How Disney's Culture Index is Driving Authentic Storytelling and Impact

Rita Ferro President Disney Ad Sales shared the 4 P39s mindset that Disney has adopted to ensure the financial and cultural benefits of diversity and inclusion are fully realized The 4 Ps capture the power of people partners products and performance in delivering longlasting valuequotNothing matters more than ensuring our people39s voices are heard and they feel that they matterquot Ferro said adding that equipping them with the tools and resources to make them as successful as possible was crucialShe also reiterated the importance of ensuring that an advertising partner39s needs are fully understood and then activated through crossplatform and seamless campaigns that focus on simplicity transparency and flexibility In terms of Disney39s rich and versatile product portfolio Ferro emphasized not only the depth of assets across sports entertainment news and social media but underscored how new products can be created to serve multicultural consumers as well as the rich diversity of minority business owners who can benefit from Disney39s thought leadership on cultural trends and storytelling insights quotPart of our people and product strategy is our strong commitment to giving backquot she explainedThe fourth P is around performance amp8211 specifically the critical importance of measuring not only advertising performance and business results but the quothowquot of performanceAt a time when clients are sharing more performance metrics than ever before from market share purchase intent lift in brand and market resonance media partners like Disney are able to go deeper into the inclusivity and strength of the content across programming and advertisingThis is where the Disney Culture Index comes in Building on the rich data provided by the Gender Empowerment Measure GEM and Cultural Insights Impact Measure CIIM this innovative measurement tool scores quotcultural resonance in branded content and advertising based on cultural relevance business outcomes and inclusive castingquot Ferro explainedThe Gender Empowerment Measure GEM is an index measuring gender equality GEM reflects the program39s attempt to measure the extent of gender inequality across the world based on estimates of women39s relative economic income participation in highpaying positions with economic power and access to professional and parliamentary positionsThe Cultural Insights Impact Measure CIIM was created as an industry leading metric that validates the impact and effectiveness of cultural insights in ads and programming making a direct correlation between culture and business performance The higher the measure the higher the impact on brand perception ad effectiveness and purchase intent CIIM has applications across advertisers creative agencies media planning agencies and media networks and content developers Importantly for content creators CIIM has also proven that cultural relevance in programming drives audience viewership preferencesAccording to ANA President and CEO Bob Liodice brands have to make progress on DEampampI given the quotactive and dynamic environment that we39re in and the fact that consumers are demanding itquot He noted that although some progress has been made in understanding and acting on the drivers of diversity in terms of talent and content much work remains on truly achieving inclusion and belonging and overcoming unconscious biasTony Mokry CMO at Cricket Wireless shared how the brand has always had a multicultural focus in the marketplace and recently launched a campaign partnering with Black female director Ewurakua Dawson Amoah for their latest quotWinquot campaign showcasing their support for HBCUs Historically Black Colleges and Universities which have a proud history and legacy of achievementGiven the diversity of HBCUs in terms of size and academic focus and the fact they serve a range of diverse students and communities in urban rural and suburban settings any campaign needs to truly capture the passion commitment and heroism that comes with higher education in the Black community Dawson Amoah captures this brilliantly using her quotsignature artistry mesmerizing choreography and visual metaphorsquot said Mokry using the best of dance movement culture and music to create an advertising campaign that is a perfect balance between branded content and social impact messagingquotWe partner with brands not to simply have a tactical 39buy now39 message but to create longlasting stories taking into account the client39s objective and brand purpose and connecting it with experiences and brand beliefs of partners like the HBCUs to tell truly exceptional narrativesquot Ferro saidCricket Wireless also partnered with Disney39s ESPN and John Thomas Grant Jr with this year39s Cricket MEACSWAC Challenge Kickoff positioned as a historic event for HBCUs and HBCU football ESPN showcased the opening of college football in Week 0 with the North Carolina CentralAlcorn State game reflecting the core of ESPN39s storytelling mission In many ways it was an education to millions of viewers about the value and richness of HBCUs their culture and their impact on the nation through education and sportsquotDisney has been a phenomenal partnerquot Mokry declared quotIt is not just about sponsorship It is about how to authentically hit the community with the best of entertainment sport and social amp8230 and then overdeliverquotThe Cricket Wireless headquarters is in Atlanta and it shares its heritage with the origins of HBCUs which also are concentrated in the Southern US given most of these institutions were founded in the years after the American Civil War In fact Cricket39s first market was Chattanooga Tennessee in 1999 and through much of its early growth became known as a network focused on small rural marketsFor Mokry the brand narrative does not end with a vibrant and energetic 30 spot but is ignited further through activation on the ground From Cricket39s Ambassador program on HBCU campuses to partnerships with Junior Achievement Cricket gets to the heart of what systemic and lasting change looks likeIn partnership with Disney Cricket Wireless is confidently moving forward in the market achieving its brand pillars of hope optimism and resilience and creating a blueprint for future advertisers who are committed to achieving their brand purpose through storytelling that truly resonatesClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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How Disney's Culture Index is Driving Authentic Storytelling and Impact

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Raquelle Zuzarte

Breaking Barriers: Nada Bradbury’s AD-ID Strategy for Advertising Effectiveness and Women in Tech - By E.B. Moss

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Raquelle Zuzarte

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