Theme Parks Leverage Global Brand Franchises

https://www.usj.co.jp/e/attraction/

Harry Potter, as a brand franchise, is helping Universal Studios up its attendance in Florida and Japan (and it's doing quite well in Japan). Minions, as a brand franchise, is also giving Universal a unique draw in Japan. And guests are actually spending more per visit, even as Universal experiments with outdoor events during winter months.

Disney--traditionally the market leader--is expanding its brand franchises as competitive tools to keep attendance growing. Star Wars is a tried-and-true draw. Now Disney is also opening Avatar attractions. For an infographic illustrating the evolution of Disney's theme park/movie brand doings, see here. Interesting, Disney Tokyo is both popular and crowded, which is affecting foreign tourist attendance (not in a good way). For an unusual look at Disney and theme parks (namely, what didn't get built), see here.

More theme parks are opening year after year to satisfy international interest in exciting rides, water parks, and entertainment with branded elements. Warner Bros., for instance, is partnering to create a theme park in Abu Dhabi, featuring two brand franchises: Gotham City (Batman) and Metropolis (Superman).

In the high-stakes world of theme parks, where attractions run into the millions of dollars to design and develop, companies are competing with some of the most fascinating new rides ever. Brands are a key way to bring in fans who know and love the franchise...but the rides have to deliver if the parks are to enjoy all-important word of mouth.

What's Next for Legacy Retailing?

Stores have been closing as the full impact of consumer behavior shifts is felt by legacy retailers from coast to coast. The head of Urban Outfitters notes: "The U.S. market is oversaturated with retail space and far too much of that space is occupied by stores selling apparel."

Of course, this "over-storing of America" theme is nothing new: legacy retailing has been grappling with so many stores and so many malls for decades--literally. By one account, the number of shopping malls increased twice as fast as population growth between 1970 and 2015.

Lots of malls means lots of stores--yet with the ascendancy of online and mobile shopping, how many stores do legacy retailers really need?

The over-stored phenomenon and shifts in buyer behavior are leading to "zombie malls" and retail bankruptcies. Wet Seal is only one of many retailers to close its doors in 2017 alone. Some retailers are trying to reorganize as smaller chains. Is that how legacy retailing will survive?

Meanwhile, Walmart is buying smaller online businesses like ModCloth in a bid to attract their shoppers and broaden beyond its legacy customer base. Is that how legacy retailing will survive?

How Not to Handle a PR Crisis

Right now, if you do an online search for "United Airlines crisis," more than 1 million results pop up.

That's an indication of how serious a PR crisis United Airlines is facing after forcibly removing a passenger from one of its jets to make room for crew.

The flight from Chicago was fully booked and even offering up to $1,000 in vouchers for future flights didn't bring anyone forward to volunteer. Airline employees said they would have to randomly select passengers to leave the plane.

Three passengers reluctantly agreed when they were asked to leave their seats to make way for United crew members. One refused. And so United's employees brought in the aviation police to forcibly remove the passenger. Things did not go well.

Others on the plane began to video the encounter and post to social media. Soon the entire planet could see how this passenger was being forcibly dragged through the aisle, his face bloody and his body limp. Millions of people viewed and reposted the videos. Many news media posted the videos and their comments. Social media memes popped up in the wake of the incident.

How did United react? Well, despite its stated commitment to customer service (see top), the airline simply didn't do a good job here.

Its CEO didn't know how or when to apologize and try to make things right. At first, he talked about "re-accommodating" the passengers--and that phrase was, of course, widely ridiculed. He then blamed the passenger for being belligerent, which not only contradicted the videos but also made the customer the bad guy in this situation. Wrong.

Finally, the CEO began issuing apologies and saying that all passengers on the plane would receive refunds. By then, United's stock had dropped and even competitors were taking some jabs at the company.

Now all of this is on top of the famous #UnitedBreaksGuitars video, when a musician couldn't get United to pay for a guitar it broke. He wrote a song, did a video, and posted it online. Yes, the hashtag and video went viral. United got the message.

Once again, United Airlines is in the midst of a PR crisis.