In today’s ever-evolving landscape, cultural relevance is not just a goal—it’s a necessity for brands seeking authentic and enduring consumer relationships. Data proves that influential creators, especially Black creators, play a pivotal role in shaping culture, driving consumer engagement, and influencing both brand perception and purchasing decisions.
With "The Power of Joy: Creator Summit," Disney aimed to celebrate and amplify the voices of 77 Black creators. This unique, insights-driven experience brought together these creators to explore new narratives, engage with Disney leaders, talent, and filmmakers, and forge impactful connections. By intentionally reaching out to these key voices, we cultivated an ecosystem that transcends traditional marketing, fostering genuine relationships that enhance cultural impact and engagement.
Goals included:
By pursuing these objectives, the summit enhanced Disney's cultural relevance and created a community that champions creativity and connection.
Insights-Led Approach
Three key insights shaped our strategy and approach to The Power of Joy: Creator Summit, presented by Disney:
Black Cultural Influence: Research indicates that 73% of non-Hispanic whites and 67% of Hispanics recognize African Americans as key influencers of mainstream culture. Additionally, Black consumers are 71% more likely to purchase products endorsed by influencers. Consequently, Black creators deliver up to 10.5 times more media value than their non-Black counterparts. Understanding this virtuous cycle prompted us to invest in authentic relationships with Black creators.
Community Facilitation: We embraced Dr. Marcus Collins’ assertion that “[t]he future of ‘brand’ will be communal in nature.” Brands that facilitate community engagement are poised to thrive, while those focused solely on value propositions risk falling behind. This insight guided us to develop an experience rooted in community-building to foster deeper connections.
Creator-First Mindset: We curated an experience based on the interests and expectations of creators. One thing we recognized is that creators are more driven to produce content when given access to unique and exclusive experiences that resonate with their audiences. By providing these opportunities, we empowered creators to engage their followers more effectively, leading to richer organic content creation.
Creator Selection
We intentionally engaged 77 diverse Black creators whose audiences included the Millennial, Gen Z and young family consumers that Disney seeks to connect with every day. Acknowledging the diversity within the Black community, we included creators who also identified as Asian, Latinx, White, disabled, and LGBTQIA+. This intersectional approach represented a broad spectrum of experiences and perspectives.
We poured over their published content to select creators who aligned with Disney's core passion points: experiences, entertainment, lifestyle, sci-fi, etc. This rigorous selection resulted in a network of engaged creators with a collective reach of 178+ million across all major social platforms.
Tactical Elements
The Power of Joy: Creator Summit was designed to celebrate the influence of Black creators, aligned to our commercial priorities. Tactics included:
Exclusive Previews: Offered behind-the-scenes insights and tours with filmmakers and actors, enhancing their storytelling engagement.
Themed Experiences: Organized immersive activities, such as a drawing session with a Walt Disney Animation Studios animator, to inspire creativity.
Surprises: Included unexpected gifts like Disney Cruise vacations and a trip to D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event to maintain excitement and encourage authentic sharing.
Networking Opportunities: Curated receptions connected creators with 75+ primarily Black Disney leaders, talent and filmmakers across various departments, enriching collaboration and community.
Media Strategy: We leaned into creators’ content to connect with audiences through organic social media sharing. Disney's many social handles authentically engaged with their posts, liking and commenting, while the @Disney handle reposted creators’ content to its millions of followers.
We worked across all segments of the vast Disney company to bring this to life, understanding the varied commercial priorities and aligning all teams to deliver an authentic and meaningful experience for our guests.
These unforgettable moments and lasting memories ignited a wave of joy that resonated far and wide. The creators’ authentic enthusiasm sparked thousands of organic content pieces, captivating audiences globally. The ripple effect was undeniable: with over 150 million impressions and video views, this summit generated an astounding $4.5 million in media value, firmly establishing The Power of Joy: Creator Summit as Disney’s most successful cross-company creator campaign to date.
