Three third-year students from the Department of Marketing Management were selected as national finalists in the prestigious L'Oreal Brandstorm competition of 2016. L'Oreal presents this annual competition, during which students from across the globe compete for a spot in the international finals in France. This contest has been running since 1992 and students from 45 countries have participated over the years. In 2015, more than 13 000 global players contested for the coveted prizes worth more than €2 500 for the top three international teams.  

 

The competition requires student teams to use the knowledge and the skills they have acquired through their years of undergraduate studies to develop innovative communication strategies to market a new L'Oreal brand – this year, the new brand was La Roche-Posay, a skin care range. The brief was to 'develop an integrated strategy to attract the new generation of La Roche-Posay consumers through technological and digital disruption'.

 

Team Ubuhle Bendalo from the third-year Marketing group made the national finals with their innovative ideas for the challenge, focusing on the Millennial consumer. They were one of only seven teams that competed nationally for a spot in the international finals. The team, consisting of James Tozer, Charlene Hsu and Lungile Shiburi, was the only team from Gauteng – in fact, they were the only team hailing from outside of the Western Cape. The team represented the Department and the University very well at the national finals on 6 May 2016 and although they did not make it into the international finals, the Department is very proud of their achievement.