L'Oréal Brandstorm, an international marketing competition, provides young talents from around the world with the opportunity to devise entirely new strategies for a L'Oréal Group brand or product line. For 23 years, Brandstorm has attracted over 70,000 participants among the brightest students from 45 countries around the world.
Given the success of the Lebanon Brandstorm launch in 2014, L'Oréal Levant decided to propose a new, more innovative national edition. In 2015, over 120 students from various Lebanese universities used their marketing knowledge to create a new retail experience for the Lancôme brand in Travel Retail.Throughout the competition, undergraduate students had to analyse current market trends and performance, and consider retail design, animation and education in order to propose innovative services and attract new customers to the brand in the travel distribution channel (airports, airlines, ferries, cruises, downtown duty-free shops, etc.).
After three months of hard work and preparation, the final eight teams were invited to the national finale at the Mövenpick Hotel in Beirut, on Friday the 24th of April. The ceremony, attended by the highly motivated students and their proud professors, was celebratory and emotionally charged. The jury was once again impressed by the various teams' pitches.
Congratulations to the winning team, « REDEFINERS », from the American University of Beirut. Razan Madi, Reem Saab, Ghadeer Hamati, proposed an innovative global marketing and communication strategy for Lancôme, winning them first place in the national competition.
This victory opens the doors to the final stages of the competition: the international finale. On the 18th of June 2015 in Paris, 45 teams from 45 different countries will compete for the first prize: a 10,000 Euro ticket for a trip to the destination of the champions' choice. Our Lebanese winners are ready to take-on this new challenge, and we wish them the best of luck!
« We will refine out our strategy and propose an even more complete campaign. We are delighted at the idea of presenting our project to global talent. This adventure is an immense learning experience and we will continue to give our best, » confirmed the winning team before adding, « Brandstorm was a wonderful experience, filled with enthusiasm, challenge and cooperation. »
Congratulations to « THE VISIONARIES », from The Lebanese American University, and « THE TRIPLE EFFECT », from the American University of Beirut, who came in second and third respectively.
Brandstorm is an extraordinary tool for identifying the most promising talents from all four corners of the world. Every year, the L'Oréal Group recruits 150 to 200 participants for internships or full-time positions thanks to this global competition.
« The first edition of Brandstorm in Lebanon conveyed a strong message, creating a buzz amongst the universities. This competition also offers rewarding career opportunities. We recruited three young talents spotted during Brandstorm 2014, » declared Tony Hayek, Human Resource Director of L'Oréal Levant.
