The Walt Disney Company is venturing into a new and untapped market - newborns. It already has a dominant presence in every other area of childhood, but now wants to start making money from babies. It has released a new product called Disney Baby. Sales agents have been visiting new mothers in maternity hospitals offering a baby suit in exchange for signing up to e-mails from DisneyBaby.com. Disney’s new campaign is attracting criticism. Jeff McIntyre, director of the group Children Now, said: “This is taking advantage of families at an extremely vulnerable time.” New mother Elizabeth Carter said: “It surprised me that Disney was in there promoting something right as the baby was born, but we figured as new parents we weren’t in a position to turn free things down,” she said.
Disney CEO Robert Iger believes his company is offering a fantastic product, saying: “If ever there was an opportunity for a trusted brand to enter a market and provide a better product and experience, it’s this.” He added: “It’s about making something easier and providing [mothers] with a personalized, high-quality product.” Iger estimates the North American newborn baby market alone to be worth $36.3 billion a year. Other world markets will offer significantly more. Disney’s last venture to sell products for babies did not prove to be wholly successful. In 2009, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood forced Disney to acknowledge that its Baby Einstein products did not turn babies into geniuses. The company ended up offering Baby Einstein refunds.
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