Disney’s CEO on importance of social media engagement now
It is really worth setting aside a short amount of time to watch this fascinating FT interview with Bob Iger, CEO of Disney.
Iger succinctly explains his views to FT editor, Lionel Barber, about the importance of organisations embracing social media to remain relevant to their audiences.
He underlines the fact that companies cannot expect audiences to come to their web sites any more and says that you ‘have to fish where the fish are’. He says a critical reason for embracing social media is that Disney wants to remain relevant. As a brand it doesn’t want to allow itself to be relegated to the old platforms; and it wants to be there first so it learns quickest.
A great quote from Iger in this interview with Barber is when he says: ”The status quo is not a strategy.’ He emphasises the need that the world is changing and that Disney has to look at that world from the perspective of its consumers and not from the perspective of people who don’t want to embrace social media for a host of reasons.
Iger argues that social media presents a platform to learn from customers, listen to customers, communicate with customers and trade with customers.
Disney has the right mindset from the top – and that matters a lot. Iger sees social media for what it is. He is not threatened by it. He wants the business to adapt to it quickly and that is what Disney is doing.
