad Ayaz, Chief Brand Officer of The Walt Disney Company and President of Marketing for Walt Disney Pictures and Disney+, was interviewed by a few Asia-Pacific media outlets, including Tencent News.

In response to questions from Tencent News, An Zhixiao said that one of the most challenging things for Disney, a century-old company, is that the world is changing dramatically. "Technology is subverting the way people consume entertainment and media, and people's tastes are constantly changing," An Zhixiao said. "As a 100-year-old brand, I am very proud of our creative people and leaders because we are constantly improving our storytelling methods and continuing to produce wonderful movies and stories."

In addition, he believes that one of the biggest characteristics of Generation Z is the way they consume entertainment and media. "For those of you who have Generation Z in your life, you know that they spend a lot of time on their phones, and they don't watch TV like our generation. I think one of the biggest challenges and opportunities is that they are not necessarily attracted by traditional marketing ads, and on social platforms and mobile terminals, it is easy to ignore ads. So when we do marketing, we have to make them feel natural and real."

The following isTranscript of An Zhixiao's exchanges with Asia-Pacific media including Tencent News.

Q: You have been the chief brand officer since 2023. What has been your greatest achievement during this time? As a century-old company, what are the core challenges facing the Disney brand today?

An Zhixiao:Over the past year, the entire company has come together to create Disney 100. This is our first-ever company-wide marketing and brand campaign to celebrate the best of The Walt Disney Company. From theme parks to media networks to Disney+, we’ve launched the celebration through social media, events, partnerships, and more. It’s a very comprehensive and outstanding campaign, and although we launched it at the Super Bowl in the United States, its impact is global.

One of the most challenging things about being in my current role is that the world is changing so dramatically. Technology is disrupting the way people consume entertainment and media, and people's tastes are constantly changing. As a 100-year-old brand, I'm very proud of our creative people and leaders as we continue to evolve our storytelling and continue to make great movies and stories. Tonight, in a talk by David Dempsey, Chairman of Disney Experiences, you'll see the experiences we bring to people around the world that resonate with them even though the world is changing so dramatically. Inside Out 2 is a great example of this. It was a huge global success and broke multiple records because it resonated with people. The change in the world and the change in the way people consume media is one of the biggest disruptors.

Q: What is the most interesting insight you’ve discovered about Generation Z? How does that impact your approach to marketing?

An Zhixiao:I think one of the biggest characteristics of Gen Z is the way they consume entertainment and media. For those of you who have Gen Z in your life, you know that they spend a lot of time on their phones and don’t watch TV like my generation did. I think one of the biggest challenges and opportunities is that they don’t necessarily gravitate to traditional marketing ads, and on social platforms and mobile, it’s easy to ignore ads. So when we market to them, we have to make them feel natural and authentic.

With Inside Out 2, we found that the idea of ​​growing up and losing innocence and joy in some ways really resonated with Gen Z as [they] enter their teenage years and become more anxious. For example, we created a lot of assets with the Pixar team to provide a creative asset package for the younger generation because they love creating user-generated content. In fact, they sometimes prefer to interact with their favorite personalities on social media than they do with traditional celebrities. So it's a very different generation, but I think it's a huge opportunity for us to be able to connect with them in an authentic way.

Q: What are the advantages of working within the D23 framework compared to simply marketing content into an existing ecosystem (such as various comic conventions)?

An Zhixiao:D23 is a marketing event, but it's also a fan event. That's really how we think of it in general, because it's where the fans come... and you saw there last night, the energy and the vibrancy of the venue, the love that the fans have for these characters, stories, and brands, and we take that very seriously. Of course, we go to Comic-Con, and we go to a lot of events around the world. But what we were able to do here is create a very unique experience, both in terms of the live presentations, and the many sessions that we have during the day, and the big show in the evening. It's all about celebrating the fans, giving them access to us, and seeing specific experiences and reveals, and a lot of what we showed last night has never been shown to the public before - some of it has been shown, but most of it has only been shown publicly in the venue, and it's about showing our gratitude to the fans. I think gratitude to them is something that we live and breathe. So it's a celebration of our brand, and it's something that we can curate and make very specific. So when you walk through the venue, it's a sense of being there. There are photo opportunities, there are merchandise that can only be bought here. Again, it's about showing our gratitude to the fans.

Q: How does Disney use new technologies to enhance the brand experience?

An Zhixiao:That's a great question, and it's very, very important. I think it's a real question. We do a lot of work on the technology side. Obviously, there's a lot of technology involved in production and operations, across all parts of the Walt Disney Company. In terms of marketing and brand management, I think there's a lot of opportunity for collaboration. Recently, the company has worked with Apple on Vision Pro. We've worked with companies like Microsoft on movies and Disney+. We work with the world's top technology providers like Adobe and Google on custom collaboration projects, and they're all very much tied to our creativity. So if there's an opportunity to combine our creativity with new technology and present it to fans in a new way, I think Disney should be the first to test and try it, so we're constantly in conversation with social media companies around the world to integrate and collaborate with them on creativity. We worked with TikTok on Disney 100; we were very proud to be the first entertainment brand to have a dedicated content hub, and our fan base on the platform grew significantly. So we work with every major technology company in the world and do a lot of testing.

Q: How does Disney maintain the appeal of long-running franchises through multiple sequels, prequels, and remakes? What are the key factors in successfully marketing a franchise worldwide?

An Zhixiao:If you think about the slate of franchises that have stood the test of time at the Walt Disney Studios, the ones that have gone the longest between movies and sequels tend to be the ones that people love the most. I think the idea is that when fans expect something and they ask for it, and we meet their expectations, that's the key. Because we're serving the audience and giving them what they want.

For example, five years ago we made Incredibles 2, and last night we announced Incredibles 3, which is very exciting because I personally love this series very much. Fans have been looking forward to Incredibles 2 for a long time, and finally we worked with director Brad Bird to make this movie and meet the audience's expectations. So whether it's a live-action remake like The Lion King or a sequel like Inside Out 2, these works have a built-in fan base and people love these works.

Many of those fans are now parents who are able to share these works with their children, and it’s become a cross-generational enjoyment. The Toy Story franchise is one such example. We’re very excited about the live-action remake of Snow White, one of our oldest films, which is now being brought to life in live-action form – I’m very excited for everyone to see more of it.

So there were a lot of opportunities to meet people's expectations. I thought it was amazing to see Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan on stage last night. Who would have thought that this movie, Freaky Friday, which is so beloved, would have developed into this huge nostalgia boom for the movie; it was really beautiful to see them get a standing ovation and a response from the audience. In the segments we've done, whenever they're interviewed, they're always asked when they're going to make a sequel. So now we're making a sequel, and that's what people are asking for.

Q: With the rise of local content and digital transformation changing consumer behaviors and preferences, how can Disney continue to engage and resonate with fans and consumers? How can you reach them effectively?

An Zhixiao:Obviously, local content is important. We do have that business, and it's a big part of our growth in many parts of the world. But I think it ultimately comes back to the quality of the creative itself, and that's something we're very proud of as a company. Our CEO talks about it a lot, and I think that's what makes Disney special.

If you look at this year, especially the slate we've got coming out in the summer, from Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes to Inside Out 2 to Deadpool and Wolverine, there are so many more great movies coming out, we're making quality movies that are resonating with people. You're right, different regions do have different needs. Usually when we're promoting these titles, we work with the local teams, and there might be a particular character or a particular story theme that resonates more. Through the marketing team, we do creative testing, focus on certain aspects, and collect feedback. In the age of digital and social media, you can actually get a lot of feedback and insights from people about the market, the graphics, the trailers, and so on. So we work very hard to customize our promotional approach in each country in a way that feels authentic and relevant to the fans.