LPWire: Disney Parks and Resorts and Georgia-Pacific Form 10-Year Strategic Alliance

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Georgia-Pacific Form 10-Year Strategic Alliance

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts and Georgia- Pacific Corp. announced today a 10-year strategic alliance that brings together the world's leading family entertainment destinations with the stable of brands of the world's leading paper consumer products company.

This multi-faceted agreement includes marketing and promotional rights for both parties, attraction sponsorship and on-site promotional presence featured at Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort and Disney Cruise Line.

Brawny(r) paper towels will be the presenting sponsor of the high-octane Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show opening in Spring 2005 at Disney-MGM Studios in Florida, Dixie(r), Georgia-Pacific's brand of disposable tableware, will be the title sponsor of Mickey's Backyard BBQ pavilion and Chip n Dale's Campfire Sing-a-long at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground both in Florida.

In addition, Georgia-Pacific products, such as Quilted Northern(r) bath tissue, Angel Soft(r) toilet paper, Vanity Fair(r) napkins, Dixie cups, plates and bowls, and the company's extensive line of away-from-home products will be utilized by guests and Cast Members at Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Another leading Georgia-Pacific brand, still to be determined, will be a presenting sponsor of Disneyland Resort's Big Festival Area in California.

"For the past 10 years, Georgia-Pacific has been taking solid steps in moving our company closer to the consumer, especially through the growth of our consumer products business," said A. D. "Pete" Corell, chairman and chief executive officer - Georgia- Pacific. "This alliance with Walt Disney Parks and Resort is a unique opportunity to link our brands, which are trusted and used by families in more than 85 percent of U.S. households, with the world's leading family entertainment destinations and is another bold step in the evolution of our company."

When making the announcement, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts president Jay Rasulo said, "Today, we welcome Georgia-Pacific as the newest alliance partner to join our parks and resorts family on both coasts. Georgia-Pacific has some of the best-known brands and this opportunity will allow us to further create new and innovative ways to extend our brand into the hearts and homes of families across America."

The strategy of attaching the Brawny(r) paper towel brand to Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is not only powerful in itself, but each year millions of visitors to the Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show in Florida will have exposure to the brand through signage at the attraction. Michael C. Burandt, executive vice president - Georgia-Pacific, added, "Georgia-Pacific isn't the first to recognize that traditional mass marketing has lost much of its power and is being replaced by marketing to millions of individual consumers. Most importantly, we see this alliance and announcement as the start of a great combination of the Disney brand and Georgia-Pacific and its stable of consumer products brands that may grow and expand for years to come."

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts is a worldwide leader of providing family vacation experiences. When Hong Kong Disneyland opens September 12, 2005, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts will feature 11 theme parks around the world in five resort destinations, a world class cruise line, 35,000 hotel rooms, seven Disney Vacation Club resorts with 84,000 members, world class dining and retail, PGA championship golf courses, the world's most popular water parks and sports entertainment.

Headquartered at Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific is one of the world's leading manufacturers and marketers of tissue, packaging, paper, building products and related chemicals. With 2003 annual sales of more than $20 billion, the company employs approximately 55,000 people at more than 300 locations in North America and Europe. Its familiar consumer tissue brands include Quilted Northern(r), Angel Soft(r), Brawny(r), Sparkle(r), Soft 'n Gentle(r), Mardi Gras(r), So-Dri(r), Green Forest(r) and Vanity Fair(r), as well as the Dixie(r) brand of disposable cups, plates and cutlery. Georgia-Pacific's building products manufacturing business has long been among the nations leading suppliers of building products to lumber and building materials dealers and large do-it-yourself warehouse retailers. For more information, visit www.gp.com.

--Posted January 14, 2005
Source: Georgia-Pacific