I know, I know. It’s April Fool’s Day. So you’re all probably expecting JimHillMedia.com to run some sort of prank story this morning, right? You know, an article that initially sounds serious but eventually turns out to be this elaborate spoof.
Well, I’ve never really been a big fan of pranks. So how’s about we start a new April Fool’s Day tradition instead? How’s about — instead of me trying to put one over on you guys — we use April 1st as an opportunity to talk seriously about someone who’s been acting … well … kind of foolishly lately.
Which is why — this morning — I’d like to talk about Roy Disney and Stanley Gold.
(Okay. We’ll pause now for a moment. So that those of you who just did a spit take on your screen can now go get a cloth and quickly clean off the front on your monitor.)
“What’s that you say, Jim?!” you sputter. “You dare to suggest that Roy Disney and Stanley Gold have been acting foolishly lately? How can you possibly say that? I mean, aren’t these the guys who masterminded the whole ‘Save Disney’ campaign? Who carefully orchestrated events — rallying not only Disneyana fans but individual and institutional shareholders as well. Not to mention expertly courting the financial press. Which resulted in that unprecedented 43.4% withhold vote at last month’s Disney shareholder’s meeting in Philadelphia. Given all that Roy and Stanley have accomplished so far, how can you possibly suggest that these two brilliant businessmen have been acting foolishly lately?”
Well …For starters … Please note that the operative term in the phrase “… been acting foolishly lately” is “lately.”
Look, there’s no denying that Roy and Stanley’s “Save Disney” effort came out of Philadelphia with lots and lots of momentum. But that shareholder’s meeting? That was back on March 3rd, folks. Over four weeks ago.
“So what have Disney and Gold actually done since their triumph in Philly?” you ask. To be honest, not a whole hell of a lot. Sure, Roy and Stanley loudly proclaimed “Welcome to Round 2!” Which supposedly indicated that their epic effort to oust embattled Disney CEO Michael Eisner would now be entering extra innings. But — after that — there’s been precious little swinging for the fences.
Which is why all that great momentum that the “Save Disney” movement had coming out of Philadelphia has (sadly) begun to dissipate. The business press? Those reporters are no longer hanging on every word that Disney and Gold utter. They’ve all moved on to other stories now. Like the Tyco mistrial and Martha Stewart’s sentencing.
And the Disney Faithful? All those folks who came out of that rally at the Loews Hotel absolutely raring to go, eager to go into battle against Eisner? … For the most part, these people have grown tired of just sitting around, waiting for Roy and Stanley to tell them what they should be doing next. Which is why you see so many of these folks selling off the contents of their “Save Disney” gift bags.
Don’t believe me? Then head on over to eBay. Where you’ll find that “Save Disney” cloisonné pin (You know? The one that features a caricature of Roy?) has been fetching $20 — $25 a pop whenever it comes up for auction.
Mind you, this isn’t to say that the folks over at “Save Disney” have done absolutely nothing to try and keep the Disney Faithful engaged. In addition to running a regular assortment of articles culled from a variety of sources (Which — typically — try to put the most recent activities of the Walt Disney Company in the worst people light), the folks who run that website have begun running a series of polls. Which ask “Save Disney” readers extremely dweeby questions like “Which closed Magic Kingdom attraction would you like to see return?” and “Do you think computer animation should replace traditional cel animation?”
Which some may find fun and engaging. But posting poll questions and reprinting negative newspaper articles isn’t really enough to keep the Disney Faithful interested, now is it? These folks were looking for Roy and Stanley to give them some definitive marching orders. When those orders failed to come in the weeks immediately following Philadelphia, these people (just as the financial press did) began to lose interest in the “Save Disney” cause.
The problem here (as I see it, anyway) is focus. Or — rather — “Save Disney”‘s lack of focus. Here, Roy and Stanley had accomplished this truly extraordinary thing. For the first time ever in American corporate history, they had amassed this great army of people on-line. They then energized both individual and institutional shareholders, making these folks eager to do Disney and Gold’s bidding …
But then Roy and Stanley squandered that opportunity. Foolishly frittering away all the energy and excitement that last month’s events in Philadelphia helped generate. By announcing “Round 2” but then not actually following through with any sort of visible plan (which explained clearly to both the public and the press what the second phase of the “Save Disney” campaign would actually entail), Disney and Gold unintentionally let their story slip out of the spotlight.
Which explains what happened last week. When Roy and Stanley tried to get the press all excited about “Save Disney”‘s latest effort (Which was to try and force the Walt Disney Company to prematurely reveal how many participants of the corporation’s own 401k plan had opted to withhold their vote for Eisner last month) … only to have reporters respond to this alleged news item with a collective shrug.
What (I think) the “Save Disney” people failed to take into account in their battle plan was the ever shrinking American attention span. Sure, Disney and Gold were the media’s darlings at the beginning of March. But this is now the beginning of April. And because their “Oust Eisner” effort no longer has the heat that it once had, now Roy and Stanley have to do something really spectacular in order for their cause to regain the spotlight.
And the sad fact of the matter is: There were stories out there that Disney and Gold could have easily exploited during the month of March. Events that they could have used to re-energize the Disney Faithful, not to mention stories that they could have fed to the media that would have helped keep “Save Disney” in the media spotlight.
I mean, where were Roy and Stanley when Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railway attraction quietly re-opened the middle of last month? Shouldn’t these two have embraced this obvious opportunity to talk to the press about how the corporation’s continuing cost containment efforts appear to have compromised guests safety at the theme parks?
And where were Disney and Gold last month when Donovan Cook suddenly announced that he was trying to get Walt Disney Pictures to release his new animated version of “The Three Musketeers” (which stars Mickey, Donald and Goofy) theatrically? Shouldn’t “Save Disney” have quickly formed an alliance with this disenfranchised Disney Toon director? Pointing out that “Here is yet another example of how Michael Eisner has mis-used the company’s resources. Refusing to let a new Mickey Mouse movie — a film that features the very character that the Walt Disney Company was founded on — be put out in theaters. But — rather -sending ‘The Three Musketeers’ straight to home video.”
These are just two of the opportunities that “Save Disney” squandered last month. Rather than attempt to keep their supporters focused, keep the press interested in their “Oust Eisner” effort … Roy and Stanley’s team just seemed to decide — after their winning effort in Philadelphia — to just sit out most of March. To bask in the glow of their accomplishment. Not seeming to realize that — in the rush-rush-rush of today’s modern life — that time is now measured in dog years.
Which means that sitting on your laurels for a period as seemingly short as four weeks can sometimes wind up costing you dearly.
I mean, you can bet that the members of Disney’s board of directors didn’t waste the last four weeks. Based on what I’ve been hearing coming out of Burbank lately, those folks have really taken advantage of this somewhat awkward pause in Roy and Stanley’s “Save Disney” campaign.
By that I mean: Eisner and Co. spent the last 28 days flying all over the country, mending fences wherever they could. Making phone calls to key executives, meeting with institutional investors, promising that the Walt Disney Company will soon be addressing any and all of the concerns that the shareholders voiced during the annual meeting in Philadelphia … the end result being that Michael Eisner has actually managed to undone much of the damage that Roy Disney and Stanley Gold did to Disney’s CEO back in March .
Don’t get me wrong, folks. Eisner is still in a very precarious position. And — admittedly — his reputation remains in tatters. But because Roy and Stanley didn’t move more aggressively in March, because “Save Disney” didn’t take advantage of all the opportunities that was presented last month … Now Disney’s CEO has had a chance to regroup, to gather his forces, to get himself firmly entrenched …
Which means that now this guy is going to be that much harder to pry out of his corner office. Which — given that the Pixar countdown clock continues to tick — is a real shame.
I mean, who knows how much closer Michael Eisner would be now to actually getting the boot if Roy and Stanley hadn’t opted to sit out most of March?
Please understand that I am NOT switching sides here, people. See that “Save Disney” banner at the top of this web page? That means that I remain a supporter of Disney and Gold’s efforts of oust Eisner. That I still think that it’s high time that the Walt Disney Company got a new management team.
But — that said — that still doesn’t mean that I wholeheartedly support the way Roy and Stanley have been running their “Save Disney” campaign. I think that these guys had a hell of a lead during the first week of March. But then they blew that lead by announcing “Round 2,” but then never quite got around to announcing what “Round 2” might actually entail.
So now Disney and Gold have to fight their way back into the spotlight. Somehow convince the press and the public to care about their “Save Disney” cause again. And that won’t be easy, folks. Particularly given the attitude that the general public has about this whole Roy / Stanley / Michael situation nowadays. Were you to stop someone on the street and ask: “What do you know about Michael Eisner?” they’d probably respond with “Wasn’t he the guy who got fired from the Walt Disney Company last month?”
No, Michael Eisner DIDN’T get fired. He’s still firmly in control of the Mouse House, folks. More importantly, this guy shows no signs that he’ll be heading for the exits anytime soon.
And that’s NOT how things looked back on March 3rd. Back then, Eisner appeared to be seriously wounded. Disney’s CEO seemed to be circling the drain. And all that Roy and Stanley needed to do then was deliver the killing blow.
But then — in all the hoopla surrounding their stunning success in Philadelphia — these guys evidently neglect to actually deliver that killing blow. They announced “Round 2,” but then somehow forgot that they had to still fight.
Next time around, guys, no resting on your laurels, okay? Because Disney and Gold opted to sit out most of the month of March, now Pixar’s in real danger of signing with some other studio.
Which is a hell of a price to pay, don’t you think? All because “Save Disney” didn’t really have its act together when it came to Phase II of its “Oust Eisner” effort.
Your thoughts?