Beauty-School Blowout: Brandstorm's National Champion Awarding Night

MANILA, Philippines – The urban tempest of New York City was a fitting theme for L’Oreal Brandstorm’s National Finals 2009, held at Fiamma last April 17. Matching up to the big apple’s highly charged spirit were the roiling and innovative ideas that would be presented by six teams selected as finalists in the biggest marketing competition; only one team of three chosen to compete against 40 other countries at the international Finals (June ’09) in Paris, France. 

The product of months of grueling brand familiarization, international strategy development, and workshops at L’Oreal Philippines’ headquarters would be a marketing campaign for Maybelline New York’s first fragrance. The awarding party at Fiamma was the celebratory culmination of the teams’ hard work since September; the creative results assessed by a jury composed of L’Oreal Philippines’ managing director Luc-Olivier Marquet, the brand’s general manager for human resources Tina Ampil, Nandy Villar, McCann Worldgroup Philippines’ managing director, and Yves Zeller, Mane Philippines’ managing director.

Though a winner had been chosen in the morning, the evening’s revelry heightened when each of the teams pitched their campaigns to the audience. But the grand plans of teams Suavulous (2nd runner-up) for MYDestiNY, Three Marketers (1st Runner-Up and Best Product Design) for U.NYC, and Team Bang for their National Champion-and-Best-Print Ad-winning fragrance Disco, would cause a flurry of excitement. While the finalists were well represented from AdMU and UP, it would be Arlene Amante, Sars Santos, and Kat Villanueva; three double-major students throwing in know-how from marketing, communications, advertising, and psychology who’d be taking their groovin’ double-nozzle perfume to the city of lights — with 10,000 euros to boot.

The rest of the night would be rife with scintillating looks and high style — everyone beholding new Maybelline must-haves like Clear Smooth Pressed Powder, Volum’ Express Cat Eyes Mascara and Moisture Extreme Lipstick showcased by models strutting around in threads by Warehouse, Topshop, and Topman. That the event granted a simulation of fast-paced, ultra-cosmopolitan New York — highlighted by industrial scaffoldings, metro skateboarders, hip-hop dancers, standard NY rooftops, and iconic landmarks — evoked the always-fresh coursing nature of the biggest global marketing competition. Of course, the same could be said about marketing itself.

The local L’Oreal Brandstorm season kicks off yearly in September in participating campuses. For more information, you may visit www.brandstorm.loreal.com