Learn more about MU Journalism Abroad

 We had such a wonderful experience on our trip, we wanted to remind you about all the wonderful opportunities to study abroad with the Missouri School of Journalism. Hope you can join us at the Study Abroad Fair to learn more.

Busy Wednesday?  Check out our study abroad resources page for more details on the Missouri School of Journalism's International Programs department. You can also follow the department on Twitter or "like" it on Facebook.

McCann-Erickson: An Honest Reflection

By Julia Unverfehrt

As one of the many strategic communication majors going on the Europe Tour I was understandably excited for our only advertising agency visit to McCann-Erickson. Of course I had heard of the agency before, as it is a global advertising agency with offices in more than 130 countries.  One of eight companies within the McCann Worldgroup, the agency is internationally known and the list of brands that the agency works with is very impressive.  I went into the media visit with very high expectations, which may not always be the best strategy to have.  These expectations derived from my general knowledge of McCann Worldgroup and previous agency presentations.  I have visited many other advertising agencies in the past, mainly in St. Louis but also in New York as well. My past agency visits, although all very different, set my expectations for what I might experience at McCann-Erickson in Prague.  As I should have guessed, the office in Prague was very different from other agencies I have been to in the United States.  I learned a lot during the presentation, but I ultimately was a little surprised with the content of the presentation. 

Advertising in Europe: How History and Culture Come Into Play

By Nicole Parker

McCann-Erickson in Prague is one of, if not the, most successful advertising agencies in the Czech Republic. As a part of the global advertising network in over 120 countries, McCann is the most commercially successful agency in the Czech Republic - with an abundance of Effie awards!

McCann Erickson is a very well-known and respected global agency, and I was excited to visit their office in Prague on the Europe trip since I first found out it was one of our many media visits! As a journalism major emphasizing in strategic communication, I plan on going into the advertising world on the account side and I love visiting agencies, discovering how they function and learning about their work. Another passion of mine is traveling and learning about different cultures. One of my goals for after graduation is to work at advertising agency in another country, so that I can combine these two things. I was hoping that the visit to McCann would provide some insights to advertising abroad, and after the visit I am even more excited about working in advertising here in the United States and abroad!

Prague was the first city in our four-city trip, and McCann Erickson was our very first media visit. Walking up to the office, we saw the plaque outside with their credo: "Truth Well Told" (above). Ales Vyhlidal is a strategic planner at McCann who talked to our group about their office in Prague, “Czech-ness” and what makes famous Czech advertisements popular. Vyhlidal hammered in the fact that advertising that considers and focuses on cultural values is very successful. 

The Significance of Culture in Advertising

By Katherine Weider

The introduction of the iPod more than a decade ago led the Vatican to ask two questions – Is it good? And is it useful? Church officials weren't concerned with how much it cost, or where they could get it.  They simply wanted to know whether or not it would be of use in everyday life.  

Turns out, these two questions apply to the advertising world as well, and are considered when it comes to the strategic planning of an ad campaign.  The success of an ad depends on how well a message is presented to an audience; it must make people feel a need for the product or service being sold.  In order to create a good and useful ad, one must first have a full understanding of their audience’s culture and historical background. It is only from there, after considering a country’s cultural norms, that an advertiser can create an ad that is relevant to their audiences’ way of life.

The Czech’s Effect on McCann-Erickson Advertising

By Sarah Tillou 

Before departing on our two and a half week long endeavor across Europe, I prepared a mental note regarding which cities I was most excited for, which food I craved most, and of course which media visits I anticipated visiting. As a strategic communication major, I looked forward to the visits that would be applicable to my interest and knowledge of advertising and public relations. One of these happened to be McCann-Erickson in Prague, Czech Republic. I looked forward to seeing how advertising was done in different countries and was curious to see why these changes occurred.

Culture: A Small Word Makes a World of Difference

By Kaitlan Whitteberry 

Granola clinked into the porcelain bowl, piling itself into a small, staggered triangle. I splashed milk onto my cereal and took a seat for breakfast. The other 22 students on my study abroad slowly trickled into the room, a few frowning faces mirrored those still jet-lagged from our travels the day before. However, everyone seemed slightly giddy, as it was our first day in Prague! I smiled and took a bite of my granola thinking of the days ahead. But my thoughts were interrupted, and before I knew I was having a cultural experience.

It All Depends On Lifestyle

By Bridget Kelly

My most highly anticipated media visit scheduled for the Europe Tour was McCann-Erickson in Prague, Czech Republic. My emphasis area is in strategic communications and I can only dream of working for an advertising agency like McCann-Erickson one day. I had been looking forward to this media visit since I read our Europe Tour itinerary. Excitement had been building up inside of me as I imagined everything we would learn about advertising in a different part of the world. Immediately we learned that the McCann-Erickson Prague office consists of six interconnected marketing solutions to benefit its clients, including: McCann Erickson, McCann Digital, Momentum, Universal McCann, Weber-Shandwick, McCann Buzzzer and MRM. Together these components allow McCann Worldgroup Prague to fulfill the visions of its clients through a dynamic brand strategy. However, I soon learned that this dynamic brand strategy is vastly different than what I perceived it to be.

Czech the Difference

By Ilyse Cohen 

After getting back from our two-week journalism study abroad program to Prague, Paris, Brussels and Rome, I have learned so much about how different countries handle different aspects of the media. One of the differences I found most interesting was how the Czech Republic advertisements were targeted and regulated. In Prague, we visited McCann-Erickson, a worldwide advertising agency network with eight different media companies all geared toward helping their clients and growing their business.

The Secret Sauce Is There Is No Secret Sauce

By Peter Kampschroeder

This picture to the left sums up what I learned on the trip quite nicely. None of the newsrooms we saw had exactly the same approach, even among exceptionally similar services. There were always subtle differences in how they ran themselves, little niggling differences in what each company focused on. What’s more, all these companies were still experimenting, to try to find a solution to the currently shifting media paradigm that works for them.

You Don't Say...Censorship in the European Media

By Tayler Overschmidt

Our recent two-week adventure through Europe was an eye opening experience regarding European media practices and styles. As we toured Prague, Paris, Brussels and Rome, we also toured new perspectives regarding journalism ethics.

Prague's Astronomical Clock. (Tayler Overschmidt)

In Prague, we visited McCann-Erickson, where we saw some examples of some famous—or infamous—advertising campaigns in the Czech Republic. A representative from the company presented information for us regarding some of the most well known advertising campaigns in the country and other information on the “Czechness.”

During the presentation, I asked what campaign from McCann-Erickson made the representative the most proud. His answer was a commercial for a dessert called Fidorkas. In this commercial, a little girl hits a car with her doll and makes the airbags inflate. Then she steals the dessert right out of the car passenger’s hand. The thing is, this commercial had a very short time on the air because it was banned.