Author Archives: Derek Hoffman

Derek Hoffman

Derek Hoffman is the creator of DisneyMBA.com, a blog dedicated to the business lessons that can be learned from a trip to Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Derek writes business-themed posts for The Disney Driven Life.

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Contributed by Derek Hoffman (NDD #243) @TheDisneyMBA

How To Be A Socialite (Part 1)

by Derek Hoffman | @TheDisneyMBA | Published: Wednesday, April 4, 2012

As I was browsing the news this morning, I saw that the Disney Store is celebrating its 25th anniversary today (I’m writing this on March 28th). In the retail world, that’s quite a milestone!

While the Disney Store employs many business practices that I admire, there’s one thing in particular that really makes them stand out from other retail establishments – how social they are.

While the cast members in the actual stores are quite social, that’s not exactly what I was referring to. I’m talking about the Disney Store’s presence on social media; specifically Facebook and Twitter. Let me illustrate:

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Posted in Business, Career, Disney Company, Events, Shopping | Tagged Disney Store, Facebook, social media, Twitter
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Walt Disney: A Self-Made Success?

by Derek Hoffman | @TheDisneyMBA | Published: Monday, March 26, 2012

Source: The Walt Disney Family Museum

Many people say Walt Disney epitomizes the American Dream because he was born into a family of modest means, found a calling in life that he passionately pursued, and created an empire the revolutionized an industry.

There’s no denying the fact that he enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in his life, but do you feel as if he was a “self-made” success?

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Posted in Business, Career, Marriage, Relationships | Tagged Lillian Disney, Walt Disney
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The Breadth of Disney’s Business

by Derek Hoffman | @TheDisneyMBA | Published: Monday, March 19, 2012

Usually once a week, my daughter and I go for a train ride at a nearby shopping mall. It’s our hometown version of the Walt Disney World Railroad (or the Disneyland Railroad). It’s definitely not a substitute, but it helps us satisfy our train fix between Disney vacations.

After we take a couple of laps on the train, we usually trek through the mall so we can get a little exercise and see if there’s anything interesting in the stores. With over 2 million square feet in that mall, that’s a very tall order!

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Posted in Business, Career, Disney Company, Shopping | Tagged Disney digital books, Disney Mobile Magic, ESPN, John Carter, The Disney Store
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Ideas that Stick

by Derek Hoffman | @TheDisneyMBA | Published: Monday, February 27, 2012

Photo Credit: Derek Hoffman (@TheDisneyMBA)

I recently downloaded an audiobook on iTunes titled “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Not only is the message fascinating, but the narrator reminds me of “The Most Interesting Man in the World” character from those Dos Equis commercials.

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Posted in Business, Career, Disney Channel | Tagged "Jake and the Never Lane Pirates" "Peter Pan", Advertising, Disney Junior
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The Good Ad

by Derek Hoffman | @TheDisneyMBA | Published: Monday, February 13, 2012

Even though I’m a Disney fanatic, I can objectively say that The Walt Disney Company consistently develops some of the best advertising campaigns on television. From a technical standpoint, they could be used by any college-level marketing class as a road map for success in the industry.

While the ads they use across all business units (e.g. movies, consumer products, etc.) are tremendously effective, I think some of the best Disney commercials are the ones that promote their vacation destinations (e.g. the Walt Disney World Resort, the Disneyland Resort, the Disney Cruise Line, etc.). In those commercials, they understand how to create an emotional trigger without having a corny sales pitch.

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Posted in Business, Career, Vacation | Tagged Disney, Disneyland, OneRepublic, The Good LIfe, Walt Disney World
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Career Advice from a Rabbit

by Derek Hoffman | @TheDisneyMBA | Published: Monday, January 30, 2012

I can’t believe it’s almost been 25 years since the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit was released. It was funny, it was edgy, and some people would argue that it spurred a renewed interest in animated films.

Despite all of the accolades, there’s one legacy from that film that really interests me: “Bump the Lamp.”

You may recall a one-minute scene in the film where the characters Eddie Valiant and Roger Rabbit struggle to break free from the handcuffs that were keeping them attached at the wrists. As they struggled to saw off the handcuffs, an overhead lamp keeps getting bumped by the characters’ heads. No big deal, right?

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Posted in Business, Career | Tagged Bump the Lamp, Who Framed Roger Rabbit
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