In this interview, Duncan Wardle, Vice President at Creative Inc. – Disney Destinations LLC, spoke to Thierry Daher, CEO of Vanksen USA, about Disney Park’s brand new campaign “Give-A-Day, Get-A-Day” (see picture below). He explains why the entertainment brand opted for a viral mechanism to spread the word and how the campaign works. Enjoy the read!

1. What are your position/your responsibilities at Disney Parks?

Vice President, Creative Inc, an internal marketing agency of idea champions & innovation catalysts.

2. Do you think viral and buzz marketing is important now, compared to traditional advertising?
Brands now need to think of themselves as both content providers but also content curators. I believe successful brands will evolve very quickly from Marketing to Engagement and Co-collaboration.

3. How did you associate the Disney Brand with the message in the video? Why choosing the Muppets?

The viral video encourages consumers to actively get involved in their local community, by helping a charitable organization for a day. In return, the first million people to participate get to celebrate by getting a free ticket to one of our theme parks at the Disneyland Resort or Walt Disney World Resort for use in 2010. We chose the Muppets to help with our Give-A-Day, Get-A-Day campaign across the board because of the sense of irreverent humor and chaos that only they could bring to the campaign. My personal favorite is when Gonzo crashes headfirst into your computer screen.

4. What do you believe drives users to forward the video to their family & friends?

Based on the success of our “What Will You Celebrate” viral campaign, that we produced in collaboration with Vanksen last year, we learned that above all the campaign needs to be both fun & entertaining and allow consumers to personalize the content for their friends and family.

5. How do you engage the audience and make sure they are compelled to watch the video (tricks of the trade)?

Receiving the video from a personal friend is crucial in obtaining trust and acceptance. The fact that you can then personalize the written and verbal content really puts a smile on people’ faces. I believe that the addition of a personalized blog greeting with Kermit and Fozzie, that bloggers can embed into their own personal blogs, is going to be huge. I also believe by adding two new endings that consumers will receive each time a new friend sends them the video will really extend its life cycle.

6. How did you come up with the creative concept for the experience?

Working with Christie, Katy and Jim in our Digital Marketing team, as well as the irrepressible Michael and Thierry at Vanksen, we developed a concept around the Muppets encouraging people to volunteer. Then we turned it over to Gonzo and his amazing performing chickens to add their own unique perspective.

7. What role do you see viral marketing / social media campaigns playing in marketing in three–five years?
As consumers have an increasing ability to select the brands they choose to interact with, I believe that those brands that fully engage consumers in the decision making process and fully embrace open source collaboration will be the most successful.

8. Do viral campaigns monetize at all for Disney or is it only conceived as a PR stunt?

The “What Will You Celebrate” viral video was passed along by millions of consumers around the globe in 2009, creating enormous awareness of Disney Parks as the place to celebrate life’s special milestones. The response certainly exceeded our expectations and clearly impacted consumers’ decisions to take a Disney Parks vacation. It was a major element in our overall integrated marketing campaign.

We thank Mr Wardle for this interview.

Click here to read the interview with Duncan Wardle about the “What Will You Celebrate” campaign.