Showing posts with label advertising. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advertising. Show all posts

Friday, February 17, 2012

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. 

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

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.