Proposal for the Walt Disney Company

Developed by Disney External Communications Department

Ariel M. Guerra & Krista R. Anderson

October 25, 2013

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Introduction and Background

The Disney Company has made our mark on the lives of families around the world ever since our creation in 1923. Many generations have grown up with Mickey Mouse. According to Disneys verified Facebook page there are over 14,000,000 people that have liked the page and over 614,000 people talking about Disney. (Facebook, Retrieved on October 10, 2003 from https://www.facebook.com/Disney) This brand awareness can be maintained by developing an international internship program for recent college graduates and current college students. Disney is made up of various ...subsidiaries and affiliates[and] is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive media. (Company overview Disney, Retrieved on October 14, 2013 from http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/company-overview) Each of these subsidiaries and affiliates have different fields of work where interns can be placed including: communications, business management, marketing, recreation management, and graphic design. An internship program would allow Disney to take in many interns to fill various job positions. Disneys internship program will be called Its A Small World, and we will use this internship program as a trial run for our future internship programs. The Disney Company will benefit from this internship program by gaining possible job candidates, by alleviating the workload for Walt Disney Company employees, and also by giving Disney a bigger international Audience. The purpose of this document is to assess the opportunity of developing an internship for recent college graduates and current college students. This program will be held in Disneys corporate office in Toronto, Canada. This document will provide you with a clear analysis of the

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data weve collected along with recommendations regarding how to implement this internship program.

Rationale
We collected data to show how students benefit from both internship and study abroad programs. We also collected data on how Disney could benefit from having interns. Students According to the internship office at Brigham Young Univeristy, internship programs help students gain exposure to real world problems and issues that cant be found in textbooks. (Benefits of Internships, 2011, retrieved on October 16, 2013 from http://saas.byu.edu/intern/html/Benefits2.html) Along with the benefits students can gain by being part of an internship program, we have also found research on how studying abroad can be a benefit. The Institute for the International Education of Students has conducted a survey on students who have studied abroad in 2012. The data below shows how students have been impacted by studying abroad. Survey Item Personal Development Increased self-confidence when studying abroad- 96% Increased maturity level-97% Academic commitment Enhanced interest in academic study-80% Career Development Acquired skill sets that influenced career paths-62%

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Students have found many benefits while participating in internships and going abroad. With the data stated above, we ensure that, when combining these two benefits, the Its a Small World Internship Program will appeal to the average college student. Disney Company Research shows that 85% of companies use internship programs to recruit for their full time workforce. (Career Advice, 2013 Retrieved on October 16, 2013 from http://www.cornonthejob.com/career-advice/internships/1-reasons-to-take-unpaidinternships) Doing this internship program could eliminate the costs of recruiting for our company. According to an Experimental Education survey done by the National Association of Colleges and Employers in 2009 67.7% of interns were offered full time positions, 86.6% of those job offers were accepted, and 35.3% of accepted employers were full time entry level college hires that came from their internship program. (10 Benefits of Starting an internship program, 2009, retrieved on October 17, 2013 from www.internships.com/employer/resources/setup/benefits). According to the Employers Guidebook to Developing a Successful Internship Program, internships give businesses an opportunity to have interns assist with addressing business needs in order to reduce workload. (Employers Guidebook To Developing a Successful Internship, 4) According to ere.net hiring interns from other countries where a company is also located, or where a company is looking to expand, could improve that companys ties with their customers. (How to Recruit and Hire International Interns, July 4, 2013, Retrieved on October 16, 2013 from http://www.ere.net/2013/07/04/how-to-recruit-and-hire-international-interns/) With this research, we ensure you that an internship program will benefit Disney, and with this internship program being a trial run, we can use this program to measure success. From this, we can then bring the internship program to different areas with a low Disney fan base.

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Recommendations
As members of the External Communication Department, we recommend the following to best optimize this opportunity. Promotion To better market the Its A Small World Internship Program to our target audience we recommend:

To send promoters to 50 colleges and universities around the United States

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These promoters will be Disney employees that will be handing out information packets and promotional items.

To purchase promotional items through Empire Promos

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We would get the best quality items for the best price The promotional items to be purchased include: Frisbees, pens and tumblers

Advertising In order to best reach our target audience we recommend:

To advertise the Its A Small World Internship Program through television commercials
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84.3% of 18-34 year olds believe that promotional products are either very effective or somewhat effective. (Why End buyers Choose Promotional Products and other Media, 2009, Retrieved on October 17, 2013 from http://www.promotionalproductswork.org/thefacts/Documents/Why%20End%20Buyer%20Choose%20Promotional%20Produc ts.pdf)

The advertisements will be put on the networks of NBC,CBS,ABC.

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According to Nielsen the top 3 tv networks are currently NBC with 26,943 viewers, CBS 18,830 viewers and ABC with 14,953 viewers each week. (Top Ten and Trends, October 14,2013 Retrieved October 18, 2013 from http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/top10s.html)

To advertise the Its A Small World Internship program on Facebook.

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According to social bakers, there are currently 422,520 people talking about Disney on Facebook ( Disney Facebook page statistics, 2013, Retrieved on October 17, 2013 from http://www.socialbakers.com/facebookpages/11784025953-disney) .

Given the amount of people that are currently talking about Disney we feel that using Facebook to advertise the internship program will increase media attention.

Program

We recommend that applications to be accepted at the beginning of March of 2015 for students who plan on graduating in the spring of 2015. We will also be accepting applications for current students in May of 2015.
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The applications will be sent to:

Disney World Corporate Office & Headquarters Post Office Box 10000 Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830

We recommend that the accepted interns to be placed at The Disney Company in Toronto, Canada.
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The Disney International Internship Program will be undergoing its trial period beginning with the advertising campaign in the winter of 2014. The internship will last from June 2015-August 2015.

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By developing and putting into action the Its A Small World Internship Program we will gain a bigger international audience. To do this we recommend that the Internship Program be open to American and Canadian college students. After the trial run in Canada and depending on the success rate, we will then open up the internship program to college students outside of North America. By utilizing these recommendations we believe that Disneys reputation as an international conglomerate will benefit greatly.

Budget
When developing this internship program Disney needs to ensure that the allocated money will be put to good use. With the help of this itemized budget we have provided a clear list of what our money will exactly be going to. Items 1. Promotion a. Promotional Staff i. Current employees will be given a small bonus 1. Bonus ii. Transportation (Estimated) b. Frisbees c. Pens d. Tumblers 2. Advertising a. Television Commercial b. Facebook 3. Instructors 35,000.00 350.00 50,000.00 15,000.00 565.00 5,370.00 2,119.68

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a. Current employees will be given a small bonus i. Bonus 50,000.00

4. Total

153,034.68

Our budget consists of three main expenses. The first expense is made up of promotional items such as Frisbees, pens and tumblers from Empire Promos. Each promotional item can be customized with the Disney logo and some brief contact information. Also, current Disney staff will be sent to 50 states to promote Its a Small World Internship to 50 different colleges. The internship promoters transportation will be provided through U.S Airways. Disney Promoters will then receive an additional $1000 bonus at the end of the pay year. Our second expense is the advertising used to promote the internship program. We are looking to hire National TV Spots Production to develop, produce and film our internship commercial. The final expense is the instructor cost. As we already have many well qualified employees that can help teach our interns we will be picking 25 employees to become instructors. These instructors will receive a $2000 bonus at the end of the pay year.

Conclusion
We have resolved that the development of the Its A Small World Internship Program will highly benefit the company. This internship program will benefit Disney by having possible job candidates, by gaining possible job candidates, by alleviating the workload for Walt Disney Company employees, and also by giving Disney a bigger international Audience.