November 18th, 2016 is Mickey Mouse’s 88th annual birthday. In my opinion, it is one of the biggest birthday celebrations I have every witnessed. Across the globe, thousands of people posted on their social sites wishes to Mickey, whether it was a status update on Facebook, a #FlashbackFriday picture of them together with Mickey on Instagram, or a Snapchat video. Some individuals even went beyond and above to create videos that was full of their moments with Mickey. Seeing all the updates in my social media newsfeed, I can’t keep thinking about the (undeniably) huge success of Disney branding, especially in building this Mickey Mouse character.

Let’s go back in time to when the character “Mickey Mouse” was created. It was November 18th, 1928. Mickey Mouse was the Disney Brothers’ desperate attempt to fire back at “Oswald, the Lucky Rabbit” owned by the distributor who shut the Brothers out of the Oswald Franchise. To gain a competitive edge, the Brothers took a risk by adding synchronized sound to this cartoon character, something had never been done in previous years. In fact, the risk paid off, over just 1 night, “Steamboat Willie” became the biggest cartoon hit and “Mickey Mouse” invariably became the biggest cartoon character.

Among many American generations, from baby boomers to Generation Z, Mickey Mouse is no longer just a cartoon character. Indeed, Mickey Mouse is one of their friends and even one of their family members. Mickey represents a part of their childhood and a part of their identity. Disney successfully personified “Mickey Mouse” with emotions and characteristics that are easy for us to relate to. For example, Mickey also develops his relationships with others, falls in love, and acts irrationally as we all have experienced. No matter how happens, at the end of each show, Mickey always come out stronger and be a better person. Indeed, behind each Mickey’s show, there is a moral lesson that empowers people to be kind and treat others equally.  Through the image of “Mickey Mouse”, Disney has captured both the heads and hearts of numerous families across the nation. The company has hit a home run in building timeless portfolio of characters (the case here is Mickey) who is always something that we all strive for: being a good person.

Besides appearing on TV screens, Disney also brings Mickey Mouse to life by creating a “Disney Experience” at its international park locations and Disney cruises. The phenomenon of visiting the “Happiest Place On Earth” has been widespread on social media through many posting and sharing. In fact, on Instagram alone, Disney’s affiliated hashtags (e.g. #disneyland, #disneyword, #disney, #happiesplaceonearth) have more than one million posts at the moment. The company’s Facebook page achieves over 50 million likes. Recognizing the power of word of mouth through internet marketing, Disney actively manages the company’s social media presence by generating interesting content on a daily basis. To leverage its brand awareness, the company also runs various fun contests and promotion on social media which attracts millions of views. In addition, Disney fans can expect to be updated with most current Disney’s news by following the company’s social media accounts.

Mickey’s birthday this year got a little extra special thanks to social media marketing and viral buzzes. Once again, Disney managed to bring pure joy and happiness to its fan base by showing various celebrating activities for Mickey across the world. With the growth of Internet Marketing, I cannot wait to see what would be Disney’s next moves for marketing initiatives. Here’s to many more Mickey Mouse’s birthday celebration – for the happiest cartoon character representing the happiest place on Earth!