DUFFY IN JAPANInternational

Consumer Management

January 2011

Group Malasada

08BN069P – Eriko Sugimoto

08BN092M – Tomoko Nawata

09BN948Y – Robyn Taniguchi

09MB903S – Amy Vo-Van

09UA907M – Binh Nghiem

WH

AT IS

DU

FFY

?

Duffy the Disney Bear is the first Disney character to not have originated from a show

Until late 2010, Duffy could only be bought from DisneySea, Tokyo

Available merchandise include clothing for Duffy, keitai accessories and live shows

ORIGINS OF DUFFY Created as a marketing tool to help launch a

new toy store, Once Upon a Toy, at Walt Disney World (Florida, USA) in 2002

Originally called the Disney Bear and was characterised by: The Mickey Mouse shape on his face, feet

and backside Came in brown, black, white, pink,

purple, blue, gray, and teal Came with a small paper storybook that

explained his story Good quality and roughly the same size

as a Build-a-Bear Workshop soft toy (16 inches)

Eventually released in other stores in Walt Disney World, and later in California Disneyland

Latest version of Disney Bear

PROBLEMS WITH THE DISNEY BEAR Was not a successful product in the USA

Did not have a proper name Disney tried again with various updates

to the design which included: Additional colours (e.g. pastel pink) Themed bears (e.g. Princess and seasonal

versions) Changes in size (e.g. 12 inches tall) Used as promotional items (e.g. "gift with purchase“).   Sold outside of the Disney Parks at the now closed World of

Disney NYC, New York Quality and price lowered, but the design remained similar

Still unsuccessful and Disney eventually sent the remainders to Disney outlet stores

Recently, Disney changed the design (12-13 inches) and restarted selling the Disney Bear at the parks and online

DUFFY IN JAPAN: 2004 The Disney Bear debuted

exclusively at Tokyo DisneySea in the Christmas of 2004 at the decision of the Oriental Land Company (OLC), the operator and owner of Tokyo Disney Resort

There was no change to his story or name and there was only one option for colour - tan/crème OLC opted not to release

any of the other colors because they wanted a more natural-looking bear.  

Features were changed to match Japanese taste (e.g. softer material)

Original Disney Bear vs. Duffy

DUFFY IN JAPAN: 2005

It was a slow start and throughout 2005 there were sporadic releases of the Disney Bear with different costume accessories

By winter 2005, the Disney Bear had been turned into a full-fledged meet-and-greet character at DisneySea

DUFFY IN JAPAN: 2006 To improve sales, the Disney Bear

got a new name and backstory, and was relaunched to coincide with the 5th Anniversary of DisneySea He was named Duffy because

Mickey carried him in his duffel bag and his backstory was tailored to fit in with DisneySea’s American Waterfront

An entire line of changeable costumes and accessories were created for Duffy

The small accessories proved popular and a phenomenon was born

Eventually, an entire collection of Duffy merchandise made its way onto DisneySea store shelves including candies, charms, and handbags

Duffy even got his own website, the official Duffy Merchandise Page

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In 2007, he got more costumes (e.g. sweater set, pirate outfit, and his first Halloween costume)  

2008, for Tokyo Disneyland's 25th anniversary there was an explosion Each month there was a new costume released

based on a Disney Character (e.g. The Mad Hatter); this was in addition to Halloween and Christmas outfits

Fans bought the bear and his costumes and started to carry him around the Parks

His popularity meets - and some might even argue - exceeds that of Mickey Mouse

DUFFY IN JAPAN: 2008

DUFFY IN JAPAN: 2009-2010 Sales of Duffy in 2009 were three

times that of 2008 March 2009 – OLC’s revenue from

Theme Park Merchandise increased by ¥16 billion (US$191 million) Could be due to Duffy mania

January 2010, Shellie-May debuted as Duffy's friend Shellie-May's introduction included

her own line of clothing and accessories

Simultaneously, Walt Disney World also attempted to create a friend for the Disney Bear but halted development after Shellie-May’s debut

March 2010, Duffy got his own show at DisneySea called “My Friend Duffy” which centers on the character and his backstory

Shellie-May

WHY DID DUFFY SUCCEED IN JAPAN?

Limited and seasonal sales Many people go to DisneySea just to buy Duffy,

Shellie-May or their seasonal costumes/accessories

Conformity In DisneySea, the cashiers generally do not wrap

purchased Duffys, and instead, people are expected to carry their Duffy around the Park

Which further exposes Duffy to the masses and he can now be seen throughout Tokyo

WHY DID DUFFY SUCCEED IN JAPAN? (CON’T)

Japan has the second largest toy market in the world

Falling birth rate means (grand)parents have more money to spend on fewer (grand)children

Lack of space in cities means children’s playtime is mainly confined indoors

Toys are used to compensate for the constant pressure to excel at school

WHY DID DUFFY SUCCEED IN JAPAN? (CON’T)

kawaii Culture Since the 1970s, kawaii culture has been a prominent aspect

of Japanese popular culture, entertainment, clothing, food, toys, personal appearance, behavior, and mannerisms

The ideology of kawaii culture is to be able to put aside the pressures and responsibility of adulthood and to return to a period in life where things were much simpler and has a predominately positive image despite its relationship with the media and consumerism

Therefore it is equally acceptable for a salaryman to have the same “cute” keitai strap as a schoolgirl

Queuing Culture Japanese people are

willing to wait in line which in turns gathers more people

For Duffy, many have to queue up to 9 hours to buy it

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14th October 2010Debuted at Epcot at Walt Disney World and Disney California Adventure Park

19th November 2010

Debuted at Hong Kong Disneyland to coincide with the Christmas festivities

LAUNCH TACTICS USA Meet-and-Greet / photo stations set-up and

“I just hugged Duffy the Disney Bear” stickers

Capitalised on the travel aspect of Duffy - “Where will you take him?” Bears were placed in suitcases and trunks that

have country stickers all over Six new outfits released - sailor, Canada,

Mexico, China, a baseball jersey, and a safari outfit. 

Launch included Duffy’s full line of costumes and souvenirs and sweets

12 inch “My First Disney Bear” rereleased as “My First Duffy Bear” in the classic Tokyo bear style

Epcot’s Kidcot Mask Program will change to a unique Duffy that Guests can take from country to country to colour, decorate, and receive country specific Duffy stamps Disney Hotels will feature a Duffy cartoon TV

and he will even make an appearance in the Disney Parks Christmas Day parade

LAUNCH TACTICS HONG KONG Prime photo location on Main

Street  Duffy Christmas stickers that

people had to wear Badly received since many wanted

to keep the stickers intact for scrapbooking purposes

Available in a few stores throughout the Park and DisneyLand Hotel Emporium has a small area

dedicated to the arrival of Duffy and sold pre-dressed Duffys, but failed to capitalise on the Christmas season

Originally only a limited number of Duffys would be sold (i.e. 1,000 bears)

The packaging for outfits is identical to DisneySea - stickers were applied to cover up the Tokyo references – and no Hong Kong exclusive costumes released

DIFFERENCES FROM DISNEYSEA’S DUFFY

Sold at US$25 (as oppose to 3,800 yen / US$45), consequently, the USA Duffy is of lower quality

Outfits are more kid friendly – lacking a lot of separate pieces,adornments and embroidery  

Pricing in line with Tokyo: HK$320 / US$41

The outfits are exactly the same as those from DisneySea, though tagged slightly different

USA Duffy Hong Kong Duffy

FUTURE CONCERNS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES: USA Opening Day reception of Duffy

was warmer at Hong Kong Disney than at Disney California Adventures

Will Duffy succeed or will it have the same fate as the original Disney Bear due to the American opinion that soft toys are for children only (unlike in Japan where it is marketed towards young women)

Will Americans be annoyed at the lower quality Duffys sold in the USA, while Hong Kong enjoys the same high quality as that in Tokyo? Does it mean that Disney is going

to really push this “One Disney” concept and rebrand everything with the “Disney Parks” logo 

FUTURE CONCERNS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES: JAPAN OLC aims to make Duffy a long-term representative of

DisneySea, consequently, Duffy is one of the greeters at the DisneySea entrance

With Hong Kong Duffy being the same product, will the lack of exclusivity affect sales in Japan and / or in Hong Kong, and will OLC continue to develop DisneySea-only costumes?

Originally, consumers in Japan preferred to pay high prices for premium goods and services, however, recently Japaneseconsumers are now increasingly making use of discount and online stores due to: The economic downturn Generation-Y (those in their 20s)

have very different spending practices from their predecessors

FUTURE CONCERNS AND MARKETING STRATEGIES: IN GENERAL

Increased focus on pre-dressed Duffys for special occasions like Christmas, Easter, birthdays and graduations Plans for “create your own” Duffy and new

clothes lines Tentative plans to release Duffy in Disneyland

Paris, but there are concerns on its reception So far Duffy is only available in most Disney

Parks and not online As the world becomes more globalised and

internet-based, will this affect sales, or improve them due to Duffy’s limited accessibility and branding

SOURCES http://clippingdisney.posterous.com/?tag=duffy http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/09/duffy-the-disney-bear-debuts-at-dis

ney-parks-in-october/ http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2010/11/walt-disney-world-resort-creates-%

e2%80%98cuddliest-christmas-tree%e2%80%99-for-toys-for-tots/ http://dreamcatcher.blog43.fc2.com/blog-entry-493.html   http://duffythedisneybear.blogspot.com/ http://www.facebook.com/#!/DuffytheDisneyBear http://factsanddetails.com/japan.php?itemid=742&catid=20&subcatid=136 http://fleet7.t35.com/my/my018.html http://www.jillstanek.com/population/abortion-vacati.html http://www.mouseinfo.com/Duffy_The_Disney_Bear http://news-en.hongkongdisneyland.com/Images/ImageDetail.aspx?AssetId=2ad76

494-0853-4998-8c6f-121fd27f2e64 http://www.olc.co.jp/en/ir/data.html http://www.olc.co.jp/ir/e-book/annual2010/index.html#page=21 http://poohstravels.com/2010/11/23/duffy-the-disney-bears-debut-at-hong-kong-dis

neyland/ http://www.toyokeizai.net/business/management_business/detail/AC/56c2cae0ea42

ee96b2b31ff1dd2acf1e/

http://webnews.asahi.co.jp/you/culture/2010/culture_20100518.html  

Kinsella, Sharon; “Cuties in Japan” in Women, Media and Consumption in Japan (Brian Moeran and Lise Scov eds.); Curzon & Hawaii University Press, 1995

Spar, Debora; Toys “R” Us Japan, Harvard Business School;1999