Euro Disney launched in Paris in 1992 and made several major marketing mistakes. It transplanted an American style park to Europe without properly researching European tastes in food, drinking, vacations, and prices. It also lacked partnerships and had staffing issues. The biggest mistakes were naming the park "Euro Disney" which Europeans associated with business, and assuming an American style would directly translate to Europe. The park had to be "Europeanized" to better fit local culture.

1. CASE STUDY:
DISNEYLAND RESORT
PARIS
Describe the launch of Euro
Disney, the marketing strategy
and the biggest mistakes made.

2. AGENDA
• Intro
• Marketing mistakes & solutions taken
– Name
– Transplant an American-style park to Europe
– Missing consumers` tastes and habits marketing research
• Food and Drinks
• Vacations & Length of stay
• Price
• Internal marketing
– Staffing/ labour problems
– Lack of partnerships with travel agents or investing
businesses
• Relationship marketing with Government, press and
other stakeholders
• Conclusion

3. 1992 INITIAL EURO DISNEY´S
SITUATION
• Euro Disney in Paris, France
• Strategy: Transplant an American-style
park to Europe
• 2 choices: Barcelona vs. Paris
• American management system
• „It had always worked in the past“
• French indignation:‘cultural imperialism’

4. Marketing mistakes & solutions
taken
• Name: Euro Disney
• Concept: „Euro“
– As Americans, the word “Euro” is believed to mean glamorous or exciting BUT
– For Europeans it turned out to be a term they associated with business, currency, and commerce
• Solution: name changed to Disneyland Paris in
1994
• Concept: Paris
– Makes the park more French
– More romanticism because of the essence of the city

5. • Transplant an American-style park to Europe
– ‘cultural imperialism’
– The park did not fit into the local culture
– Self-reference criterion (SRC) & Ethnocentrism
• SRC: unconscious reference to one’s own cultural values, experiences, and knowledge
as a basis for decisions.
• Ethnocentrism: the notion that one’s own culture or company knows best how to do
things.
– Cross-cultural differences
• Solution:
– incorporate more aspects of the European culture and less than that of the
American culture
– Signs became multilingual
– food was changed to reflect the tastes of Europeans
– cast members were trained to be more cordial with the French culture.
– Disneyland Paris was “Europeanized” in response to the criticism generated by
the guests of the resort

6. Missing consumers` tastes and
habits marketing research
1. Food and Drinks
• Breakfast: not breakfast service in the hotels:
„We were told that the Europeans don´t take breakfast“
• No alcohol policy: European custom of enjoying leisurely meals at
particular hours, complete with wine and beer
2. Vacations & Length of stay
• Monday „light day“ and Friday „heavy day“  the other way round
• Europeans didn´t stay at the park as long as Disney expected:
– America: average 4-5 nights
– Europe: average 1-3 days  just a stop in the holidays
• Attendance highly seasonal:
• summer long vacations
• winter low attendance

7. 3. Price: too expensive for Europeans
• Initial price of 30% more than California
• Europe´s lower disposable income per capita
• Ongoing recession in Europe (1992)
• Culturally conservative vacation and spending
habits
• For British tourists it was cheaper for them to
go to Florida because of the exchange rate

8. • Internal marketing
– Staffing/ labour problems:
• 9 weeks after opening 10% employees left.
• Reasons american team work model didn´work in France
• Dress policy violated French labour laws
– Lack of partnerships with travel agents or investing
businesses (hotel chains…)
• Fundamental piece to enhance the marketing strategy
• It would have allowed Disney to increase the reach of
promotional strategy

9. • Relationship marketing with Government,
press and other stakeholders
– French Government claim about american
style
– Media  bad image because of quotes like:
“We’re building something immortal, like the
pharaohs built the Sphinx.”
• Missing communication plan to give a
good image

10. CONCLUSION
• Solution: Europeanization of the park
• Initial situation: lack of market research
– Too much American Style
• Euro Disney marketing strategy should
have focused on the emotional aspects: a
unique, extraordinary family experience
guests would never forget, instead of
american bigness and extravagance.