June 1, 2006
UT Marketing Team Represents
USA at L’Oreal
Competition
By Rob Meyer
They asked for it and they got it.
A team from The University of Texas at Austin beat out rivals from NYU, Wharton,
Michigan and Virginia to win the national L’Oréal Brandstorm competition May 5
in New York City.
Now Elizabeth Fenton, BBA ’06, Laura Miller, BS Advertising ’06, and marketing
senior Johannes Walker—collectively known as Team DynamUnique—are headed to
Paris and the international finals June 15, where they will face off against
teams from 32 countries in front of a jury led by L’Oréal CEO Jean-Paul Agon.
(Update: The finals in Paris resulted in a tie with teams from Korea and
France taking the top prize.)
“They asked for the opportunity to represent the USA,” said Herb Miller, the
team’s faculty adviser and senior marketing lecturer at the McCombs School of
Business. “The whole object is to ask for the order. This team made a commitment
to make it happen and they did.”
— Continued below —
 From left to right - Laura Miller, Johannes Walker and Elizabeth Fenton in New York City. |
In its 14th year, Brandstorm gives students from across the world
the opportunity to take on the role of brand manager for one of the
signature lines of L’Oréal. This year’s competition challenged teams
to develop a product in the Lancôme Body Care line and create a
comprehensive international marketing campaign around it.
“It was rewarding to win in New York,” Walker said. “It felt great
because these very experienced and important executives were
listening to fairly inexperienced undergraduates, and they were
interested in our ideas.”
Winning in New York made all the work and effort we put into the
project worthwhile, Fenton said. “I think the judges selected us for
our thorough analysis of the market and our innovative product,” she
said.
And what is Team DynamUnique’s product?
“This is top secret!” Fenton said. “In vague terms, it’s an
anti-aging body-care line that is made with organic ingredients and
scientific innovation.”
Since graduation, the group has been working hard to prepare for the
Paris competition.
“We lacked the theatrics that some of the other teams
demonstrated in New York,” Laura Miller said. “We need to step it up
before the international finals and make our presentation more
interactive and engaging.”
L’Oréal uses Brandstorm as a recruitment tool to size up talent and
the schools in which to find it. In the past, The University of
Texas at Austin hadn’t been on their list of schools to target, but
that might change as a result of Fenton, Miller and Walker.
“I think nationally we’ve proven that UT deserves to be ranked among
the top performing schools in the nation,” Fenton said. “It’s yet to
be seen what our contribution to the reputation will be at the
international level, but I hope we’ll be able to win the
international championship and leave our competitors with lasting
impressions.”
Walker agreed. “Nationally, this is a great recognition of the Texas
standard,” he said. “In Paris, we will meet a mix of outstanding
students, faculty and professionals. Anyone of those interested in
studying abroad, in spending a sabbatical at a U.S. academic
institution, in conducting research or in recruiting students will
have UT fresh in mind.”
Whatever the result in France, the Texas team has learned a lot
about product development and marketing.
“I’ve learned that it is a living process. Every step of the way
we’ve made changes to the product, our marketing plan and our
presentation,” Fenton said. “I now realize that you’re never going
to come up with a perfect, winning approach right away.”
Most of the time, the best strategy and product line is a
combination of several different thought processes from several
different people—it’s just a matter of synergizing these ideas,
Fenton
concluded.
“The main thing I have learned from this process is that creativity
and innovation is important, but everything comes back to the
consumer and, ultimately, satisfying their needs is the paramount
priority,” Miller added.
The winning team in Paris will receive 10,000 euros to travel to its
choice of one of 14 capitals around the world identified as centers
of culture, fashion and style.
“We are excited to travel to Paris and spend time in Europe, but we
also hope to win the grand prize trip at the end,” Miller said.
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
