 All right, what's up guys. What's up product school? My name is Brandon Reed and I'm a senior product manager at the Walt Disney Company and I'm here today to talk to you a little bit about brand and Why it's important to build your brand how Mostly really how a successful brand can help you build successful products because we're here to talk about product And yeah, let's dig. Let's dig right in. Let's not Delay any further. Let me share my screen here Okay This okay great Let's do this Let me also first say that of course everything I share is is views of my own my personal views and not the company's so The topic I'm going to cover is building with a passion how the mission of your brand drives the success of your products And I'll also say That you know As I was as I was preparing this and building the slides or whatever I was like trying to make it look good and stuff and I was like what I'm not shouldn't be spending my time on this I should be spending my time on the content So there's nothing pretty about what you're about to see it's literally bullet points, which I know is kind of the worst But hopefully it's strong content and things that you guys can really learn from and take something from but it ain't gonna look Super pretty. I put a Mickey Mouse in the corner for you. So that's that's kind of cool But anyways, here's a little bit about me. I'll go quickly through and kind of how I How I ended up where I am today. So graduated 2013 from Baylor University second Bears And then moved down here to Orlando to do an internship But before that I graduated in May internship started in August and I flew down here ahead of time to kind of Talk to some people and talk about what it would you know, get my getting my foot in the door And what you know what that entailed and get some advice from people one thing I heard over and over Was if you have the opportunity to and before you know when you're starting your career at Disney work in the parks Get operations experience Get your hands on our product from the guess point of view and see it from that standpoint Which was super value valuable great advice and has really helped shape our brand in my mind And I've gone back to those experiences over and over again So as a photo pass photographer in the park at Magic Kingdom I dressed in a costume and I held a camera and as people came in and walked into the Magic Kingdom I took pictures of them and saw our guests experiencing our brand and our products From that point of view is super valuable. Then I did my internship in technology It was more of a project manager role and did that Yeah, I converted from internship to full-time Sometime in like 2013-14, but it was more technology like back-end data systems And then my my way over to the digital experience, which the highest level essentially I work on the mobile apps and and build features and functionality in the apps to Enhance our guests digital experience while they're in the parks while they're on vacation Yeah, to make them more magical digitally So that's what I do now Let's start just clicking through here believe in the brand when teams are bought Oh, and also let me say before I dig too far in here that of course, I'll share What I believe on these topics my thoughts my opinions on this stuff But I also know and hopefully that's valuable, but I'll also share You know a little bit about I know when you probably saw on LinkedIn or Facebook or wherever you saw this It said, you know senior product manager at Disney and you were like ooh Disney I want to see how they build products at Disney of course I can't talk about what I'm working on or anything as specific But you know at the highest level I'll share what's what's really public knowledge and general knowledge about how Disney builds products And how we do it so that you can apply and learn and do things You know where applicable how Disney does so hopefully I can you know share some of that insight as well But anyways, let me let me get back to the first point when teams are bought into what your brand stands for You approach the process with with an aligned goal of fighting to protect it I just think it's so important that of course your brand is Is clearly Defined that the people that are working to build the products that support that brand understand what the definition of that brand is And that they're all all aligned towards it that they believe in it Because you know one thing that honestly that happens really really well at Disney is we believe in Disney We believe in the brand and we fight to protect it the products we build we care about what it does to our brand how it makes our company look and Yeah, that's important and really powerful when you're building products Users trust provides space for innovation but commands thoughtfulness and comes with greater responsibility. So I say users because I know that's in special technology what most people Refer to to customers as we say guests At Disney world and I'm in specifically I didn't say this earlier but Specifically in the parks and resorts segment obviously Disney does a lot of things But I'm in the parks and resorts segment. So the apps I work on are for guests in the parks and Yeah, our guests the trust that they have in the disney brand of course disney is one of the most trusted brands in the world and The that trust it allows more I guess wiggle room, right? I almost benefited the doubt that our guests give us that sometimes I joke You know if we push it a little too hard or maybe release too much functionality in the app in one area And the the rolling out isn't as smooth as it could be guests still open up our app have a splash screen that is Mickey's head that exploding in fireworks It's like the shape of Mickey's head. And are you kidding me? Like that's awesome So guests like even if maybe the absolute glitchy they they they see our strong IP The brand that we've built and there's wiggle room there and trust built there Not everybody gets to enjoy mickey mouse on your splash screen and guests coming into your app with like the joy in their heart But we do and so I so it provides some of that room to to press but of course also that command stopfulness and And it absolutely comes with greater responsibility and we feel that way at disney is we're building products to support a world-class brand that we all believe in and care about Is that we need to the the things we build Need to align with Yeah, the the the vision we all the vision we've all been given about what disney is the brand We know it to be what we believe it is And so we take that very seriously is my point And I think that's important in any business that you're in any company to have employees that That are working towards a common goal like I said in the first point and then also Are yeah are working towards it I lost my train of thought hold on but command stopfulness Anyways, I'm not even going to go back through that point But it is important, of course that if you if you have trust in your brand that You work to protect that of course. I hope that made sense, especially with that fumble there at the end Take care of and listen to your brand ambassador. So, uh, of course, we all know specifically disney those people it could be here and or Your teacher your neighbor whatever those people who love disney world or disney land or any of our parks disney as a brand the movies And everybody goes to them for tips and tricks when they're going to go on a disney vacation and Those people are brand ambassadors and it's important that we take care of and listen to them That we that we hear their feedback. They use our products often more than we do They know our products well. They know our brand well And any company that you're working in as you establish your brand as you build your products It's important that you listen to the people that know those products the best you're in it We all know we're in it. We're in it every day We know the features and functionality the acceptance criteria Down to the ends detail, but our our our users our guests our customers whatever they use it up here But understand it very well They have some of the most valuable feedback to to offer. So listening and take care of them It's really important mature and evolve Of course as you are building your brand and if you get to the point Where you have built a solid brand underneath you as a company. It's important that you don't stay there Push past that mature evolve with your customers as they mature and evolve as the world matures and evolves as tastes and interests Um and technology if you're in technology evolve Move with that your brand should move with that And don't build a brand and then and then stay there Solid even as if you get to a solid place Take time to observe how your users see you could they communicate what your brand stands for? So building that I used to work in one of my first roles Um was actually backstage. So like not where the guests are in the park but just behind that at hollywood studios and I could walk out of the building and I could hear I mean if you've ever played roller coaster tycoon It's like exactly that soundtrack like you can just hear you know like everyone saw a scream Some laughter And I would walk around the building and I'd hear that I'd hear our guests enjoying our products The tower of terror is right there if you're familiar with it. It's like the doors swing open People scream out and like whatever you can just hear it. Um, and I would walk into the parks. I'd see people enjoying our products Observing how they're using them how uh, what how the ways that they're using them Defined yeah our brand what we stood for um And all of that is correlated all that is intertwined and um seeing often how they're using the products If they were using them In the apps and the functionality uh in ways that we are they using it in ways that we expected Are they using it for the things we expected them to use them for? um And all of that how all of that kind of I guess wraps up what my point is here is like how all that wraps up um Could they use those products experience your um your our park ride our rides Eat our churros and at the end of the day be able to wrap up and communicate what our brand stands for I think disney does a phenomenal job of that and I think most often our guests can say this is what disney stands for And I think it's important that you your brand your products Also can do that with your guests users customers culture driven delivery so um Obviously we all know the importance of culture um and I can I'll just share a little bit of uh kind of what my experience is at disney um and uh in products and why culture is important in in what I've built so Create an atmosphere that reflects the products you want to build um One thing that's so neat about disney is that uh, you know, so so not it's not uncommon To see people that worked there for 20 25 35 40 years like that's not uncommon at all um And that to me shows that we have created a culture in an atmosphere that um That is one that people want to be around and work for um and uh associate themselves with a brand of excellence People want to be around that people are drawn to that um and when you create a brand and um a culture of excellence That reflects itself in the products that you build I believe that so firmly like if if what we associate ourselves with When we wear I mean mickey mouse like when we wear our company um gear when we uh say hey to anybody out in public I work for disney um They associate that immediately of course with excellence disney is an excellent brand And so the products we build need to reflect that as well and I think that's just a natural um A natural thing that could that would occur is if you build a brand around um an image the products that spit on At the end of that will reflect that image and so what is that image make sure it's um something that you stand for that you believe in And then is excellent. I just think of course that's important How disney reinforces uh culture so there's some um There's some really neat things here uh so That that i'll go into a little bit specifically I think like with the buildings that i've worked in You know a lot of us are remote now, but people are coming back to work. They're coming back to the buildings and such Um and in the buildings one thing that's just constantly reinforcing Who are we what do we stand for? What's the culture here? Is a great one is that we named all or not all of them But in a lot of buildings I worked in a lot of the conference rooms were named after our characters after our ip or our intellectual property so you'd say like Hey, are you gonna make it to the 330 in simba or um, hey later We got to talk to that group over in tinkerbell And you know, it's funny because just you know, we don't even realize it anymore as we say those things, but um I I think that matters. I think that it matters to um to integrate What your company is the culture you want to create into even mundane things like that conference room names another cool thing is um You know in one of the buildings I worked in there was a mural it was uh where Movies used to be created and then they converted into an office building And so but they built like these murals in the hallways of the characters of the movies that were animated there That were created there and that was you just walk the hallways and you can feel that energy Um, I think lilo and stitch if i'm remembering right Was was animated in that building and so you walk down you see lilo and stitch like riding a wave in a mural In the hallway and again, I think that stuff matters and instills and reinforces culture even in Even in the in between even as you're walking from meeting to meeting um, and then oh, yeah, the third thing here. I got my notes is um is Like one of my favorite parts of working for the company is product discovery. So that's what we call it, right? We're like, oh man, we really gotta get we really gotta as a team We gotta get some product discovery and we really gotta go Discover the product so gotta get to magic kingdom. So we like, you know, we'll go into the parks We will ride the rides. We will meet the characters We will Have the food and we will experience our product from our guest point of view and that to me, of course It's fun and of course, um, you know, that's That that does all the things that you know team bonding and outside of work moments do But it read it. I think it's one of the most valuable things we do for our work though I just do I think that it uh, it we you know, we joke product discovery, but it truly is that it's us Rediscovering and reinforcing. What do we stand for? What are our products? Stand for what are we? What are we building? What are we building towards? What are we building in support of all of this? as you know as we look around and experience our parks and I think that you know, of course Not everybody has a theme park that they can go into to remember their their their brand and and get reinstilled The culture of their company But in whatever way you can I just think that's really important to do I think reinstilling culture even in the in between I think is my point ultimately and even in the in between Even in the mundane I think often reinstilling Your culture and what you stand for is important and I think that it helps to deliver effective products It's still culture from the outset so Right away at disney We our orientation is called traditions and it's a really a really special time and you learn all about the company And the magic behind it and the vision that wall had and anyways There's something you learn there called and again, this isn't anything proprietary in any way It's totally public knowledge, but the the disney scoop I mean you may have read it on a blog or seen it somewhere But like the disney scoop to me stood out in my traditions class because I thought it was awesome so what the disney scoop is is If you're a cast member and you're of course if you're working But then even if you're off duty or whatever you're not working and you're there as a guest with your family in the parks You If you see trash you bend over and you pick it up, but do it on the move you disney scoop it Because don't need to draw attention to the fact that there's trash at Walt Disney World Just pick it up and throw it away. Take care of the park and Always whether you're working or you're not take care of the park and that that The culture of take care of this of this treasure that we all have which is disney the disney brand And whether you're working or you're not Take care of it care for it I care about it and and do it even in a simple disney scoop To throw away a wrapper that you saw in main street USA Which I just think is is so neat and something that I think disney does really well, of course Understanding the mission and how the mission associates to brand of course, they're very intertwined At that traditions class You know we learned so much about what the company does disney has his hand in so many different things But in the end and I don't know how they structure it now But but when I when I went through it, um, you know, and I know of course this is still the the motto But we said, okay, we do all these things and there's all these different brands that disney has and we do all these different things But the main thing the one thing the most important thing that we do as the Walt Disney Company We create happiness And that that's so succinct so clear And there's obviously so many tertiary things that go down of like what each segment of the business does and What what what part of that vision each group drives forwards? But in the end we all create happiness and that being a mission is one that everybody can get on board with Of course and um and build towards and build for as we as we build products All right, let me Oh, yeah, nice. I also had a note About we create happiness a a wall quote, of course That I just love it's somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that can't be scaled By a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true Are you kidding me? Like that's awesome goosebumps um Yeah, I mean That that sums up again the mission of we create happiness. We make dreams come true And we all truly what I've seen at disney Almost Entirely across the board is we all believe that work towards it and protect that mission If you can at all costs Install that and breed that create that in the company that you're in and the brand and products you're building Empower your teams to carry out your mission You know as you've established your mission as you communicate it empower your teams your employees to Um to carry that out to help define it in real in real life tangibly Um at disney they do a great job of that. They give us the opportunity to help guests In the park when when we aren't even um working when we're there as guests, uh more than one time I have seen uh a kid drop their ice cream. It's hot in florida It melts and kids just like hold it as they're looking at it whatever and and the Drops off and I go up uh grab grab the kid and his family and say guys Come with me. I'm a cast member. Um, and I have my little cast idea. I go up to the uh the counter and say Hey, is this boy lost or dropped his ice cream or whatever can we get him another one? And they just on the spot they get it and that's empower and the reason I even did that or thought to do that Was I was told like that opportunity is there if you see somebody if you see a guest need Serve that need meet that need even if you're not working Um, and I just love that. I think that that is empowerment. Um at such a A clear and really powerful level Um that if you breathe that in your company and are able to Effectively communicate that to your teams and they can carry out your mission and And help define it Don't dictate it from the top down. We've all of course we've all heard this You know, disney doesn't always do it right either But it's so important that as you're stating your mission as you're defining it amongst your teams That it's not given from on high that it's not here's our mission. Everybody carry it out go But that you instill and this goes back to my previous slides like you instill the culture You enforce the brand such that like it builds from the bottom up that it builds that builds from the working teams The people that are in the in the mud every day building these um these experiences these products Whatever however they're involved that it builds from there that the mission is understood at its most basic and um And core component levels there And then that just breeds on up and it creates that that that foundation That is way stronger than if it's just communicated and told from up top and say guys believe in this um It's important first that you build that foundation and really breed a culture that can create that um That environment and uh help help to carry out that mission I think I I hope I communicated that well Reinforce your mission often. I know I've talked some about this. Um In other points, but one thing that my leader does really well at disney is we will as we have our all hands and we're all you know talking Um, it's when everybody's at a meeting together. He reads guest letters I mean, that's it's really it's a neat part of disney that guests write in letters they can write they'll write to bob chapek our ceo and um, he will like disseminate those letters down Read them and pass them to the lines of business that um that were impacted by the letter or the the letter discussed and he'll read um letters from guests that were impacted by the products that we're building um and That is such an effective way I see the room. I see the way demeanors shift and it feels to me to be such a powerful way to um Yeah reinforce The mission that we're all a part of the brand that we're building um in the products that we're building every day So that's a neat way that that we do that at disney Realign your strategic direction if what you're building deviates from your mission. I see so often You march down the road. You've written the user stories You've gotten the sign off from the different, you know Stakeholders and business partners and you're already halfway down and you realize at some point that you have deviated from What ultimately we're all working towards does this product really meet the needs of the guests in the direction We know we need to be in um the needs. We know we need to be meeting The mission and brand that we know is established and that our guests trust us with like are the products we're building aligning towards that and um again disney doesn't always do this perfectly no company does But it's important that we still be diligent I think to as we're building products to stop there's no point at which it is too far that we can't Do some realignment to say we should be working towards um The end goal that we all know is there and it's believed and it's been defined at our company Instead of building something that just becomes a thing of its own And then is the end ends up in the hand of our users guest customers, whatever and um it does not um And is not aligned with ultimately what we know our company stands for So I think it's just important that we feel freedom to realign when we need to I think that's the last point on that page. Yep. So that's it. Thank you Um, I will leave with a quote from walt of course Um, uh that I think applies here. So when you believe in a thing Believe in it all the way implicitly and unquestionable goosebumps again, um that uh That I think really applies to products product people in particular Because believe what you're building in Believe it all the way If you don't you will find yourself running into any of the situations. I mean, some of them. I just walked through Um building products in a direction that your brand doesn't ultimately stand for Um a meeting needs that your customers clients, whatever don't ultimately have um and ultimately building And establishing a brand that maybe you or your company don't believe in believe in what you're building believe it all the way Um, and that will help you build. I think successful Effective products that meet the needs of the people you're building for Uh, that's how you can reach out to me. There's my email. There's my linked in bsr.read at gmail You shoot me an email and then uh, yeah, there's my linked in url as well. Um super informal would love to Hear from any of you guys can answer any questions. Um about anything that I covered today So I believe That That is it. Um, yeah, again, please reach out to me. Um, Would love to hear from you guys. I hope today was helpful and that I could some somewhat clearly articulate The points that I made today. Anyways, thanks so much guys. Take care. Bye product school