Walt Disney has invested $1 billion in its MyMagic+ initiative to collect and analyze massive amounts of customer data from its parks and resorts. The system uses RFID wristbands and a centralized data platform to gain insights from over 100 million annual visitors. This has allowed Disney to offer personalized experiences, improve labor scheduling and resource allocation, boost sales through targeted offers, and accommodate more visitors while increasing profits. The investment in big data analytics has provided a return of over 10 times in some areas, demonstrating how data can enhance Disney's legendary customer service and "magical" experiences.

1. Big Data Meets Walt
Disney's Magical Approach

2. Mark van Rijmenam
Founder
Datafloq
Twitter: @vanrijmenam
Big Data Strategist
International Keynote Speaker
Author Think Bigger

3. Agenda
Accelerated Change
Walt Disney
The MyMagic+ initiative

4. There was 5 Exabytes of
information created between
the dawn of civilization
through 2003, but that much
information is now created
every 2 days and the
Pace is
Increasing

5. Accelerated change is the only constant

6. Well, Walt Disney took the right approach…

7. A Supreme Magical Entertainment Experience

8. Walt Elias Disney: First cartoon in 1923

9. Steamboat Willie: first appearance of
Mickey Mouse - 1928

10. 1940: Release of the movie Fantasia

11. 1955: opening of 1st Disneyland in California

12. 1971: opening Walt Disney World Florida – the
world’s most visited vacation resort:
52 million visitors annually

13. 2006: Walt Disney buys Pixar for $ 7,4 billion

14. 27 themed resorts
9 non-Disney hotels
4 theme parks
2 water parks
4 golf courses
2 miniature golf courses
1 camping resort
1 shopping mall
1 ESPN Sports complex

15. Walt Disney World Resort is BIG – 111 km2

16. 2013: Introduction of the MyMagic+ system:
a $ 1 billion Big Data system

17. MyMagic+ - A Multi-Channel, Multi-Platform
Digital Experience Initiative

18. A Revolu)onary Device that
enables customers to:
Enter the park
Unlock hotel room doors
Pay at shops and restaurants
Be recognized by Disney
Characters
Priority access to experiences

19. Fully customizable and personal

20. The Wrist
band:
Waterproof
RFID chip
2.4GHz
transmitter
$ 12.95

21. Walt Disney collects a lot of data
As much data as Scrooge McDuck has money

22. A Data Management Platform based on Hadoop, Cassandra
and MongoDB to process, analyze and visualize all data
Source: Cloudera presenta1on

23. Making Magic
with Digital
Technologies
Key Digital
Levers
Deployed by
Disney
Source: Capgemini Consul1ng

24. Data mining
enables
Disney to
understand
past behavior
and make
personalized
offers using
predictive
analytics Source: Capgemini Consul1ng

25. 80.000 cast
members
have 240.000
shifts and
they need to
be at the right
place and
time serving
the right
customer Source: Capgemini Consul1ng

26. 70.000
employees
trained
28.000 hotel
rooms with
RFID and
scanners
installed
across the
parks Source: Capgemini Consul1ng

27. Disney strives
to find new
ways for its
customers to
digitally
interact:
High-tech
kiosks
Source: Capgemini Consul1ng

28. 4 key
Ingredients
How Disney
Delivers a
Magical
Big Data
Experience
Source: Capgemini Consul1ng

29. Jack Dorsey
Executive Chairman
Founder of Twitter
Sheryl Sandberg
Member of the Board
COO Facebook
John Chen
Member of the Board
CEO Blackbery
Walt Disney has very digital-savvy leadership

30. “I really believe the
company should
look at technology
as a friend”
Bob Iger - CEO

31. The Disney Analytics & Optimization Summit:
Sharing and exchanging insights & ideas

32. Disney Research: collaboration with academic labs
Disney Accelerator: supporting startups 15 weeks

33. Disney’s
MyMagic+
initiative is a
$ 1 billion
investment in
the future
Source: Capgemini Consul1ng

34. “Analytics helped
improve Disney’s
accuracy in
managing labour
resources at its
parks by 20%”
Bob Iger - CEO

35. “Disney’s call
centre analytics
project paid for
itself ‘10 times over’
in the first year of
operation”
Bob Iger - CEO

36. “The MyMagic+
initiative helped
Disney
accommodate
3000 additional
daily visitors”
Bob Iger - CEO

37. “Disney’s store
designs, including
usage of digital
kiosks, helped it
boost sales and
profit margins by
20%”
Bob Iger - CEO

39. Collecting different data sources, from social
media data to structured GPS data

40. Data is received and analyzed in real-time and
enables personalized offers to the customer

41. With 100 million annual potential users, Walt
Disney creates massive amounts of data

42. A Data Management Platform using Hadoop,
Cassandra & MongoDB ensures data governance

43. Thanks to data from a wide variety of sources,
they understand the context and can act upon

44. BI helps Disney to improve their parks, services
and products to offer the best experience

45. A $ 1.000.000.000 investment,
but with a BIG Return on Investment

46. The possibilities of Big Data are endless

47. Thank you!
@vanRijmenam
https://datafloq.com
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