How can data, creativity, and technology redefine digital marketing strategy in today’s competitive landscape?
That question set the tone for ESCP Business School’s 13th edition of the L’Oréal 'Big Picture' Project, held from 11–17 April 2025.
The annual project brought together students, faculty, alumni, and L’Oréal partners for a dynamic week exploring cutting-edge brand strategy.
This year, 50 students from the MSc in Marketing & Creativity (MMK) and MSc in Digital Transformation Management & Leadership (MDT) programmes joined forces to brainstorm a 360° digitally-driven campaign, merging Beauty Tech, Gen AI, and advanced digital tools to elevate a product launch in a competitive market category.
Students formed eight teams and were given full creative freedom to engineer an omnichannel strategy campaign that seamlessly integrated online and offline touchpoints. From AR/VR, programmatic display, user-generated content, and AI-powered personalisation to influencer partnerships, immersive storytelling, and connected packaging—no channel or tool was off limits.
At a time when AI is redefining relationships between brands and their customers, we find it particularly important to confront our students with the realities of tech-enhanced marketing and strategy in the “real world.” We’ve been partnering with L’Oréal on Big Picture for over ten years and this year again, our amazing client team from the Consumer Products Division have shared a challenging brief that has stretched the students’ analytical and creative skills and forced them to tackle the challenges and opportunities of a truly omnichannel approach for mass market products.
Prof. Marie TaillardL'Oréal Professor of Creativity Marketing at ESCP Business School
Working with L’Oréal and Faculty Mentors
A team of seven L’Oréal partners, including several MMK alumni from previous cohorts, joined forces with six ESCP faculty mentors, working closely with student teams to guide the process and provide support throughout the week. To help students with the project deliverables, they also received training and coaching from a professional video producer.
The students presented their vision through a one-minute original video and a three-slide PowerPoint presentation, challenging them to break down their complex strategy proposals into clear and impactful storytelling. Their work was evaluated on digital innovation, data-driven optimisation, inclusivity, authenticity, and the seamless integration of online and offline experiences. The jury also looked for strong business viability, creativity in execution, and the ability to craft a compelling narrative tailored to Gen Z and Millennial target audiences.
I was impressed by the quality of the recommendations and presentations, including some very creative videos: strong consumer focus, excellent taglines, and a comprehensive, innovative full-funnel activation approach. We loved one campaign that was particularly relevant and nearly ready to go live to consumers! I'm also proud of the students' creativity in a mass-market hygiene category, proving how engaging & insightful the men's deodorant market can be.
Camille MarquetActivation Director for LaSCAD at L'Oréal
The 'Big Picture' project has long become a key milestone for the partnership between ESCP Business School and L'Oréal. In addition to the chance to work on a live project, this partnership allows students to meet with the L'Oréal recruitment team and discuss the recruitment process and possible pathways to pursue a career within the L’Oréal Group.
L’Oréal Big Picture 2025: The Winning Teams
Congratulations to this year's winning teams:
- 1st Place - a tie between Team 3 - Anna Francheska Rossi (MDT), Eya Tlatli (MDT), Emanuele Crisanti (MMK), Ainhoa Eguilaz (MMK), Shashank Paramkusham (MMK), Kirsten Pederson (MMK), and Yanbing Zhao(MMK); and Team 1 - Muhammad Hassaan (MDT), Paula Posada (MDT), Navin Agarwal (MMK), Jill Danne (MMK), Seohee Lee (MMK), Maria Saber (MMK)
- 2nd Place - Team 2: Yifeng Wang (MDT), Gerardo Alvarez (MMK), Elaine Ho (MMK), Maria Paz Rodrigez Vargas (MMK), and Anushka Singh (MMK)
- 3rd Place - Team 4: Esperanza Garcia Fagalde (MDT), Marie Nickenig (MDT), Calla Chung (MMK), Sahil Mushid (MMK), Luis Gerardo Sanchez Mustafa (MMK), Ziyu Ye (MMK)
The jury praised these teams for their creative thinking in designing concepts and activation ideas that resonated across the panel.
Being part of the L’Oréal Big Picture project — and winning it — was a personal milestone for me as an MMK student at ESCP. It taught me to be fearlessly creative, to reimagine ‘boring’ briefs through storytelling and data, and to collaborate with a truly diverse team. What stood out most was how seamlessly creativity and data came together — it completely reshaped how I see marketing. As someone passionate about the intersection of business, creativity, and digital, this project was the perfect stepping stone.
Seohee LeeMSc in Marketing & Creativity Student at ESCP Business School
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