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Magical Marketing Lessons Learned From Disney Songs

Reading Time: 4 minutes
Disney's magic kingdom

If you can’t tell yet, we’re not just a team of Word Nerds—we’re also Disney fanatics. What can we say? We’re connoisseurs of magic. ✨

Do you know what else is magical? Music! Especially songs straight from our favorite Disney films.

Your favorite animated film can teach you a lot. If you listen closely enough, you may also learn a thing or two about marketing. So, grab your hairbrush microphone and let’s get going with some Disney karaoke.

4 Magical Marketing Lessons Learned From Disney Songs

1. Dig a Little Deeper

Our first song is straight from the bayou. In The Princess and The Frog, our beloved Mama Odie sings Dig a Little Deeper. It goes a little something like this:

You gotta dig a little deeper
Find out who you are
You gotta dig a little deeper
It really ain’t that far

When you find out who you are
You find out what you need
Blue skies and sunshine
Guaranteed
You gotta dig

What we love about these lyrics is that they apply to both you and your audience. You must know yourself and your business better than anything before you can truly connect with your audience. The better you know yourself, the better the results, guaranteed.

You must also dig into the hearts and minds of your ideal customers to figure out what they need and then deliver on that. While this task may seem daunting, you needn’t dig too far to hit gold.

2. I Wan’na Be Like You

This song takes us back to the Disney vault. In The Jungle Book, King Louie sings, I Wan’na Be Like You:

Ooh-bi-doo, I wan’na be like you
I want to walk like you, talk like you, too
You see it’s true, an ape like me
Can learn to be like you, too

King Louie’s onto something here. You see, people want to emulate other peoples’ successes. As a service provider or marketer, it’s your job to paint that picture of success for your audience. Show them past clients who have achieved success by working with you. Then, make it clear that they, too, can be like those past clients.

For example, showcase written testimonials, video testimonials and case studies on your website. Plus, state what you do and the exact steps you’ll take to help your clients reach their goals.

3. Be Our Guest

Every list we ever create about magical marketing lessons learned from Disney will include Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast. Why? Put simply, your number one marketing strength is your ability to serve your clients.

Be our guest, be our guest
Put our service to the test
Tie your napkin ‘round your neck, Cherie
And we’ll provide the rest

Just like Lumiere, you must prove through your words and actions that, yes, indeed, you aim to please. You can do so by offering your customers a test project before they sign a contract to wow them with your skills and to allow them to decide if you’re the best fit.

You should also set expectations upfront for methods of communication and timeframes for responses. Poor communication—or none whatsoever—is at the heart of most complaints. Keep communication levels high, and you’ll eliminate many issues before they arise.

4. Try Everything

Finally, our last marketing lesson comes straight from Gazelle, the famous popstar in Zootopia who sings:

Birds don’t just fly, they fall down and get up
Nobody learns without getting it wrong

I won’t give up, no I won’t give in
Till I reach the end and then I’ll start again
No, I won’t leave, I wanna try everything
I wanna try even though I could fail

We’re all going to get something wrong, especially in marketing. You have to try different things to see what works. And if it doesn’t? You keep going anyway. You take the risk, knowing it could fail.

We’ve tried many things and most of them haven’t worked out as we had hoped. Yet, we continue to try, even when times are tough.

Don’t stop marketing. If one tactic doesn’t work, see it as a learning opportunity and then try something new.

Marketing Is Truly Magical

Marketing helps you connect with your audience in a way that builds your business. You may not have a magic marketing wand, but you do have others behind you ready to support you. If you’re struggling with connecting to your audience, let us help. Turn to our team for help!


Cari O'Brien

Founder & Chief Word Nerd
Cari has been providing content marketing services to businesses for over 15 years. She writes and speaks frequently about brand messaging, SEO copywriting and audience-focused copy. She’s the creator of the Connection Copywriting Method and the online writing course, Write that Site®.

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