Powered by BrightLine’s interactive TV and advertising technology, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts released a branded smart TV app available on Samsung and LG smart TV sets. The app allows consumers to check out Disney theme parks and vacation packages right from their living room, on the big screen. The app offers a wealth of information, including videos, photographs, and interactive maps of Disney theme parks and resort properties. The app also includes multiple user engagement features to drive consumers closer to the point-to-purchase.The branded app is likely to be a hit among Disney's target audience–TV households with children. That is, as long as smart TV owners know it exists.

Today, there are few smart TV branded experiences (i.e., a company who creates an app to promote or drive product/service awareness and sales), which bodes well for Disney in getting the app noticed by consumers. What remains to be seen are the strategies Disney puts in place to ensure smart TV owners discover and use the app. There are multiple app discovery strategies for Disney to take including running a smart TV ad campaign or optimizing the app store submission process so that the app appears in TV app store searches. However, it’s likely Disney has cut deals with both LG and Samsung to be listed as a featured app in the manufacturer’s respective app storefronts.

In the upcoming weeks, Parks Associates is set to release a report, App Discovery & Marketing Services, which provides an analysis of the strategies employed by app content owners in getting their app product(s) discovered and used in an increasingly growing app marketplace.