1. Euro Disney
High hopes!
When Euro Disney first opened its doors in Paris in 1992 their target markets were families in both France and other parts of Europe. It was envisaged that the Park would be as instant a success as Disneyland had been in the United States.
However, Euro Disney made the catastrophic mistake of not taking the views of the French people into consideration when developing their marketing strategy. This in turn led to the company making massive losses in it’s first two years of business.
Major marketing mistake
The Park was marketed in the American style appeal of “bigness and extravagance”1 – like Disneyland in Florida. The marketing messages emphasised the glitz and size of the Park rather than the real attraction for their audience -the once in a lifetime, special family experience that would be remembered for many years to come. There was little mention of the amazing adventures and characters guiding visitors to what they could do and see at Euro Disney – a big pulling factor for families in France.
Not taking the views of their target audience into account resulted in the French people taking offence to the American style bigness approach of Euro Disney2. Euro Disney quickly developed in to one of the most expensive mistakes in Disney’s history. In the first 2 years since it opened, Euro Disney lost close to $1.03 billion.
Reference
1 Wentz & Crumley, 1993
2 Crumley & Fisher, 1994
2 Crumley & Fisher, 1994
2.Gateway Computers
At a time when most computer manufacturers were switching to selling their products either online or through big computer stores,Gateway Computers made a disastrous marketing decision that cost them dearly.
Gateway decided to open up a nationwide chain of computer stores. However, at these new stores customers could not walk in and buy a Gateway computer ‘off the rack’. They had to choose their preferred model from those on display, place their order and then wait a number of weeks for the computer to be delivered.
Surprisingly, this decision was made at a time when other computer manufacturers were giving their customers the option of buying their PCs online from the comfort of their own home and having it delivered directly to their door.
One of the key rules of marketing is to make it as easy as possible for your customer to buy your product.
This move by Gateway, which made it more awkward for their customers to buy their products at a time when their competitors were making it easier, has become known as one of the major marketing mistakes in the computer industry. As a result Gateway’s sales fell significantly leading to price cuts and redundancies.
Regards,
Ankita Mishra [MBA,Marketing/HR]
Manager Marketing
AeroSoft Corp
No comments:
Post a Comment