Synergy

While the music and story of High School Musical were certainly key drivers of the franchise’s success, the franchise’s impact would not have reached global proportions without Disney’s carefully orchestrated synergy and marketing strategy. Rich Ross, the former president of Disney Channels Worldwide, once said, “You’d have to be in a cave not to know about” High School Musical (Power). This statement perfectly encapsulates Disney’s all-encompassing promotional efforts when it came to the High School Musical franchise.

High School Musical: The Ice Tour, photo from Disney on Ice Wiki

High School Musical: The Ice Tour, photo from The New York Times

High School Musical: The Concert, São Paulo (May 20, 2007)

Exclusive High School Musical Barbie dolls.

Disney was able to integrate all its various business arms to continue driving the franchise’s success. This synergy was evident in what Anna Potter deems a “360-degree campaign” in her article titled It’s a Small World After All: New Media Constellations and Disney’s Rising Star (p. 122). For the U.S. launch of High School Musical, Disney created countdown promotions, sing-along party kits, and repeated broadcasts over a single weekend. Beyond television, the campaign extended to print, online platforms, and Radio Disney, and even had General Mills as a major sponsor. The results were staggering; altogether, High School Musical generated over $680 million in retail sales.

Disney’s marketing also had large impacts on the children’s TV market. According to Potter, the original High School Musical has been viewed by over 295 million people worldwide, and High School Musical 2 broke records as the most-watched TV movie of all time, according to FandomWire. This unparalleled success not only elevated Disney Channel to the top of the market for children’s TV, and demonstrated the profitability of children’s programming during a time when many networks were planning to abandon these younger audiences. This leads us to explore Disney’s impacts on tween audiences with the High School Musical franchise.

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