Several art students partnered with a Disney youth program called “Marketing the Story of Your Visual Brand” this year. With this program, the students participated in a field trip, which taught them how to tell their story and develop a unique brand by employing the same marketing strategies and design choices that are utilized by the Walt Disney Company on a daily basis. Leading this trip was Art and AP Photography teacher Bridget Beaudry-Porter.

“It was interesting to see how the company markets products to their target audience at Disneyland and how they use social media to advertise events,” said Beaudry-Porter.

On this trip, students discussed the importance of the 5 W’s— the who, what, where, when and why— of great storytelling and how an image can communicate a story. Participants embarked in teams on a hands-on marketing campaign designed to highlight the differences between paid and earned marketing through photography. This led them to observe how colour, shape and composition could be used to captivate audiences and tell a unique story. With the iconic environment of the Disney park, teams had a landscape to create their own stories as they applied the principals of photography to the narrative. With help from editing and captioning, students finally discussed the power of social media and how it could be used to communicate and market their stories to the world.

“You can’t get through the art world with just art skills. You also need to know all the necessary skills when it comes to branding in order to make a name for your self, and the Youth Education Series can teach art students all about that,” said junior Gianna Morreale.

This trip helped to highlight the techniques required to further oneself after high school. Although talent can help to build the framework of a career, proper marketing strategies and business techniques are vital in order to make money and become successful. With the Disney Youth Education program, LBHS students were able to gain hands-on and in-depth knowledge about specific techniques used by the Walt Disney company’s marketing and public relations staff.

“Other classes like engineering and even English could benefit from this sort of field trip due to how many fields of study are used to make Disneyland such a magical place. English students interested in a career involving writing could benefit from the storytelling elements used in many of the rides or attractions, while also learning from the advertising used throughout the park. Engineering students could obviously take away from the vast amounts of engineering there is in the park. There is so much there, and it’s very beneficial to have a guide show you all the elements that make it such a successful attraction,” said senior Lauren Fetzer.