My father who was also a salesman, told me often, never to pick a fight with someone bigger and more powerful. The result would not be pretty and aside from losing, it would be very painful. Picking a fight directly with Mickey Mouse would certainly be fatal. It would be like picking a fight with an 800-pound gorilla.
No one ever picks a fight knowing they would lose.
As such, how should Ocean Park act that would provide it some opportunity to survive? Going at this giant directly would not be effective. Instead, the strategy was to co-exist, and complement Disney rather than compete head-on. Give Disney their day in the spotlight. We agreed “not” to do what Disney did well but instead do what Disney would not, could not, or did not do. This would eliminate a comparison that Disney does it better. For example, Ocean Park had an indoor simulator ride, but Disney will have a much better simulator ride, so this was taken out at Ocean Park. Today, the space that housed the simulator ride is home to Koalas and Kookaburras.
“Differential Qualities” would be the advantage for Ocean Park with Mickey’s arrival.
Often, I would ask this question, what is the difference between Mickey Mouse and Ocean Park? Mickey was animated, a cartoon character brought to life on celluloid film. Ocean Park did not have a mouse, but it had numerous animals and all the animals were REAL. That became a tagline, “the difference is real.” Ocean Park would emphasize its differential qualities. In everything from promotional messaging to communications, advertising to publicity, emphasis was always on the differential qualities.
Let your differences be your strength.
This was a good strategy because it made the competition irrelevant. There were two parks in Hong Kong. One was very American, based on a tried and proven formula from America while the other was intrinsically very Hong Kong. The audience had a choice to have two different experiences. Disney would help to grow tourism and the number of visitors to Hong Kong. By complimenting Disney, Ocean Park could share the growth in numbers, and in theory, both parks could be successful. Competing always means there is a winner and a loser. It is truly a success if both are winners.
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