Big Picture, the annual student challenge at the core of L'Oréal's partnership with ESCP Business School and its Creativity Marketing Centre, commenced on Monday, April 22nd, with an introduction given by Marie Taillard, Scientific Director of the professorship and L’Oréal Professor of Creativity Marketing at ESCP, and a brief presentation led by Simon Métivier, Marketing Product Manager of Kiehl’s.
Following the briefing session, Laurent François, Managing Partner at 180 LUX, shared some of his own methodological tips on problem-solving, while Alexandre Medan, Founder of Tout&Bo Productions offered some key pointers on the successful production of short videos.
This year, a cohort of 42 students from 10 countries engaged in the Big Picture challenge, an exclusive ESCP and L'Oréal initiative celebrating its 12th year. A rich and diverse tapestry characterised the participating groups, drawn from three distinct programmes: MSc in Marketing & Creativity, MSc in Digital Transformation Management & Leadership and Master in Management. Originating from diverse regions spanning Europe, India, China, America, the Middle East, and Africa, their collective expertise and perspectives lent a truly global dimension to the endeavour.
“The multi-cultural diversity is a real asset, not only for the creativity of the teams in their research for their big idea, but also for the analysis of a market that might be new for them, and thus enables them to better catch paradoxes on consumers’ habits.”, Simon Métivier emphasizes.
What is Big Picture?
An inspiring and challenging project
Big Picture is the annual crowning event of the partnership between L’Oréal and ESCP Business School. It propels students into the very heart of strategic innovation, a powerful real-life learning tool for students.
Commenting on this year’s event, Marie Taillard remarked that “this year's Big Picture stands out as exceptional as it is the first time students were challenged to work on a new category activation plan. As the pace of innovation continues to accelerate in the sector, this kind of opportunity is priceless and takes the learning experience for students to a higher level. All our student teams worked hard on gathering data to develop a deep understanding of the market and on formulating a unique solution and recommendation for our client brand. Our teams, hailing from 10 different countries, must be congratulated for successfully getting into the minds of French consumers and leveraging a powerful blend of analytical and creative thinking as part of their problem solving process. We are incredibly proud of their work this past week and sincerely congratulate all of the teams for a job well done. Particular kudos to the winning teams, and especially to Chiara, Cordelia, Jiayan, Prabhnoor, Sara and Zheng from Team 6!”
Shortly after discovering the brief, participating teams embarked on crafting unique solutions. Armed with their collective insights and expertise, they meticulously prepared recommendations encapsulated within three succinct slides, complemented by an engaging one-minute video aimed at compelling the discerning jury with their envisioned products.
Throughout the weeklong endeavour and across various workshops, the teams received invaluable guidance from ESCP professors and distinguished industry experts, such as Prof. Marie Taillard, Chloe Preece, Associate Professor of Marketing, Chi Hoang, Assistant Professor of Marketing, Laurent François, Laetitia Viskovic-Hughes, Strategy Lead at 180 LUX, and Raphael Ly, Founder of Idjezo.
Additionally, they benefited from the mentorship of L’Oréal members and ESCP alumni such as Simon Métivier, Cyriaque Houdoux, E-Commerce & Media Manager, Alexa Baumgaertner, Global Digital Services & Innovation Manager, Ruve Pires, E-Commerce Project Manager, Manon de Roquefeuil, International Retail Marketing Project Manager, and Tania Robles, Trade and merchandising Project Manager.
Big Picture is also an opportunity for L’Oréal’s Talent Acquisition teams to spot new talent and get to know ESCP’s up-and-coming next marketing stars. The students have therefore profited from an HR Q&A session with Alice Laurent, Talent Acquisition Manager Digital/E-commerce and Abdilah Merzoug – Talent Acquisition Manager Marketing at l’Oréal.
“It was my first BIG PICTURE and I have to say I was impressed by the quality of students' projects, not only on Big Ideas, but also on trends, consumer insights and activation. All of that in only one week! So exciting to see these ‘seeds of talent’ within this fantastic journey led by Marie!”, remarks Carine Dellière, Talent Acquisition Director at L’Oréal.
The culmination of this enriching experience came on Friday, April 26th, during the final presentations, attended by expert members of the jury, including Carine Dellière, Abdilah Merzoug, François Chilaud, Head of Marketing at L’Oréal, Simon Métivier, Laurent François, Raphaël Ly, Laëtitia Viscovic-Hughes and Chloe Preece.
And the winners are:
1st position: Team 6
Prabhnoor KAUR, Jiayan LIU, Sara KALLENBACH, Chiara BOUCHEZ, Zheng LIU and Cordelia RYAN
"We are thankful to have been able to participate in the L’Oréal Big Picture 2024. The project was challenging and allowed us to fully express our creativity and marketing skills while developing a proposal aligned with Kiehl's values. Working with our cosmopolitan team members, we learned a great deal from each other. We were given the opportunity to develop innovative ideas, but we were also able to zoom out and focus on the brand's heritage roots to create something unique. It was an unforgettable experience to work with L'Oréal and the coaches, and we are thankful for the opportunity.”
2nd position: Team 2
Zhangyi CAO, Mariya DOMOVA, Daniela FERNANDEZ CARRERO, Ishan SHAH, Sampreeti SINGHA and Rishiraj VATS
3rd position: Team 3
Valentina BAN CAMPOS, Shreya CHOUDHURI, Margherita MOCIO, Atharva PHARANDE, Shuyun WU and Yiting XIAO