Memo

To: From: Date: Re: Disney Board of Directors and President Principals of Sloan Consulting February 12, 2013 Euro Disney

Purpose Provide recommendations to make Euro Disney into the premier vacation destination for families and their children by fulfilling the service promise of making dreams come true and spreading happiness across the globe. Recommendations focus on creating a distinct brand identity for Disney in Europe that fulfills the needs and wants of European guests. Recommendations Euro Disney should focus on the following elements of service delivery: 1. Promotion Instead of portraying Euro Disney as a purely American product, management can focus on integrating the European culture with the Disney culture by making the experience closer to the self. Potential initiatives include periodically rereleasing Disney movies for generations of European children to enjoy and including several European fairy tale characters from various European countries into the Disney cast. 2. People In addition to indoctrinating all employees in the Disney service philosophy, the Disney University education can be supplemented with extensive training in cultural awareness to improve communication between managers, cast members, and guests from different backgrounds. Euro Disney can also enhance its reputation as the most prestigious employer of young careerists to attract individuals who would be intrinsically motivated to adopt the Disney service model and co-produce with park guests. 3. Physical Evidence Phase II of the park should tap into the heartstrings of Europeans by including images of the most treasured elements of Europes rich past such as ancient Greece, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance and weaving the myths that have shaped the European cultural heritage into the stories of Disney characters. Rationale Promotion Guestology is the systematic search for the key factors that determine quality and value in the eyes of the guest.1 For any degree of success, Euro Disney must be created as Disney for the European culture, rather than Disney for American culture. The premise of Disneys decision to recreate the Western United States in Euro Disney was research surveying European tourists traveling to the United States, yet the researchers committed a sampling bias that failed to accurately capture information about European tourists traveling to Paris to vacation, which is the more relevant population. Benchmark organizations ensure that service delivery meets customer expectations and that all parts of the customer experience are considered potential areas for improvement.2 Thus, Disney should not assume that its theme park is a one-size-fits-all product.
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Ford, R. C., Heaton, C. P., and Brown, S. W. (2001), Delivering Excellent Service: Lessons from the Best Firms, CA Management Review, 44 (Fall), 39-56.

Recent research about consumer behavior posits that self-identity and self-relevant goals are inextricably linked with experiential product choice.3 Euro Disney became a symbol of America within France - a symbol of imperialism, consumerism, and arrogance. In the case of deciding to vacation at Euro Disney, fantasy feelings and facilitative feelings may not become elicited if the European sense of self is not aligned with the images and symbols of an Americanized Euro Disney. Potential guests need an emotional tug to choose Euro Disney over any other vacation option. Disney cannot fulfill its service promise of making dreams come true if it does not first instill Disney characters into childrens imagination at an early age. Re-releasing Disney movies for generations of European children every five years and heavily merchandising the Disney characters, as is common practice in the United States, would enhance the theme park experience. European fairy tale characters can also be included in the cast to celebrate the cultural diversity of European guests.

People The appearance of actors and dedication towards their role in the service performance significantly affect a customers service impression.4 Euro Disney needs to more stringently recruit and select potential employees who can convey the behavior, skill level, and commitment necessary for the audience to truly appreciate the Disney production. Once a culturally diverse group of employees has been recruited, Disney should focus on addressing the needs of employees both managers and cast members - through cultural competence education because happy employees are correlated with happy guests.5 Based on past employee demographic data, it is already known that the majority of park employees are young high school and college students. Disney can convey that a position with the company is a means for career advancement in a number of fields because acquiring exceptional customer service skills is synonymous with the Disney brand. Physical Evidence The physical environment can color the consumers perception of a service and influence service performance.6 Replicating Disneyworlds Epcot Center at Euro Disney would serve to create an experiential product -- one that combines both tangible and intangible products.7 Incorporating famous European landmarks into the Euro Disney servicescape further illustrates the notion that the park is a truly European experience, and not one limited to that of America or only France. Revamping the servicescape in Phase II would allow guests to physically visit perhaps a replica of Big Ben, Stonehenge, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa while having the experience of visiting more parts of Europe than just Paris. Adding these landmarks from across Europe speak clearly to the name of the park, Euro Disney, and offer guests the opportunity to enjoy a well-rounded European experience.

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Ford, R. C., Heaton, C. P., and Brown, S. W. (2001) Kwortnik, R. J. and Ross, W. T. (2007), The Role of Positive Emotions in Experiential Decisions, International Journal of Research in Marketing, 24 (2007), 324-335. 4 Grove, S. J., Fisk, R. P., and John, J. (2000), Service as Theater, in Handbook of Services Marketing & Management, pp. 21-36. 5 Ford, R. C., Heaton, C. P., and Brown, S. W. (2001) 6 Grove, S. J., Fisk, R. P., and John, J. (2000) 7 Kwortnik, R. J. and Ross, W. T. (2007) 2