Abstract
In this paper, we will discuss the marketing strategy used by Disneyland in order to enter the French territory. Their strategy was probably similar to the one they would have used in the United States. They felt that if the US reacted favorably, then the French would surely react the same way. However, things took an ugly turn when Disney realized that it had failed to recognize the differences in the French market compared to the other markets they had been successful in. The French have a lovable cartoon character, a theme park with this same character closer to where the Euro Disney was built. Disney's arrogance and ethnocentrism led them to believe that the competition would not be a problem. Factors such as the economic climate, transatlantic airfare wars, the Gulf War in 1991 and 09/11 attacks put a hold on vacation travel. This was coupled with the European recession. All those macro changes did not help Disneyland to reach the expected success. As far as the Disneyland resort in Paris is concerned, we realized they possessed the necessary information but could not manage to use them in the right way. We will examine the reasons for the failure of Disney and possible alternatives available for them.
