September 20, 2007 - by Rachael Lonergan
Can I have the IV bag with the Little Mermaid on it please?
Disney have announced their foray into healthcare with significant funding going to the rebuilding of a kids hospital in Florida (not too far from Orlando's Disney World).
http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=297482
No doubt Disney have the best of intentions but while their "imagineers" (and who wouldn't want that title!) are hard at work designing the patient experience, they cannot actually lay claim to this extension of the Disney brand experience as an original idea. In fact, a hospital executive turned Disney "cast member" (Fred Lee) literally wrote the book on this as far back as 2004.
Lee's book is a serious look at how Disney's corporate and brand values can translate into the healthcare environment to provide superior levels of service and empathy to patients. Apparently someone at Disney was paying attention and took Fred quite literally. I do hope he gets an invitation to the opening!
This article is posted in BRAND EXPERIENCE / BRANDS