Disney is a media and entertainment American multinational company. The brand has always successfully maintained safety, quality, and security features in its entertainment area throughout the company’s history. An incident occurred in 2016 when an alligator dragged a two-year-old boy into Disney’s resort and spa. Many people started questioning the company’s security team; no warning signs about the presence of alligators. Today, we’ll discuss the Disney crisis management; the steps involved in the situation, and Disney crisis communication response relevant to the problem.
Incident at Disney’s Resort
A two-year-old boy was playing in Disney’s Grand Forbidden Resort and Spa when an alligator came out of the water and dragged the boy onto the beach. The company conducted a massive search operation to recover the boy’s body, and they did recover it. During the search operation, the team ki.ll.ed five alligators found in the water near the resort.
The whole tragic incident attracted the media’s attention significantly; they scrutinized various elements of the company’s flaws. For instance, the media company has not posted warning signs about swimming and the presence of alligators on the beach. Many questioned whether the company was aware of the presence of alligators, and how they managed to cross the safety barriers without being noticed by the safety and security team.
Disney Crisis Managmeent
Let’s discuss some of the main elements of Disney crisis management and Disney crisis communication response throughout the incident; they’re as follows;
Compassionate Response
Disney managed to deal with the whole tragic incident compassionately. The president, chairman (Bob Iger), and CEO (Georg A. Kalogridis) of the Walt Disney Company sent their heartful sympathies and condolences to the victim Grave’s family. In fact, two top executives of the media company Disney issued their sincere apologies to the father, grandfather, and the entire family by relating to the tragic incident and acknowledging the fact of how they felt. The company posted the alligator warning signs; temporarily shut down the beach resort, and sent a strong crisis management response.
Previous Incidents & Luck
Before this incident, there were many sightings of allegators; rumors, and stories that many visitors encountered alligators wandering at the Disney’s resort. The reason the tragic incident had never happened before, was just the pure luck and hard luck of the company that had saved many visitors and tourists. Before the tragic incident, many people criticized the company for not having taken any type of serious steps to avoid potential incidents.
Brand Impact
Many people were questioning the fact that how much damage it would have done to the multinational media brand Disney. The answer is very little; it is because the company has a successful track record of earning the trust and confidence of customers for decades. It led the media brand to survive the tragic incident and grow stronger. However, the reason the company received a lot of criticism is due to the fact that the news is slower during the summer. As a result, it received a lot of coverage, because there was no other worth telling to share for the media channel. The compassionate and proactive sympathetic crisis management response of the company helped the company to deal with the situation effectively.
Explanation Needed
There were some questions that were left unanswered and Disney has responded to that and they’re as follows;
- Why there were no warning signs and posters for the presence of posters
- Not sufficiently ensuring visitors about the safety precautions that the company has taken
Disney is the world’s leading media and entertainment brand that has earned the trust and confidence of customers. The company has safely and effectively responded to the crisis situation and came out strong. In fact, millions of people still visit the parks and resorts of Disney and have fun with their friends and family members.
No Activity on Social Media
The communication and crisis management team of Disney taking various steps to ensure the safety of individual visitors in its resorts. The company hasn’t mentioned anything about sympathy, apology, or public awareness messages on any of the company’s social media channels. Social media channels are great for sharing news and connecting with customers; sharing their side of the story. In fact, the company remained completely silent throughout the whole incident about sharing anything.
It is because people were very sensitive to the story and actively followed the updates on the story. Any type of communication mistake would have caused heavy lawsuits; negative and hateful comments and reviews from users across the world.
Conclusion: Disney Global Crisis Management | Strategic Crisis Management | Disney Crisis Communication Plan
After an in-depth study of the Disney crisis management; we have realized that Disney is the world’s leading media and entertainment multinational company. If you are learning about Disney global crisis management and Disney crisis communication; then you should keep in mind the abovementioned elements about the company’s response.
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