"We will make it to Paris": From self-belief to the L'Oréal Brandstorm Global Top 6

Competing against more than 380,000 participants worldwide, the final-year Bachelor of Digital Marketing students earned a place among the Global Top 6 at the L'Oréal Brandstorm 2026 Global Finals in Paris. The achievement was not built on one breakthrough idea or one outstanding presentation. It came from six months of questioning one another, refining every detail and believing every idea could be better. 

Unlike many competitions, Global L’Oreal Brandstorm did not end with one submission. Every round challenged the team to revisit their ideas, strengthen their strategy, and refine their presentation before moving on. 

"It took six months of revision," Trung said. "After every round, we had time to improve what we were doing. We couldn't change the core idea, but we kept making the story, the concept and the presentation more coherent." 

As the competition progressed, the team realised that their toughest critics were never the judges. 

"I think our biggest recurring challenge was ourselves killing our own ideas," Trung said. "Whenever someone suggested something, the others would immediately question whether it could really work." 

Instead of treating disagreement as conflict, the trio saw it as an essential part of their creative process. 

"Many of the ideas we later saw in the local rounds - and even some in the global rounds - we had already discussed ourselves," Thu said. "But we didn't stop there. We kept asking ourselves if we could push the idea further." 

Throughout the competition, the team chose to build their solution around Jacquemus, one of L'Oréal Luxe's brands, focusing on reimagining how consumers experience its fragrance line. 

That mindset eventually shaped LE MATCH - a concept that challenged one simple assumption: why does perfume have to be invisible? 

Rather than creating another fragrance bottle, the team imagined a portable device that prints temporary scented tattoos onto skin, clothing and other surfaces, turning fragrance into both a visual and sensory experience. 

"We wanted perfume to be both visible and invisible," Thu said. "That's why we stepped away from just thinking about the bottle." 

The idea continued to evolve as the team researched technologies that could make it commercially viable. 

"We researched many different technologies because realism was one of the judging criteria," Trung said. "The more we researched, the more we realised we had to keep adapting the idea to make it technically possible." 

By the time they reached the Global Finals, the biggest change was not the idea itself—it was the team's mindset. Every round reinforced the belief that there was always another question to ask, another perspective to consider and another way to improve. 

Improving their idea was only part of the challenge. Outside the competition, the three students were completing their final year at RMIT while balancing Capstone, internships and part-time work. Finding time to work on Brandstorm became another test of their commitment. 

"We had to balance work, study and the competition," Thu said. "We're teammates at university and in the competition, so scheduling our time became really important." 

Whenever the workload became overwhelming, the team returned to the same phrase. 

"We'll make it to Paris." 

Trung said it began almost as a joke. "I kept telling everyone, 'We'll go to Paris no matter what.' At first, everyone laughed." 

As the team progressed through each stage, however, the affirmation gradually became genuine confidence. 

"After every round, we felt like we actually had a chance," he said. "The confidence kept building throughout the six months." 

For Thu, believing in the idea mattered just as much as improving it. 

"If you want something to happen, you have to believe in what you're doing," she said. "We debated so much to arrive at our final solution that we truly believed in it." 

There were difficult moments along the way, but quitting never became part of the conversation. 

"We complained a lot," Trung shared. "But none of us ever said we wanted to quit. We'd complain, then we'd get back to work."

While the team's determination drove the project forward, they say they never achieved it alone. 

Throughout the competition, the trio regularly sought feedback from RMIT Digital Marketing lecturers, using every consultation to test their thinking, refine their strategy and strengthen their presentations before the next round. 

"One consultation with them was worth the whole course," Trung said. "In just one hour, we could revisit everything we'd learned and immediately apply it to a real project." 

As the competition progressed, that guidance became more than academic mentorship. When the team arrived in Paris for the Global Finals, Digital Marketing lecturers Lucky Phan and Ha Tran were there to cheer them on. 

"We never imagined we'd meet our lecturers in another country," Trung said. 

"It wasn't just academic support," Thu added. "It was emotional support too." 

Looking back, the students believe their journey was shaped not only by their determination but also by the community around them - from teammates who challenged every idea to lecturers who encouraged them to keep thinking bigger. 

Six months earlier, "We'll make it to Paris" was simply a phrase exchanged between three classmates after another long brainstorming session. 

Today, it tells a much bigger story. 

Minh Trung, Thu and Quynh Lam's journey reflects what can happen when RMIT students embrace opportunities beyond the classroom, challenge one another to think differently and commit to continuous improvement. Their Global Top 6 finish is more than a milestone for the team - it is a reminder that the skills developed at RMIT, combined with curiosity, resilience and collaboration, can take students further than they first imagine. 

Sometimes, the journey to the global stage begins with a simple belief - and the determination to keep showing up until those words become reality. 

Story: Le Thanh Van, Professional Communication student. This article does not reflect the views of RMIT Vietnam as an institution.