Day 10

Loreal

Once again we met at Caulfield but this time we were heading to St.Kilda rd to visit beauty company Loreal. We were greeted by Helen Purdy the recruiment manager and introduced to the team of presenters. First to speak with us was Sarah Keating the HR manager who spoke about the background of the company and their recruitment programs. Loreal is the number 1 cosmetics company worldwide with 64,600 employees. Thy have 23 global brands and run in over 130 countries. She explained that their business is beauty but beauty is different for everyone, they attempt to cover all definitions of beauty across their different brands. 

Their divisions include-

• Professional products
• Consumer Products
• Luxury Products
• Active Cosmetics

Loreal have also acquired the Body Shop and are extremely proud to include it in their group.    Its attainment is part of working towards their image as a sustainable and eco-friendly company. The companies 'strategy is to be global or nothing' and understand the need for different communications for different cultures globally. They also pride their brand on performance and superior quality and so scientific research is a very important part of the business along with innovation.

After having a coffee as a group the next speaker to present to us was the Senior Brand Manager, Lauren. She explained she had moved across many roles and brands during her time at Loreal and currently she was responsible for the consumer product brand Garnier. She discussed the branding of the products and the product launch of their new collection of deodorants. She described the research process leading to its decision, market research, promoting the product and monitoring it. 

Next up was employee trainer George who worked under the luxury brand Lancome. George was so enthusiastic and anyone who was sleepy would have been instantly woken up. He began by asking us what we believed was the most powerful commodity in the world, some responding with image, others with gold.. he explained that beauty was the most powerful commodity and that this is why their business is so successful. He discussed luxury brands being about an experience and that even though customers may be able to get discounts online they will still shop in store because they value the customer service and advice. This visit was very insightful in respect to many different product categories and a lot of knowledge and interesting information sought. We had our photos taken and received a show bag each with some Loreal goodies inside. With bags in hand we then went into the CBD for some lunch. 

Salmat

Our last visit for the day was marketing communications firm Salmat who deliver services to a great number of businesses. Sean McDonell the industry Director of Retail and Thomas Mahon, Head of Sales presented to the group on behalf of the company. The pair were very down to earth and gave us the chance to present our research topics to ensure that they covered any relevant information. They described their role as enhancing the engagement their clients have with their customers and improving their efficiency. They spoke about both tactical and brand marketing and their differing strategies. Salmats main tactics included moving from traditional to digital marketing and using all communication channels in the most efficient and effective way possible, including a seamless integration. With so much noise in communications they emphasised the need to cut-through to their target including both push and pull strategies. 

Last group dinner 

It was all soon coming to an end so for one of our last outings together we went to china town and enjoyed a banquet at the Dragon Boat. We reminisced about our travels and experiences, it was hard to believe it was coming to an end, we had done soo much yet it felt like it had gone so quickly.