The Euro Disney Land : Not ‘Hello’ Say ‘Bonjour!’
Disneyland is fantastic world to not only children but also adults. Walt Disney Company succeeds in the film industry, so it makes the Disneyland, which is a fantastical theme park in 1955. The Disneyland in LA gained a complete success. The Walt Disney wanted to make Disneyland in Europe to draw the European people. However, unexpectedly, the Disneyland in Europe failed. They have few mistakes.
There are many things to do global marketing. Though they have great products or service, they do not concern about the culture in targeting country, it is no use to attract consumers. The Disneyland in Europe is the best example.
- Geographical Location
Euro Disneyland is near the Paris, the weather of Paris is not appropriate with the theme park. In summer, there is too dry and in winter, there is too humid because of raining. Moreover, French usually go on vacation in Mediterranean, they do not go northern part of Europe.
- Economical Problem
At that time, Europe was in an economic recession, so many people did not spend much money on their vacation. A high exchange rate for dollar and the gasoline price of Europe which is higher than the price of America was a reason why the European did not visit the Disneyland. Moreover, the price of the Disneyland was highly appropriated for their employees, so many people did not only come their theme park but also buy the products in Disneyland.
- Ignore the culture of the Europe
The European especially French spend a lot of time to leisure activities, so they can enjoy their life without going theme park. In this reason, many theme parks in France did not succeed before. French usually drink wine in lunch and dinner, but the Disneyland did not allow the alcohol. They did not eat in theme park. Even they demand using English not French, which is their native language, so they could not communicate well.
- Many Rivals
When the Disneyland opened, there are many things to attractive people in Europe. In 1992 The Olympic Games and International exposition, which is called EXPO, are held in Spain. Moreover, many other theme parks opened or refurbished. It made the attraction of people dispersal.
Global Marketing is difficult, because there are many things to consider such as the culture of targeting country, the relationship between countries and so on. The Euro Disneyland is really good example to show the mistake in global marketing, but few years after, the Disney accept these opinion, so they can be a great theme park in Europe.
Reference
Robert F. Hartley, (2004), Marketing Mistakes and Successes EINandCompany
Loyola Digital Advertising [로욜라 디지털 광고] 
yeah, I agree with you. Global marketing is difficult. It is very neccessary to understand the local culture, the customs of a country before the designer start with an advertising.
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Agree with you on the difficulty of Global Marketing. It is interesting to see that they were not able to figure out the cultural differences before failing at their global marketing attempt.
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It’s amazing how a company such as Disney, who has endless resources, can fail at Global Marketing. Obvious issues like the disagreeing weather of Paris should have been researched beforehand, a major reason why Disneyland and Disneyworld are successful is because they are both in areas with appropriate weather.
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I think that the issue with the Parisian Disneyland is just the fact that it’s located in Paris. When I imagine Paris, Disney is not at all a part of my mental picture. Paris is already such a cultural landmark that Disney feels out of place.
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I think the fact that Disney failed at global marketing goes to show that their images and stories are not as universal as they would like viewers to think. For example, their Epcot Park in Florida claims to offer cultural experiences from around the world, but all of them are very Americanized. If Disney really understood international culture, they may have had more luck planning a European Disney World.
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I think that you have excellently critiqued Disneyland in Europe. As with many companies, global marketing is a challenge and requires a strong understanding about other cultures. Take McDonald’s for example. In Germany, McDonalds in much healthier and has adjusted their menu in order to better suit the dietary wants of German people. For example, they have a number of healthier options available to consumers and use fresher ingredients. I feel as though Disney could be potentially successful if they do more research of the European culture. Moving forward, Disney can better profit from their European location by tailoring their consumer goods to better suit the needs and wants of European consumers.
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