I heard on NPR yesterday (Morning Edition: Boyish Charm: Disney XD Woos Young Princes) that the Walt Disney Company remembered that boys are a part of their audience too. Well, ok, that wasn’t specifically said, but that is what I got out of the segment. In all of their fanatical success with the Princess craze, High School Musical and Hannah Montana, Disney has begun to target their young male audience. What sorts of things capture the attention of boy ages 6 – 14 these days? Honestly, when my choices are the above mentioned, I wouldn’t answer with “Disney”. (Heck, I still miss Ninja Turtles.) Apparently, Disney is looking to make themselves edgier, with Disney XD – a cable channel marketed towards the 18 million young male viewers. I specifically heard “edgier font” in the interview and that is what piqued my interest.
It all comes back to branding folks. You can put content geared toward your viewers online, but the look has to match who you are targeting. You don’t want a grunge, distressed look for your corporate bank website. You don’t want a sterile, boring and flat layout for a restaurant. A huge part of Disney recapturing these guys’ attention is to appear more authentic. Cause really, there is only so much “edgier” Disney can get while keeping it real.
