London: Second Time Around 

 

 

Hello everyone! My name is Jessica Calloway and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to apply for Play’s summer 2009 Internship Program. The summer of my junior year represents a point in time that will forever be engraved in my mind. In addition to reaching the half way mark in my college career, I had the opportunity to study abroad in London for a summer. The knowledge and experience I gained from this voyage is hard to articulate but I will try my best to do so.

The study abroad program that I chose was offered by the University of Virginia and entitled, “The Culture of London”.  Rather than focusing on a collegial experience bound by classrooms, the program seamlessly wove together immersion and a strong emphasis on English Literature. During this program I had the opportunity to experience London through various venues such as theatres, museums, and politics. I solely viewed my experience in London through a literary lens which enabled me to apply my working knowledge of the great British poets and artists.  Every excursion was an opportunity to visit the tangible places I had learned about in class. Whether it was a trip to the Globe Theatre where some of Shakespeare’s greatest works were performed, or a visit to the royal parks mentioned by Virginia Woolf in her novel entitled Mrs. Dalloway, it became evident that literature served as the keystone for British culture.  Yet, what I neglected to realize at the time was how this study abroad experience would continue to shape the lens through which I viewed “everyday notions” for years to come.

Though England is one of America’s greatest allies and shares the English language, the British culture does have its fair share of differences from American culture. London’s strategic positioning allows for an increased accessibility to other European countries. Thus London is a melting pot of languages, races, and culture. In an attempt to remedy the nostalgia I had for home, one of the most memorable experiences that I had when visiting London was when I went with one of my peers to visit McDonalds.  Upon entering the franchise, I expected “comfort food”, and I naively made the assumption that their menu would be a replicate of the American menu.  My rationale was simply that the British culture resembled the American culture so much that it would only make sense for the menu to be the same. Yet when I walked into the franchise not only did the unfavorable exchange rate of the dollar for pound seem to resonate, I realized that there were minor differences in the menu. While I always assumed that the differences stemmed from the fact that British culture had different taste preferences then American culture, I never fully grasped why the profound differences existed. That is until I enrolled in the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) foundation course entitled, “Concepts of Marketing”. 

This newfound knowledge of marketing challenged me to reevaluate my experience in London through a marketing lens. When a company makes the decision to enter a new global market it must make the decision to either keep the same product or adapt the product to meet the needs of its new market.  In most cases, companies choose to adjust their product to cater to the culture of its new market. For instance, the options for the McFlurry here in the States include add-ins of either Oreos or M&M’s. Yet in London the McFlurry add-ins are Cadburry Mini Eggs, or Nestle Crunchies.  Just as Oreos and M&M’s are popular candies in America, McDonald’s recognized the need to make its customers feel catered to by offering Cadburry Mini Eggs and Nestle Crunchies as options for the McFlurry. Such adaptation creates a bond between company and consumer as the consumer feels that the company is truly taking the time to understand their needs rather than simply thrusting an American product onto British Citizens. Just as McDonald’s catered to British citizens, Play caters to the many needs of its various clients and marketing is only one of the many areas a company can experience growth. I understand the importance tailoring a unique growth strategy to each individual company as there is no uniform solution that works for every company. I view every scenario and experience as an opportunity to share, learn, and grow and I would welcome the opportunity to continue sharpening my skill set through Play’s summer internship program.