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c04-case.tex
V2 - 11/07/2016
6:48pm
Page 1
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GLOBAL CULTURAL
ENVIRONMENT AND BUYING
BEHAVIOR
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SHORT CASES
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C
ASE 4-1
MICKEY MOUSE EDUCATING CHINA’S CHILDREN
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Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters have a new job in
China: teaching Chinese children to speak English. Disney had
licensed its animation characters to other English-language
programs for the past 25 years. However, it decided to set
up its own schools when it noticed a surging demand for
English-language education in China. Disney’s focus groups
found that education means everything for Chinese parents;
English, in particular, is seen as a ticket to a good career.
McKinsey estimates that China’s foreign-language business is
worth around $2.4 billion annually. The market for children’s
English-language education in China is estimated to grow by
12–20 percent annually.
Disney opened its first school in Shanghai in October 2008;
as of May 2011, there were 11 Disney English learning centers
in China. Disney aims to teach English to 150,000 children in
China by 2015.
Disney already sells merchandise in shops around China
and has also produced two movies in the country. The company’s next theme park is scheduled to open in Shanghai
by 2016. Still, Disney has been unable to set up a television
channel or distribute its full portfolio of movies in China due
to the country’s strict limits on foreign media.
The schools are open to children aged 1 to 11 and use
a curriculum featuring Disney characters. Tuition is $2,200
a year for 2 hours of class per week. Each classroom
has a local teacher and an expatriate teacher. The teaching
materials—consisting of more than 300 Disney-themed songs
and 60 books must be approved by China’s censors.
Disney executives say that if their efforts in China prove
to be successful, the company may roll out English schools in
other countries. They stress that the goal is authentic English
learning, not a marketing push. Andy Mooney, chairman of
Disney Consumer Products Worldwide, states: “We never saw
this as an effort to teach the Disney brand. … We set out
to teach Chinese kids English.” Whether the program will
become a profit pillar for Disney is unclear. English First SV,
a Sweden-based company with the largest network of children’s schools in China sees its program as a loss leader for
its adult schools and overseas study programs.
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Sources: “Chinese Learn English the Disney Way,” http://online.wsj
.com/article/SB124017964526732863.html; “Disney to Expand Language Schools in China,” http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4d6cfd1a
-8932-11df-8ecd-00144feab49a.html#axzz1mE8KvJP7; “Middle Kingdom Meets Magic Kingdom,” http://www.economist.com/node
/16889262.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why did Disney decide to set up a chain of Disney English
schools in China? What were the company’s key motivations?
2. Do you think Disney’s goal of 150,000 students by 2015 is
realistic? Why or why not?
3. What do you envision as some of the hurdles that Disney
could run into with this new program?
4. Right now, Disney aims to reach 150,000 children by 2015.
Should Disney think bigger and go beyond the 150,000 kids?
How could the program be stretched further?
5. Do you think Disney should transplant the program to
other countries? What criteria would you use to determine in
which countries to launch the program?
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