There are so many organizations that are so far behind when it comes to social networking and web 2.0. It also seems to me a bit that the older and bigger the company, the more grumpy dudes in gray suits sit in board rooms shooting down ideas related to modern and social marketing. I was pretty impressed to learn about Disney World’s Mom Panel, which sets them ahead of many major companies.
Part of the hang up for many higher-ups, I think, is fear of change. Another part of it is the desire to track ROI on marketing down to hard numbers, and social web campaigns don’t work like that. It’s a bit like asking to measure water cooler conversations.
Mostly, it’s a fear of surrending control of the marketing message to the online community. But guess what, people, they are already running it. You don’t think so? Search for your company name in Google and just see what you see. Mmm-hmm.
The Moms Panel is not even a year old yet, but the call for applicants alone attracted about 10,000 inquiries. Yes, Ten Thousand. So many that they created a private site, the Mickey Moms Club, just for the many moms who didn’t make the cut (they only selected a dozen for the Moms Panel). They are right now in the midst of going over the thousands of applications for the 2009 Moms Panel members.
Just think of this: the power of connecting with thousands of your enthusiastic fans, many of whom already are active online, and some of whom are bloggers and influencers. Just pause and reflect for a moment.
Yesterday, I chatted with Disney World Social Media Director Leanne Jakubowski about the Disney World Moms Panel. It was interesting to learn about how it all began, and how amazingly and wildly successful it has been in helping them find real mom Disney World evangalists. Also, I’d like to note, every major (and some minor) company should have a social media position on their roster. Just sayin’. It isn’t the 1990s anymore.
“It’s been a huge success,” Jakubowski said. This year, for example, they have upped the panel to 16 members. They were forced to do that to handle the high number of questions web site visitors asked.
When the idea first emerged, however, she said there were naysayers. In fact, even proponents were surprised at the impressive response.
“At the start, we were like shooting darts at the wall. We had no idea what the response would be. We thought if we got 100, we’d be doing good,” she recalled. Not only did they get around 10,000 applicants, but these were people who took the time to complete essays to apply. “These were very passionate people. These people were pouring out their hearts and souls.”
Their response in creating a social network just for the moms who didn’t make the cut is pretty impressive. I think many companies would have missed that catch. “We were going to tell 9,999 moms they didn’t make it. We quickly got together as a team here and worked with our internet folks and an outside consultant. We reached out to the moms and we formed the Mickey Moms Club.”
Kudos to Disney World for getting it! And if you have any questions about visiting Disney World, ask the Moms Panel.
I’m also thinking about going to Disney World in December to write about spending the holidays there. What do you think? It is an insanely busy time of year for a mom, but I keep thinking about the cool events happening there that I wrote about here. The kids would certainly enjoy checking those out, and it seems like I’d get loads of travel writing material. I was even thinking it could be fun to live blog and live microblog the Disney World trip, post twitpics, post qik videos, generally do something like Apryl did at Type-A Mom last weekend while on a press trip in Destin.
So do you think I should go? I would probably do it early December so readers/followers would have time to plan their own trip, too. Would you follow live blogging about it? I’d love your feedback while I mull the idea over.
Photo of the 2008 Disneyworld Moms Panel, courtesy of Disney World.
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Kelby Carr
Kelby Carr is the founder and publisher of Type-A Parent. She also is the organizer of the Type-A Parent Conference. She is the author of the soon-to-be-published Pinterest For Dummies, Portable Edition. You can follow her on Twitter at @typeamom and circle her on Google+.
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10 Responses to Disney World 2.0 with the Moms Panel
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Absolutely, I’d follow a live Tweet report from
Lanora Muellers last blog post..Links for 2008-10-08 [Digg]
oops… WDW!
And the holidays can be a great time to visit if you plan your days well. If you can go early in December, however, you will see all the holiday trimmings without so many people.
Lanora Muellers last blog post..Links for 2008-10-08 [Digg]
Thanks Lanora… I was thinking the same thing about WDW myself. Do it early December, and it won’t be as crowded but will still have all the atmosphere. Plus, what a cool chance to load up on some cool Christmas gifts for the kids! I also thought anyone who could do/plans to visit DisneyWorld around Christmas would have time to hear about everything going on before they go.
well, I’m already down here, but I’d love to meet up with you and perhaps show you around. I might also be able to help with some discounts. I’m also in the middle of a Suite series on the value resorts, if you care to check that out.
I love WDW during the holidays! I already have planned to see Neil Patrick Harris do the Epcot Candlelight Processional in early Dec.
Generally the two weeks after Thanksgiving weekend are pretty slow for the holidays, so it’s the best time to come and see everything. We even get chilly enough at night to wear a jacket and drink hot cocoa.
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I happen to LOVE Disney. Living in Florida, I get to travel and enjoy Walt Disney World at special rates, making it a fun yet affordable destination.
I do like that Disney is using the power of social media, as many companies are sorely behind the times there. I believe Disney has tried to be progressive about technology in different ways, and this is yet another way they’re doing it.
Keep writing about the Mom’s Panel, I’m quite interested to see where this goes!!!
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Wow, I love Disney world, I am super jealous of you! I wish I was there right now, your a lucky duck. The type a mom conference is very cool, I like.
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