All signs point to the Walt Disney Co. gearing up to jump into the wireless space soon. The company’s mobile virtual network operator’s Disney Mobile Web site has been stepping up efforts to lure would-be subscribers to the service, as well as offering hints about features and pricing.
Disney Mobile said that it plans to launch by this summer, although no specific launch date has yet been announced. Disney has hired San Francisco advertising agency BuderEngel & Friends for a Disney Mobile launch campaign estimated at $50-million plus, according to RCR Wireless News’ sister publication, AdAge.
Disney has kept mostly mum about its plans for the wireless service, although it has been putting trickles of information and promotion onto its Disney Mobile Web site. According to the site, the service will “give moms what they need and kids what they want,” suggesting that the company will primarily target parents in its marketing, rather than directly aiming its marketing to youngsters. Children featured on the Web site appear to be in their early to mid-teens, rather than the pre-teens targeted by services such as the Firefly Mobile Inc. or by LG Electronics Co. Ltd.’s Migo phone.
In February, Disney Mobile offered people interested in its service the chance to sign up for e-mail updates about a launch. Since early March, Disney Mobile’s Web site also has featured a “Disney Mobile Madness” promotion that runs through May 14 with a weekly giveaway of two handsets and a free year of service. The site shows pictures of a silver flip-phone with a camera lens and secondary screen on the front of the clamshell, but no obvious Disney motifs, such as its mouse-ears logo. According to the contest rules, the approximate retail value of the pair of handsets is $260. The service plan that is being given away is valued at $80 per month.
Although the site does not specify the phone or features of its service, it promises “simple, straight-forward controls,” “countless customization options” and “usage controls that let you tailor your phones to your family’s needs.” Disney Mobile is set to operate on Sprint Nextel Corp.’s CDMA2000 1x EV-DO network to take advantage of high-speed data capability. George Grobar, who is set head the wireless service, hinted last year that the company plans to offer a family-plan type of offering.
The launch of Disney Mobile has been widely anticipated and analysts generally expect the service to do well, since Disney is a well-known consumer brand and already successfully sells many of its products to families.
Disney Mobile will be Walt Disney Co.’s second venture into the wireless space; the company launched its Mobile ESPN L.L.C. service for sports fanatics in conjunction with Superbowl XL in February. Mobile ESPN first offered service in four markets prior to a nationwide launch, and offers data-centric services with plans ranging from $35 to $225 a month. The service sells an exclusive Sanyo Electronics Co. Ltd. MVP handset with accessories including a stereo headset and a digital memory card for $199.
