Disney and the

Refugees
Sean Nasi
Why Refugees? (2)
Refugees have suffered oppression and live in fear under
oppressive authorities
Many refugees, even after rescue, still find themselves in
dangerous and economically deprived parts of the world
Dangers of refugee camps include:
Increased risk of disease
Child soldier recruitment
Terrorist recruitment
Physical and sexual violence
Aiding refugees would align with many of Disneys CSR goals
Disneys Goals (1)
Some of Disneys goals for community engagement and
corporate social responsibility are:
Make a positive change in the community and encourage
happiness for children and families
Partner with various organizations to support creativity and
imagination
Make a lasting impact on the environment
Promote healthy familial bonds and inspire kids to spend more
time outside
Sponsor volunteers to make a difference in communities
Use a wide range of assets and influence to assist those in need
Use the power of entertainment to endorse a positive change in
the world
UNHCR (2)
UNHCR is a program set up by the United Nations in 1950 designed to
protect refugees and resolve refugee problems around the world
Some of their services include:
Advocating for refugee rights
Assisting displaced refugees in acquiring necessary resources for survival
Working with national governments in acquiring protection for refugees who
risk their lives and safety fleeing persecution
Responding quickly and effectively to emergency situations in order to save
lives
Helping ensure the preservation of environmental resources despite the mass
consumption in order to ensure refugee survival
Secure donations through fund-raising opportunities and private and public
investors despite heavy competition from other organizations in need of
assistance
Securing food, shelter, and protection for millions of displaced refugees
UNHCR stresses that no one chooses to be a refugee and its because
of this that these refugees deserve help
A Partnership
A partnership with UNHCR could prove to be mutually
beneficial for both UNHCR and Disney
Disney could be a NGO contributor and can use its widespread
influence to increase public knowledge by airing commercials for
UNHCR
Both Disney and UNHCR are currently committed to helping
preserve the environment and the influence of both working
together could yield more results
Disney working with UNHCR would help increase public trust for
Disney, which in turn could help drive up profits, as consumers
tend to like to buy from companies who are dedicated to CSR
How Can Disney Help?
Air refugee commercials on Disney-owned channels
Donate money
Make a show or a movie about refugees
Use the power of entertainment to make refugees in camps
feel happier and safer
(2)
Commercials
The first step in helping refugees is to raise awareness that a
problem exists and stressing the severity of the situation
Disney owned channels (i.e. ABC, ESPN, Disney Channel, and
sister channels) could run short propaganda commercials
about refugees
Such commercials would be similar to the ASPCA commercials
run by other networks
A partnership with refugee organizations such as UNHCR would
help secure rights to commercials
Examples of Potential Commercials
(3) (4)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC-M4YMk2L8
Syrian Child Ali: A video like this one could be particularly
effective because it highlights an eight year old child, a particular
age group that Disney markets to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3oihW2w-jw
Refugee Clementine: This is where some form of a relationship
with UNHCR could be beneficial, as videos like this one highlight
how UNHCR has improved lives
Each video is both commercial length and effective, targets
Disneys key demographic, and appropriately inspires change
Donation
Disney owns a large number of assets, including:
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Feature Animation
Pixar Studios
Marvel Entertainment
The Muppets
Lucasfilm
ABC Television Studios
Disney Parks and Resorts
The Disney Store
Disney Interactive
Walt Disney Records
80% of ESPN
32% of Hulu
Every year, the film industry makes billions of dollars in profits from
films and television shows
Disney could donate even just 1% of their profits to support refugees
and make a huge difference in the world
Disneys Profits 2012 (5)
Income (millions) 2012 2011 Change
Segment
Operating Income
$9,964 $8,825 13%
Net Operating
Income
$5,682 $4,807 18%
Media Networks $6,619 $6,146 8%
Cable Networks $5704 $5233 9%
Broadcasting $915 $913 0%
Parks and Resorts $1,902 $1,553 22%
Studio
Entertainment
$722 $618 17%
Consumer
Products
$937 $816 15%
Disney Interactive $(216) $(308) 30%
Analyzing Disneys Profits (5)
In 2012, Disney made $5.862 billion in profits, up 18% from
2011
Most of those profits came from cable networks, namely ESPN
If each asset donated even 1% of their profits to organizations
like UNHCR, it means giving $58.62 million and still having
approximately $5.803 billion in profits left
Donating 1% of profits wouldnt financially harm unprofitable
assets such as Disney Interactive
Changing Perspectives
Even if people know about the problem, they may not know
the extent of the problem or may have biased and prejudiced
opinions
Film is a good medium to change perspectives
Supersize Me and The Cove played a large role in raising public
knowledge of the extent of the horrors of the fast food industry
and the dolphin industry
(2)
ABCs Pickle (6) (7)
ABC is currently the number four network and is desperate for
a big hit to put it back on top
Hasnt been the on top since 2004-2007 in the heydays of
Desperate Housewives, LOST, Greys Anatomy, Ugly Betty, and
Brothers and Sisters
Currently, their best shows are Modern Family, Castle, Greys
Anatomy, Once Upon a Time, and Revenge, none of which match
the ratings and total viewership of previous seasons
ABC Top Ranking Shows (6) (7)
Show Rank
Desperate
Housewives
8
Greys Anatomy 10
Lost 18
Samantha Who? 26
Private Practice 36
Brothers and
Sisters
38
Show Rank
Modern Family 16
Castle 17
Greys Anatomy 26
Once Upon a Time 35
Revenge 43
Scandal 44
The Middle 45
Last Resort 47
2007-2008 Season 20012-2013 Season
ABCs lost some momentum since the height of its recent
Success five years ago, as evident by its declining rankings
in the Nielson Ratings
The Big Project
ABC can knock two birds with one stone by ordering a series
about refugee camps
The potential for good drama is there, as refugee camps house
several dangers such as disease, child soldier recruitment,
terrorist recruitment, and physical and sexual abuse and would
see a group of characters dealing with these unfortunate
circumstances while dealing with their oppressive authorities
The show can humanize these characters and present very real
stakes in order to change perspectives about refugees
Additionally, this potential show would provide a great and
appropriate outlet to air refugee commercials and could also
donate some profits to real refugee camps
The Effects
A refugee series would be an new, fun, exciting, and original
idea
Shows such as LOST have humanized drug addicts, corrupt
cops, mobsters, con men, and fugitives and such characters
them likeable and sympathetic
This type of sympathy could be really effective if applied to
refugee victims of oppression and could really raise public
awareness and outrage towards the problem
This would be a great business venture as well as a great CSR
exposure
Whos Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? (8)
While the other ideas would have positive long-term effects, they
may not be to effective short term
Sponsoring movie nights in refugee camps could prove to be a
simple, cheap, but effective short term solution
In the 1930s, people went to the movies to forget about the
economic depression
The Three Little Pigs song Whos Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf
became a symbol of hope
Refugees in camps are scared, angry, and afraid
Disney could pull resources together to create movie nights once a
week for families in refugee camps, which would lift their spirits,
make them forget about their current situations for a couple hours,
and give them hope
If we can raise the general feeling of happiness in the refugee
camps, maybe we can raise a general feeling of safety along with it
The Reach
Locally, Disney will unite all of its employees to strive for
common goals and increase our internal communitys bond
Nationally, Disney will raise awareness for refugees and in
doing so, may help in strengthening the bond between our
communities in America
Globally, Disney will help solve problems associated with
refugees around the world and will help make a difference in
for less-fortunate families in foreign communities
Summary
Going back to Disneys goals:
We would be making a positive change in the community and encouraging
happiness for children and families
A partnership with refugee organizations, primarily UNHCR, would help us
promote creativity and imagination in other parts of the world
Sponsoring some refugee camp movie nights could help instill a general
feeling of safety and may make people feel safer venturing out into their
environment and would increase the familial bond between the entire
refugee camp
A partnership with UNHCR would also help increase environmental
preservation, another one of Disneys CSR focuses
Our commercials would be inspiring volunteers to make a difference in
communities outside of our country
Our arsenal of assets would be donating money and services according to a
sliding scale of profits, which would help others without putting a huge dent
in the profitability of each asset
An ABC television show about refugees could help give the network the hit it
needs and would inspire positive change using the power of entertainment
References
(1) Disney Citizenship. The Walt Disney Company. Web. 18 August 2013.
http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/citizenship
(2) UNHCR Website. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Web. 18 August 2013.
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home
(3) YouTube. Syrian Refugee Ali: "Whenever I Hear a Shelling, I Get Scared and Cry. The
Guardian. 26 September 2012. Web. 18 August 2013.
(4) YouTube. You Dont Choose to Be a Refugee UNHCR Cyprus Spot Clementine. UNHCR. 2
August 2012. Web. 18 August 2013.
(5) "The Walt Disney Company Report: Fourth Quarter and Full Year Earnings for Fiscal 2012."
The Walt Disney Company. The Walt Disney Company, 8 Nov 2012. Web. 18 Aug
2013. http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/sites/default/files/reports/q4-fy12-
earnings.pdf .
(6) "2006-2007 Ranking Report." ABC Media Net. ABC Television Network, 3 Jun 2007. Web. 18
Aug 2013. http://abcmedianet.com/web/dnr/dispDNR.aspx?id=060507_05
(7) Patton, Dominic. "Full 2012-2013 TV Season Series Rankings." Deadline. PMC, 23 May 2013.
Web. 18 Aug 2013. http://www.deadline.com/2013/05/tv-season-series-rankings-
2013-full-list/ .
(8) Geier, Thom and Lewis Lord. "The Rise of the Common Man." U.S. News & World Report
115.16 (1993). Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Aug 2013.