Wits students off to international marketing competition

Launched in 1993, L'ORÉAL Brandstorm is an international marketing competition that provides students with a golden opportunity to design a new product line for an existing L'ORÉAL brand. This year's brand case study was the Vichy sun care range for the younger customers (13-25 year olds). L'ORÉAL provides all participants with a real life marketing experience: an in-depth brief on the brand and the market, a chance to meet face to face with a professional marketing executive and a unique opportunity to work with the brand's communication agency to develop a full communications campaign that includes product mock-ups, posters, and ads.

“Worth the sleep deprivation”

Wits students Alexia Beretta, Genevieve Chang and Natasha Matos - also known as Ilio Chic - clinched the first prize at the nail-biting national finals in Sandton, Johannesburg on Thursday 15 May. They described the experience as “unbelievable, amazing and definitely worth the sleep deprivation”.

Ilio Chic demonstrated its creativity, market analysis, and coherence with the brand's values in a team presentation to a jury of professionals which included L'ORÉAL South Africa MD Philippe Raffray and Euro RSCG MD Lynn Madeley.

Ilio Chic was chosen from 62 teams -a total of 186 students - who registered for the fourth edition of L'ORÉAL Brandstorm in South Africa. Rulishni Chetty, Melissa Diesko and Natalie Simpson from AAA in Cape Town were the runners-up and Aletha Jeftha, Celeste Adonis and Melissa Rassie from the University of Cape Town (UCT) came in third place.

Worldwide 1539 teams registered for the 2008 L'ORÉAL Brandstorm, which means 4617 students from 469 schools, in 38 countries, are taking part in the competition.

“This 2008 L'ORÉAL Brandstorm edition is the largest and most international ever, with South Africa participating for the fourth time. It is part of our recruitment policy to ensure that we recruit the best talent and value creative and dynamic personalities,” says Raffray.

Recruit international talent

L'ORÉAL Brandstorm provides the L'ORÉAL Group with the opportunity to recruit international talent. Since its founding in 1993, the competition has attracted over 25 000 students, allowing L'ORÉAL marketing managers and human resources recruiters to identify talented potential employees by seeing them in action.

“The L'ORÉAL Brandstorm provides unique pedagogical tools to professors and students and it serves as a true professional experience. For the contestants it is an original opportunity to approach the corporate world,'' says Arnaud Hermitte, HR director of L'ORÉAL South Africa.