At the end of April, three teams of VU EVAF Global Marketing Program students returned from the international "Loreal Brandstorm" competition in Poland, placing among the top ten strongest teams from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland. Two teams from VU EVAF received the highest awards: "AROM.AI" won second place, and the "ARtistic" team claimed third place.
The students prepared for the competition during their studies, integrating their preparation for the "Loreal Brandstorm" project into the marketing management course and applying theoretical knowledge to develop a new product and its communication idea.
The annual "Loreal Brandstorm" competition invites participants to explore a different relevant theme reflecting societal changes. This time, the announced theme was "Crack the new codes of beauty," urging participants to analyze the possibilities of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, or their elements in the beauty industry.
For example, the team that won second place, "AROM.AI" (Naomi Koc, Nojus Sungaila, and Rūta Karvelytė), presented their project called "Facial Emotion Recognition Software to find your perfect scent" to the jury. The idea behind their project involved using facial emotion recognition programs to aid in online perfume purchases. The team members shared more about their project idea and their impressions from the competition.
"Taking into account the client's personality (whether they are more introverted or extroverted, prefer a stronger or milder scent), the purpose of the fragrance (daily use, evening events, or other occasions), and, most importantly, the emotions evoked by the visuals displayed in the program (such as a rippling sea, lavender field, sliced oranges, etc.), artificial intelligence generates a list of fragrances that would meet the client's needs. The most interesting part is the third part, which focuses on emotions. During this stage, the AI-powered program tracks microexpressions on a person's face (e.g., movements of the nose, eyebrows, or eyes) and evaluates the emotions triggered by the visuals, associating them with specific scents," explained Nojus Sungaila, a member of the team.
The successful performance of the Lithuanian teams in the competition was not only attributed to their unique ideas but also to their excellent presentation before the jury. Rūta Karvelytė, a participant in the competition, said, "I believe our team stood out not only because of our exceptionally strong idea but also due to the unity and charisma of the team members. It was interesting to interact with the competition jury and the people working at 'Loreal.' We had the opportunity to hear feedback about our idea and its presentation. I can say that we gained invaluable connections from the competition and a desire to further nurture and develop this idea."
When asked about the key elements of a successful idea in a project, Nojus, a student who participated in the competition, highlighted three components: "It should address a specific problem for the client or the company, be feasible considering both financial resources and time perspectives, and be unique or differentiate itself from existing products or services on the market. If an idea meets these three criteria, it is already good. The next step is to look at it from different perspectives, improve it, present it attractively, and, most importantly, believe in what you're doing."
"In my opinion, we should not forget the importance of teamwork. Generating and implementing ideas requires consistent and time-consuming work. People in a team must not only fulfill tasks but also collaborate effectively and listen to each other. I am confident that our idea was successful because Nojus, Naomi, and I have been working together at the university for three years, completing various projects and tasks. We know each other well, understand each other, and can reach great achievements in such a team. Developing unique ideas with potential becomes easier," added Rūta Karvelytė.
Congratulations to all the students of the Global Marketing Program who made it to the top ten of the international competition: the teams "AROM.AI" (Naomi Koc, Nojus Sungaila, Rūta Karvelytė), "ARtistic" (Mildvydas Sinkevičius, Mindaugas Gailius, Paulius Ivaškevičius), and "JMG'REAL" (Gabrielė Skirvainytė, Julija Dikčiūtė, Miglė Dirsytė).