“Our support for the well being of children and families is deeply rooted in Disney's history…”

To show community support Disney Channel created the minute long “Express Yourself PSA For Haiti”. The PSA stars 7 Disney Channel actors.

- Emily Osment

- Brenda Song

- Jason Earles

- Dylan and Cole Sprouse

- Selena Gomez

- Doc Shaw

The single focus was to make fans aware of the tragedy that was happening in Haiti and to inspire them to do anything they can to be involved in helping Haiti.

Key Messages of “Express Yourself PSA For Haiti” include:

- It’s okay to be upset.

- Use those feelings to motivate yourself to get involved and make a difference!

- Everyone can do something! “Every little action causes a chain reaction.”

- “Join The World As We Shine A Light On Haiti!”

Community relations is a mutually beneficial aspect of PR. It builds Disney’s reputation and trust in society while helping others.

Part of Disney’s mission statement reads, “Our support for the well being of children and families is deeply rooted in Disney's history…” This shows that Disney cares about positive community relations. This PSA is good PR for the company because it is shining light on a tragedy and showing the public that the company cares about the community and being a good neighbor. It is important for parents to believe the television channel their children are watching is promoting positive ideas. If parents turn on Disney, they will lose their fan base.

To improve this project, Disney should have created follow up PSAs to give fans specific ideas of how they can help and how the Disney stars themselves got involved. They could provide a link of where they could donate to Haiti relief efforts. Another idea is to create a forum for kids to post and chat about what they individually did to help Haiti.

Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. Oh My!

Social media platforms have changed the life of PR people and the future of PR.  Social media allows public relations professionals to get news to the public without having to go through any “gatekeepers.”  S.M. allows to constant, fast, endless and free communication.   Disney Channel utilizes the three largest social media sites on the web: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.   Disney Channel’s PR promotes brand-building, customer service and information sharing. 

   

I was disappointed in Disney Channel’s Twitter.  @DisneyChannelPR only tweets about upcoming episodes, which is fine, but it does not engage fans to get involved.  It is mostly one-way communication.  To improve they could pose questions to followers to invite people to tweet back to them.  This way more people are “mentioning” @DisneyChannelPR on Twitter.  To date @DisneyChannelPR has 1,231 Tweets and 35,364 Followers.  Each tweet contains a link to the Disney website.

At the time of this post, Disney Channel’s Facebook has gotten 3,838,146 likes!  That’s incredible.  Something cool that Facebook does is keep track of what people are talking about.  By simply typing “Disney channel” somewhere on the site, Facebook is able to count how many times it has been talked about.  56,326 people were posting about Disney Channel on their page or their friends pages last time I checked.  Disney Channel’s Facebook page is a little bit more interactive than their Twitter.  The page asks for opinions and includes surveys. It also has lots of pictures and videos.  The Facebook page encourages viewers to also visit the Disney site.

Disney Channel’s YouTube has hours worth of videos for fans to enjoy.  These videos range from music videos by the Jonas Brothers to PSAs about natural disasters. Fans can subscribe to the YouTube page and leave comments for the company.

 
Disney Channel’s PR team has created a great website for the company.  For everything you need to know about Disney Channel’s social media outlets you can check out disneychannelmedianet.com.  Disney Channel Medianet contains daily press releases, a program calendar, Disney Channel Facts, media contacts and upcoming events.  Something that Disney Channel Medianet includes that the company’s Twitter lacks is a form of two-way communication.  On the Disney Channel Medianet site there is a Feedback Form, which allows fans and possibly parents of fans to post questions, compliments and complaints.  Disney Channel representatives than answer posts sent to them.  Like the other social media sites, Medianet refers viewers to the Disney Channel website.

Disney Friends For Change

Like most companies, Disney is no
stranger to “going green”.  In the
summer of 2009 Disney Channel
launched the Friends for Change
(also known as Friends for Change:
Project Green) campaign.  Friends
for Change invites Disney Channel
fans to take action and learn about
the importance of helping the environment. 
Disney Channel airs public service announcements
of the Disney stars stressing environmental issues. 
Stars of the original PSAs included,
Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers,
Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato.

"Stars from Disney Channel invite you and your friends to help make the planet a better place. To reg and pledge, visit http://www.Disney.com/FriendsForChange"

Another initiative set forth by Friends for Change was giving fans the power to choose where to donate $1 million.  Disney Friends for Change Games premiered June 24, 2011 on Disney Channel, replacing Disney Channel Games.  Disney Friends for Change Games is a series of physical challenges inspired by everyday "green" acts performed by four teams of Disney Channel stars.  The teams donated to Fauna and Flora International, World Wildlife Fund, Ocean Conservancy and UNICEF.




Disney stars also recorded several songs to promote the campaign.  Proceeds were donated to various environmental groups.  Each song debuted on Radio Disney.

"Send it On"

Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez

"Make a Wave"
Demi Lovato and Joe Jonas

"We Can Change the World"
Bridgit Mendler

On Disney's part this was a stellar PR move.  Disney Friends For Change gives kids a worthwhile cause to be part of while promoting how much Disney cares about the environment.  Parents love that their kids are making an effort to help the planet (and lower electric bills.)  It is promoting a healthy and positive message.  Supportive parents allow Disney Channel to keep its huge fan base.  The campaign also moonlighted Disney stars giving them all great press, which is always a plus (especially for Miley and Demi.)  

The Walt Disney Company - Disney Friends for Change campaign won multiple Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) awards from PR News in 2011. The site states that these awards are given to companies that have "been linked to improved reputation and employee morale." It goes on to say "CSR is not just good business—it brings in business as well". Which is what good PR is all about. Friends for Change won the Environmental Stewardship award. It was also awarded honorable mention for Cause Branding and Green PR campaign.

"...I'll take my chances with the public." -- Walt Disney

 "We are not trying to entertain the critics.
I'll take my chances with the public."
-- Walt Disney

Welcome! This blog is about the public relations issues facing Disney Channel, the television division of The Walt Disney Company.



I chose this company because, like most young adults, Disney has a special place in my heart.  All of my childhood memories revolve around something Disney related.  Family vacations, learning to read, stuffed animals, movies, imaginary friends, songs...



The Disney Channel is a television programming network for children of all ages.  It's target audiense is mostly young children, but has a prime-time weekend block for the nine to 15 age group.  There is also the Disney Junior programming block for children two to five.


The characters on Disney Channel are far from what I grew up with.  However, because of Disney's relationship with the public, it has never been left behind. 
As beloved as Disney is to the public, they do face their fair share of criticism.  Disney Channel is known for creating tween idol pop stars who have brought in scandals and bad publicity.  See: Miley Cyrus, Vanessa Hudgens, Demi Lovato.

Parents want characters children can relate to and look up to.  Without the support of parents, Disney Channel is without viewers.  That is why Disney's PR people need to be working 'round the clock, maximizing good publicity and minimizing negative publicity.

 Thanks for visiting this blog and stay tuned for more about Disney Channel's public relations!