Walt Disney Co. plans to do social media marketing for its Anaheim theme parks as part of its national and regional plans.
The parks intended to use Facebook, Twitter and social media games, according to Lisa Beckett, vice president of regional marketing strategies for the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.
“We’re trying to listen to our consumers,” she said. “It’s where moms, in particular, are spending a lot of their time.”
Disney has made some big moves into social media lately. Last month, it said it was spending up to $763 million to buy Mountain View-based social media game maker Playdom Inc.
Earlier in July, Disney bought Palo Alto-based Tapulous Inc., which makes music-based iPhone games.
At the June premiere of Disney’s nighttime water show, Disney’s World of Color, winners of a Twitter contest got to see the show alongside celebrities such as Teri Hatcher and Wayne Brady.
The park also invited bloggers from Disney fan sites to the premiere along with traditional TV and newspaper journalists.
For Disney’s Summer Nightastic marketing campaign, the resort did a video campaign on Facebook that allows users to make their own commercial.
Social media “is a great medium that provides this level of interactivity and a pass-along factor, which a TV spot wouldn’t necessarily do,” Beckett said.
Much of the advertising for the parks is handled by Disney’s marketing team in Glendale.
“We do use outside agencies at times, but we have great in-house resources,” Beckett said.
DGWB on Bananas
Santa Ana-based DGWB Advertising & Communication sought to change the way people think about bananas with work for Westlake Village-based Dole Food Co.’s fruit division.
The shop picked up Dole last year with advertising for the company’s bagged salad division.
About 95% of people who buy bananas eat them early in the day, according to DGWB. So the agency started “Go Bananas After Dark” to try and get people to eat them at night, said Mike Weisman, president of the ad shop.
The campaign recently wrapped up with plans to run again in the fall and holiday season, according to Weisman.
Georgia’s Char-Broil International Inc. and Brennan’s Restaurant in New Orleans, birthplace of the Bananas Foster dessert, took part in the marketing.
The campaign included local radio spots, social media, signs in grocery stores and a media tour of morning shows featuring the head chef from Brennan’s and Dole representatives.
The radio spots offered a humorous take on grilled bananas for dinner and dessert, along with promotions and contests for Char-Broil grills and free bananas for a year.
DGWB also created a website with recipes and other uses for bananas.
The site includes Dole’s “Museum of Masterpeels,” a banana design contest where users are able to decorate bananas for prizes.
“We were very surprised at how many people liked to decorate bananas,” Weisman said.
Smith Micro Hires PR Firm
Aliso Viejo-based Smith Micro Software Inc. has brought on San Diego-based Lewis PR Inc. to handle its marketing campaigns in the U.S.
The software maker for cell phones and other mobile devices hired the firm last month to implement a public relations campaign in the U.S., along with several international projects.
Smith Micro debuted SendStuffNow last month. The software allows a sender to upload big files to Smith Micro’s servers where they can be downloaded by others, in compressed form, to any type of device.
“Increasing exposure for Smith Micro in our various sales channels is part of our planned continued expansion,” said Nisha Morris, public relations manager at Smith Micro.
Lewis also will be handling the software maker’s media relations as well as other marketing initiatives.
The public relations shop’s experience with wireless technology gave it the edge in the two-month review where it snagged the account over three other shops.
Taco Bell Web Series
Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp. aired the second episode of its quirky Web series featuring Taco Bell’s Super Delicious Ingredient Force.
The Mexican restaurant chain, part of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc., started the quirky series featuring the characters in May.
A parody of the “Super Friends” cartoon of the 1970s, Taco Bell’s team is made up of Captain Enchilada Sauce, Steak Maximus, Incredibean, Dr. Steve Value and others where it airs on Facebook and YouTube.
The series is the work of the Irvine and Chicago offices of Chicago-based DraftFCB.
The latest episode features the team getting rid of late-night munchies on a college campus with Taco Bell’s “Fourth Meal” mantra.
Taco Bell is putting a lot into its social media muscle, promising fans another episode after the chain adds another 100,000 followers on its Facebook page.
