Investor Relations blog

Investor relations blog
Annual Report
The annual report is a little over 100 pages. It has both marketing and economical aspects. It shows charts and then describes what is meant by it. There are so many components of the Disney Company that the annual report has to go through. For example there are the parks, radio stations, and also the films. I feel that the annual report is to completely update people on the inner workings of the company in a way that shareholders can understand, not just through numbers. It talks about shows and programs that the company produces; the report describes what the company has been promoting throughout the year.

Letter to the shareholder
There are several messages that the letter to the shareholders is trying to convey. Overall I think it is a positive connotation to the letter, definitely highlighting the positive innovations and products of the year. It also does talk about the challenges faced by the company, which shows that company is being real with its shareholders.
Some of these messages are the successful release of two Disney animated movies, UP and Princess and the Frog. Another message that they shared was the Chinese government gave approval for a Disney theme park in Shainghai. They highlighted the positive effects that this will have for the company to work in this country. The other big message was that Disney acquired Marvel entertainment and they said that marvels work complements their own. The company is constantly saying what sets Disney apart and saying that even in the downturn they have seen in the economy and the negatives effects on the company, they keep moving forward.
The letter also talk about the success ABC has had with new shows such as Modern Family, Flash Forward, The Middle and V. Then they go to talk about the Disney Channel. Then they talk about ESPN and the sports center iPhone app, which shows that they are up on new technology and always innovative.
They also talk about the corporate responsibility and what the company is focused on. The letter has a positive yet realistic tone. I think shareholders would feel good about the honest tone and feel comfortable with how the company is expanding even through its struggles.

Latest news release
The news release had a lot of numbers and technical language that if one is not familiar with them the reader may not understand. There were a lot of numbers and charts in the press release but Disney also has blurbs about each of them to explain it to the reader. The press release is to the point and less “fluff” as there was in the letter to the shareholder. One way that makes it easier to read is that it is divided into sections depending on what branch of the industry, for example cable networks.
I liked the quote from the CEO; the quote focuses on the future. It talks about upcoming events and talks about growth. I feel that is well written and believable. The only suggestion was maybe more of a follow up on the first quarter earnings, like why they were the way they were.
It was very straight forward and to the point. If there was a decrease in something they simply explained why. It did not discuss what was being done to address the problem which I feel would benefit the reader so they are comfortable in believing the company is fixing its decreases. I still feel over all the shareholders still have confidence but they may have a few concerns. I like a lot of what the news release did, I also like that at the end they inform the reader that Disney will in conjunction with the news release they will have a conference call and how to access the live webcast.

Walt Disney Company-Community Relations

1. What is your company doing to show community support?
The Walt Disney Company does so much to give community support. There are countless programs and events put on by the company. The main organization is called Disney helps kids shine on and in 2009; 700,000 dollars in grants were given to 34 non-profit organizations to support their work. Since 1972, Disney has honored Central Florida non-profit organizations with cash awards totaling more than $10 million. Basically what it is is Disney works with more than 100 local non-profit organizations to make dreams come true throughout Central Florida. As the New Year approaches, charities that share Disney’s commitment to building a better future for local families and children may be eligible for financial support in 2010.
· “Shine On” Prize Patrol Report: Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Florida
o “The goal of the program is to raise a generation who understands the ultimate cost of racism and prejudice and who has been exposed to examples of men and woman who have had the courage to take risks in order to protect others. Last year, more than 11,000 students participated in the Holocaust Center’s programs.”
o with a Disney’s Helping Kids Shine Grant for $20,000
· Shine On” Prize Patrol Report: Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida
o $40,000 Disney's Helping Kids Shine Grant
o “Five-point high school graduation strategy for high-risk teens, parents and high school staff work with youth to promote the importance of a high school diploma, thereby increasing graduation rates.”
· Shine On” Prize Patrol Report: Foundation for Orange County Public Schools
o “$10,000 Disney Helping Kids Shine Grant, the money went to help pay for literacy materials to support their Read2Succeed program.”
There are other events that the company sponsors, almost all which focus on the local community and on children/Families. To illustrate what the company’s focus is I will list examples of these events that company puts on.
· Disney Cast Members Help “Hope for Haiti” TelethonLocal VoluntEARS Play Supporting Role in Worldwide Broadcast
· Works with Make a wish foundation for Disney VoluntEARS Help Create a Winter Wonderland at Give Kids the World
· Disney Cast Members Collect Thousands of Toys for Local Children
· Gifts that Keep on Giving to Central Florida’s Children and Teachers
· Everyday Leftovers Put to Good Use- given to central Florida food bank

Here is the URL to the page of the website dedicated to the community relations efforts, http://www.wdwpublicaffairs.com/TopicContent.aspx?PageId=6a66f05e-1d44-4549-8d61-a9af3f807a74, there are also videos on this page that discuss the community relations of the past year.

2. Is there a single focus?
There is the main focus of children and families, as well as organizations in the Orlando area, which is the local area of the company. The following are statements from the website that explain the focus of the company.
§ Walt Disney World Co. extends a caring hand to the children of our community. Our programs and partnerships help to build better futures for our children and, ultimately, a stronger community for us all. It is the goal of Disney—Helping Kids Shine to engage children in society by creating healthy, guiding relationships with adults, providing constructive free time activities, offering character-building opportunities, and encouraging a sense of compassion for others, while helping those children who face adversity.
§ This provides funding for organizations or agency programs that focus on four specific ways of helping children: connecting with adults, constructive use of free time, character development, and compassion.

3. How does your company’s Community relations program support the mission of the company?
When I looked at the mission of the company in terms of children and families, which Is what the community relations focuses on, I found the following statements.
· Children and families are at the heart of The Walt Disney Company. They are our most important audience and are at the forefront of our imagination when we create content and products for the Disney brand. Our support for the well-being of children and families is deeply rooted in Disney's history and manifests itself in many ways throughout our businesses.
· What We Believe
· Walt Disney built his company on the idea that children and families can and should enjoy entertainment together. Since those early days, the notion of entertainment has evolved and families have changed too, but the desire for shared experiences remains. Whether at our Disney parks or on our Disney-branded television programs, movies and websites, we are focused on offering high-quality entertainment that can be enjoyed, as Walt used to say, by "kids of all ages."
· We believe that the key to Disney's success is finding ways to delight and surprise our consumers and Guests, and to do so in a contemporary and relevant way without losing sight of the core principles that guide us. These principles can be summarized as follows:
Clearly seeing the concern for children families in the corporate responsibility terms, it can be seen that the community relations uphold what is important to the company. The entertainment of company is as important as those who are being entertained by it, children and families.

4. Is this good public relations for the company- why/why not?
I feel that the community relations department and mission of the Disney Company go hand in hand and are great PR for the company. The main audience and target of the company are the main focus of the community relations program and the company is making significant differences in the lives of many children. Also the company focuses the Shine on program to the local area and helps organizations in the Orlando region of Florida. For Community relations it’s important to be a positive influence on the community in which ones company is based out of.

5. What else could the company is doing?
I honestly feel the company is doing a great job in terms of community relations. I feel it meets all the requirements of a great community relations program. The only thing I think I would change would be that people do not really know what the company is doing. Before I researched this, because of not being from the area right around the company, people are not informed of the things that company is doing.