Chapter 4 The Marketing Environment


The ultimate goal of any corporation is to make as much money as they possible can. Therefore just like any other goal there must be a plan, which has to be fulfilled in order to succeed the goal. A key factor for any firm is that they must understand their external environment in order to plan so they can meet any future goals.
External marketing environment consists of social, demographic, economic, technological, political and legal, and competitive variables
Your probably wondering why it is so important to understand the external environment, and how much effect does it have on a business?
Well the importance of understanding the external environment is learning and seeing the change in the environment surrounding the business and also seeing what kind of an impact this change has on the target market. Once a firm has gathered this information they are then able to create a plan that will effectively meet the needs of their target customers. Therefore not only the corporation has met its goal to gain profit but also the consumer has gained a profit in buying something they desire.

The Walt Disney Company founded in 1922 with only two employees, has now become a leader in family entertainment. Today Disney stands as a conglomerate worldwide entertainment company. Disney proves that studying and understanding the external environment is key to being a successful company. Disney has changed so much over the years just to keep up with its target market. Just like in their mission statement they affirm:
“The Walt Disney Company is to be one of the world's leading producers and providers of entertainment and information. Using our portfolio of brands to differentiate our content, services and consumer products, we seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world.”

The last line clearly states they differentiate their products and seek to develop the most creative innovative products in the world. This shows us that Disney takes external marketing environment very serious because if they didn’t understand the many changes in the environment and how much of an impact these changes had on the target market since the 1920’s till this day and age they wouldn’t have lasted this long.

A good example of this would be that Disney has not been very successful in recent years for reaching most of their target market. So after researching the external environment Disney were able to find out most of this generation of kids (boys) are not very interested in the products or services Disney had to offer such as, the whole Disneyland fairytale genre. Instead much of this generation of kids preferred superheros such as superman batman the hulk  so instead of visiting Disneyland kids preferred to go to Universal Studios, where they have the hulk rides or superman or batman rides so in order to keep up with the completion Disney purchased Marvel Entertainment which consists of many superhero comics such as  Ironman, Thor, etc.…. Also they recently purchased Lucas film (Star
wars). Consequently Disney opened their first notable Marvel presence at the original Disneyland in Anaheim.  The acquisition of Marvel Entertainment earned Disney a 35 percent increase to quarterly profits for may 2013 which include Marvel-related merchandise that contributed to operating income of $200 million at Disney’s consumer products unit.


Managing to modify and fit the market of current times is what keeps Disney a conglomerate worldwide entertainment company. This is how Disney are able to capture the target market for every generation which explains why parents, who once loved Disney as young children, are able introduce Disney to their children who will also love Disney and this cycle repeats its self over and over again. And this is how Disney is able to execute their goals and earn much reward (profit and customer satisfaction) by using the marketing environment.

Sources 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/08/business/media/disney-profits-soar-as-most-divisions-show-strength.html?_r=0

http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/sites/default/files/reports/q1-fy13-earnings.pdf