Brandstorm success for marketing students

Marketing students from RMIT University are national winners in the 2012 L'Oréal Brandstorm competition.

Team Sophistique, comprising Bethany Cartan, Mali Djohan and Mo Seetubtim, will travel to Paris to represent Australia at the international final this month.

A second RMIT team, involving Kyle Birkett, Philippa Losper and Bridgette Watts, also made it to the national finals.

The students were supervised throughout the competition by Kathleen Griffiths from the School of Economics, Finance and Marketing.

"The teams were fantastic to work with. They put in many hours of effort over the last six months and it is great to see them rewarded for their hard work," Ms Griffiths said.

"RMIT has achieved exceptional results in this competition since it began in Australia and the students this year have maintained that high standard."

L'Oréal Brandstorm gives high-achieving students from around the world an opportunity to combine marketing theory and creativity.

More than 50,000 students from 280 universities in 45 countries have participated in Brandstorm since its launch in 1993.

RMIT is the most successful participant in Australia, having won the national final in 2006, finishing first, second and third in 2008 and finishing first and second in 2009.

This year students were required to develop a new iconic and innovative product or product range for the Body Shop.

Students needed to design the packaging for the new product or range and build a marketing and communications strategy which respected the company's existing brand values.

Sophistique's innovative thinking, creative presentation, and clear strategy impressed the judging panel.

Their product design encapsulated the Body Shop brand and delivered the first free-trade all-natural sun care range.

The range is free from the harsh chemicals that have traditionally been part of sunscreens.

It also allows Vitamin D from the sun to be absorbed, which helps to reduce the growing cases of Vitamin D deficiency around the world.

Ms Cartan said: "Brandstorm provides a truly phenomenal opportunity to work with real brands and develop your own ideas.

"The RMIT marketing staff have been a great support and it is has been really exciting to see our products come to life. Now we're looking forward to representing Australia in the international final!"

Sophistique will pitch their campaign to L'Oréal CEO, Jean-Paul Agon, in Paris on 30 June. They will compete against teams from 48 other countries for a travel grant valued at €10,000.

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