Disney and Emotional Labour: How Disney creates generational brand advocacy

As we approach the one-hundred-year anniversary of Disney in 2023, this project will explore the strategies and culture developed by Disney to facilitate the emotional labour of multiple generations of consumer to ensure its vast corporate growth, from nostalgia-driven media reboots to emotionally charged theme park experiences. Crucially, this project will focus on the act of 'co-creation' (Arvidsson 2006), giving equal attention to how the increasingly globalised Disney fandom - on an individual and collective level - constructs shared meaning and community via the brand's media, products and experiences.

Additionally, as many of the world's most powerful brands accelerate their shift towards digital-first

strategy following the Covid-19 pandemic and global lockdown, this project is particularly interested in whether the significance of tangible, 'real world' experience is being overlooked in the pursuit of the romanticised profitability of ecommerce.