Disney+ Marketing Chief Details Their ‘Unprecedented’ Marketing Campaign to Show App is Not Just For Kids

“There will be an unprecedented campaign on this,” according to Disney+ Marketing Chief Joe Earley. At the Promax Conference in LA, the former Fox executive outlined how the company plans to promote the streaming service when it launches on November 12th for $6.99 a month. “The Disney name is so powerful, and all of content is PG-13, TV-14 or below, there’s nothing M, nothing R. A lot of people will assume this is for parents with kids.

Earley, who was a publicist on The Simpsons at the beginning of his career, felt that including the entire catalog of The Simpsons was important for “consumers know this isn’t an app for kids.” And their launch campaign will try to highlight that. “Things like The Simpsons, and things like The Mandalorian…we will see featured in our campaigns because it’s a clear signifier to consumers that this not that type of app.”

To no one’s surprise, Earley says that the company “will be buying network television to market it.” And those campaigns will focus on both Disney+, but also the content on the service itself. “Originals are a very important as differentiator in the marketplace,” exclaimed Earley. “The fact that CBS All Access put Star Trek on that platform signaled to the world, this matters.”

During its first year Disney+ will include 25 new original series, 10+ movies, 7,500 past episodes, 100 recent movies, and 400 library titles including the entire Disney Vault. The company announced 6 original shows and movies that will be available at launch, including the $100 million 10-episode Star Wars spin-off, “The Mandalorian” which was directed by Jon Favreau.

“Our launch campaign has a brand layer, and then we have individual types of things as well.” When discussing individual campaigns, Earley made it clear that the upcoming Star Wars series, The Mandalorian, is one of the tent-pole pieces of their advertising. “The Mandalorian will have an enormous campaign. High School Musical: The Musical: The Series will have a really broadcast level one campaign.” He also indicated that Noelle, the Christmas film starring Anna Kendrick will have its own campaign as well.

Unlike the bigger brand promotions that will feature Disney+ Originals, Earley says that performance marketing will focus on the catalog. One major focus will be Star Wars, which will have all of their films in the same place for the first time at launch. Following the launch period, Disney+ will promote more opportunistically, like the fact that all Disney princess movies will be available in one place.

But, according to Earley, unlike traditional broadcast TV, the marketing doesn’t stop once the service launches. “We just keep our hand up…we just need support post-launch, to keep growing.” And despite the challenges of being a startup inside a big company, Earley couldn’t be more excited. “We have an amazing, amazing team. And it’s beautiful. You saw, it’s another signal it’s not (just) a kids app. It’s a very elegant design.”

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