In a world of endless content and algorithm shifts, global brands face a growing challenge: how do you stay consistent across continents, while still connecting with audiences in a culturally relevant way?
At SXSW London, Lucy Amos, Head of Social Media & Influencers for Disney UK & EMEA, and Melissa Chapman, CEO of Jungle Creations, peeled back the curtain on what it really takes to localize storytelling at scale without losing the essence of the brand. Moderated by Sedge Beswick, this session unpacked how a household name like Disney adapts to the hyperlocal expectations of digital audiences, one community, platform, and character at a time.
From One Facebook Page to 600+ Accounts
Fourteen years ago, Disney’s social media strategy was a single Facebook page and some static YouTube uploads. Today? Over 600 accounts across platforms, markets, and languages reaching more than 2 billion people each month.
But as Lucy Amos noted, what hasn’t changed is the pace of change itself. Algorithms shift, formats evolve, and platforms fade in and out of relevance. “The only constant is change and education,” she said. The job isn’t just about keeping up. It’s about bringing the rest of the business with you.
The Balance: Global Brand, Local Relevance
Disney operates under four universal values, entertain, innovate, include, and inspire, which Amos calls “translatable in every language.” These values anchor everything the team does, but it’s the local layer that gives them life.
Recent campaigns, like the upcoming Inside Out 2, show how the same IP resonates differently in different contexts. In the UK, the character Anxiety took off with Gen Z audiences on TikTok. Meanwhile, other characters resonated more with children on YouTube. The team capitalized on those differences turning characters into campaign assets and pairing them with topical moments like football matches.
As Amos put it: “It’s not just about where you show up it’s how the story flexes across different cultures, audiences, and moods.”
Turning Communities into Streets
One of the most insightful metaphors came when Amos described each social handle as its own "digital street" with locals, passersby, superfans, and even the occasional troll. Disney’s job? Make every one of those people feel seen, whether through reactive comments, personalized engagement, or relatable content.
That community-driven approach is supported by Jungle Creations, who handle much of the content pitching, influencer outreach, and always-on moderation for UK accounts. As Chapman shared, “Community management isn’t just a task it’s the heartbeat of brand love.”
And it’s paying off. Since taking this approach, Disney UK’s family account has seen a 5x increase in reach and a doubling of comment volume, driven by more thoughtful moderation and timely responses.
Influencers as Storytellers, Not Just Amplifiers
Influencer content isn’t treated as a side campaign it’s integrated into Disney’s own feeds. “We don’t just look at reach,” said Amos. “We want creators who genuinely understand and love our IP.”
Disney's Family Creators program, for example, ensures that parents see themselves reflected in the content whether that’s single parents, same-sex couples, or multi-generational families. The goal: real representation, not just polished aesthetics.
Chapman emphasized this further: “We don’t want role models. We want real models. Someone who makes you feel seen and heard without needing to spend money or look a certain way.”
Platform Strategy: Where Magic Meets Metrics
Disney and Jungle Creations treat each platform as a different stage and they program content accordingly. Instagram is still the “shop window,” while TikTok offers a chance to tell stories in motion.
When launching the Disney Store UK TikTok, the team leaned into rich narrative formats. One standout: a TikTok showing the store’s ceremonial key-opening ritual a deeply nostalgic experience transformed into a shareable story moment. It went viral not because it was polished, but because it felt magical.
What this session made clear is that social isn’t a channel it’s the connective tissue between a brand and its fans.
Don’t chase every trend—map them to your values.
Don’t just publish—listen, react, and learn.
Don’t treat influence as outsourced—co-create with creators who care.
For Disney, every post, reply, and character moment is a chance to build trust and make someone’s day a little more magical. It’s not just scalable storytelling. It’s brand love, made local.
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