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11 August 2025 | Issue #104

In this issue:

• Disney’s Strategic Reset: Quality Over Quantity
• ChatGPT 5 Reviews
• Why Aren't Women Using AI as Much as Men?
• Know Thy Audience
• Design Quote of the Week

The Disney+ Curse: How Oversaturation Hurt Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar – and How They Can Rebuild

When Disney+ launched, it promised an endless feast for fans of Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar. In theory, it sounded perfect: more stories, more characters, more reasons to stay subscribed. In reality, the firehose of content didn’t build these brands up ... it wore them down.

Kevin Feige, president of Marvel Studios, has been candid about it. The streaming schedule diluted Marvel’s impact, with The Marvels suffering the worst from franchise fatigue. Star Wars saw its Disney+ series steadily lose viewers after The Mandalorian’s breakout success. Pixar lost some of its theatrical magic as films like Soul and Turning Red went straight to streaming, bypassing the big-screen prestige that once defined the studio.

What was rare became routine. And when everything is “special,” nothing is.

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Disney’s Reset: From “More” to “Better”

After years of flooding the zone, Disney is pulling back. The plan is clear: fewer projects, higher stakes.

For Marvel:

• Limit releases to two TV series and two to three films a year
• Recenter around cohesive storytelling and trusted talent (yes, the Russos and Robert Downey Jr. are back in the mix)
• Build toward tentpole events like Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars

For Star Wars:

• Retreat from constant streaming output
• Focus on theatrical experiences like The Mandalorian & Grogu (2026) and Starfighter (2027)
• Keep streaming limited to standout series like Ahsoka, rather than maintaining a conveyor belt of new titles

For Pixar:

• Shift back toward big-screen prestige
• Pair cinematic releases with deep integration into Disney parks and merchandising
• Rebuild the perception that a Pixar movie is a must-see event, not just another option on the couch

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How to Rebuild the Brands: A Brand Strategist’s Playbook

If I were advising Disney, I’d focus on six key moves.

1. Restore Scarcity and Anticipation Make each release an event. Stretch marketing arcs, release behind-the-scenes content, and let fan speculation build momentum the way it did for Endgame.
2. Reinforce Signature Experiences For Star Wars and Pixar, cinema needs to feel like the “home field.” Marvel should stick to projects that can stand alone while still feeding into a bigger story.
3. Celebrate Legacy and Continuity Lean on proven talent and creators who know the DNA of these worlds. Not every project needs to reinvent the wheel—sometimes a return to form is exactly what the brand needs.
4. Engage Fans Directly Go beyond Comic-Con announcements. Think interactive online storytelling, fan challenges, and experiences that let audiences contribute to the universe.
5. Align Content with Park and Retail Investments Every film or show should connect to an experience in the parks, a piece of merchandise, or an interactive moment that extends the story.
6. Bolster Merchandising and Global Reach Use the content slowdown to refresh product lines, expand into international markets, and make the IP feel aspirational again.

The Big Picture

Disney’s pivot is about re-earning the audience’s trust and excitement. By slowing down, elevating quality, and reconnecting stories to immersive experiences, they can bring back the feeling that a Marvel movie, a Star Wars adventure, or a Pixar film is worth clearing your calendar for.

They’ve learned the hard way that constant availability kills urgency. Now the challenge is to make these worlds feel rare and essential again. And if they get it right, the next decade could be another golden age for their biggest franchises.

​ NEWS AT THE INTERSECTION OF MARKETING, DESIGN, & AI

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5️⃣ ChatGPT 5: The Router Era Begins

Chris Penn's initial view on the GPT-5 model card confirms what many technical folks suspected — single dense models are hitting diminishing returns. GPT-5 isn’t one massive model, but a router directing queries to submodels depending on complexity. Think Microsoft Copilot’s under-the-hood orchestration: no need to fire up a jet just to get to the grocery store.

• Scaling AI to the Task: Smaller, faster submodels handle simple work, leaving the heavy models for complex reasoning — better for speed and sustainability.
• Level Playing Field: Benchmark choices (omitting newer Gemini 2.5 Pro or Claude 4) suggest what AI insiders have said for a while — major foundation models are roughly equal in capability.
• My Take: At the tech curve starts to flatten, the question now becomes how are we using AI

​Keep reading​

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5️⃣ GPT-5: It Just Does Stuff

Ethan Mollick’s early access tests reveal GPT-5 isn’t just another model — it’s a proactive, multi-model router that picks the right AI for the job, suggests next steps, and sometimes builds full, working products from vague prompts.

Why it matters for designers and marketers:

We’re moving into a world where the AI will decide how to solve problems and may do more than we even ask for. This could dramatically speed up creative workflows, but it also means giving up some control over the process.

Key takeaways

• GPT-5 automatically switches between sub-models, deciding when to “think hard” or just deliver quickly, though its judgment isn’t always predictable.
• The “Thinking” model can produce complete, polished outputs — from acrostic prose to functioning 3D apps — without detailed instructions.
• GPT-5 actively proposes and executes extra tasks, lowering the barrier for non-technical users but raising new questions about oversight and direction.

​Keep reading​

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🤷‍♀️ Why Don’t Women Use Artificial Intelligence?

On The Economist, new research shows that women are adopting AI tools like ChatGPT at significantly lower rates than men—by 16 to 20 percentage points—even when working in the same job roles. This isn’t about capability; the gap is often driven by higher ethical concerns, fear of judgment, and lack of targeted training. That matters for the workplace because AI use is increasingly tied to productivity, visibility, and career growth.

• Trust and ethics shape adoption: Many women hesitate to use AI due to worries about fairness, privacy, and how relying on AI might be perceived in professional contexts.
• Training narrows the gap: When women get more exposure to and understanding of AI tools, the usage disparity shrinks significantly.
• My Take: Teams have to address this to avoid further gender gaps. - H/T Liza Adams

​Keep reading​

​ THE VISUAL MARKETER

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Know your audience to strengthen your brand. A strong brand is built on more than a great logo or color palette. It is built on how well you connect with the people you want to serve. Understanding their needs, frustrations, and preferences helps you create visuals that feel like they were made just for them. This kind of alignment turns casual viewers into loyal followers because they start to see your brand as the one that truly “gets” them.

Focus your aim to make your brand memorable. When you try to appeal to everyone, you risk blending into the noise. By targeting a few key audiences such as your ideal customer and the person most likely to discover you, you can deliver consistent visuals that build recognition over time. Whether it is a quick infographic or a polished product shot, each asset reinforces your brand’s promise. Over time, that consistency becomes part of your identity, making your brand easier to remember and harder to forget.

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This info was taken from my book, The Visual Marketer.

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RECENT AND UPCOMING ENGAGEMENTS

I'm looking forward to seeing Lee and many others at the Content Entrepreneur Expo in Cleveland next month. This will be my 4th CEX, and I can't wait to catch up with the folks who inspired me to write The Visual Marketer. Plus, I'll be part of the Author Alley, where I'll do a book signing session!

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If you're looking for podcast guests, or want to collaborate on something, shoot me a DM.

DESIGN QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Bad design is smoke, while good design is a mirror.” – Juan-Carlos Fernandez

My AI disclaimer: While I usually write the main story, this week I was buried in deadlines and family stuff, so I had ChatGPT help me with this one. For the news section, AI writes the summary, and then I contribute My Thoughts. If AI generates the images, I include the prompt so you can see how I got to that image.

Thanks for reading!

–Jim

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