I PLAYED IN A PREVIOUS EDITION

I played in a previous edition of EStrat. Can I play this year?
Yes, unless you were an international finalist.

We were international finalists last year, can we play this year?
Unfortunately, no. International finalists from previous editions are not eligible to play. In the interest of fairness, there are no exceptions to this rule.

MY TEAM

My team is composed of two MBA students, and one undergraduate student at the same university. Can we register?
No. All three must be either undergraduate or MBA students, but not a combination!

INTERNS

I am undertaking an internship at L'Oréal. Can I register if I find two other students from my school who want to participate?
No. Current interns at L'Oréal and StratX are ineligible to play. This does not apply to previous interns.

Can I apply for an internship or a job with L'Oréal if I am still in the game?
Yes. You can apply for an internship or job with L'Oréal, but you can not start while you are still in the game. If you start working for L'Oréal or StratX, you must withdraw from the competition.

NATIONALITY

Do all three team members have to have the same nationality?
No! Your team members can be of any nationality, any combination of nationalities, and you can represent a school outside of your country of origin.

LANGUAGE

Do I need to speak English?
Yes. The game is entirely carried out in English and if you make it to the later stages you will write a Business Plan and give a presentation in English.

Can I have the registration form and official rules in my own language?
Unfortunately, no. As the whole competition is in English, we ask that you fill out the registration form in English. We do not issue any materials for the competition in languages other than English.

EStrat/ BRANDSTORM

If I have (or my school has) participated in the L'Oréal Marketing Award or Brandstorm, am I eligible for EStrat?
Yes. The competitions are separate.

What do you mean by MBA and undergraduate students?
By MBA we mean those students who are in a Master of Business Administration program, or another business administration course which is a second degree, who have also had a significant professional experience. By undergraduate, we mean students who are following other courses, including Master's degrees, who have not had a significant professional experience. If you are unsure about which category you would fall into, please check with your university. If you are still not sure, contact us via the "contact" section of the web site. Be very careful, you will not be able to change your category once the game has started and you may be disqualified if you are found to be competing in the wrong category.

When you say "school", what do you mean by this?
We mean a school or a university, an establishment or institution of higher education where you study after leaving high school. In other words high school students are not eligible.

Are different faculties within the same university considered "different schools"?
No. As long as you are all enrolled in the same university, in your last two years of study, you can register as a team. One student could be a student in Economics and the other two could be students in Marketing for example. This applies to both MBA and undergraduate students. You must however be either all undergraduate or all MBA students.

Why is EStrat only open to students in their final or penultimate year of school/ university?
The L'Oréal EStrat Challenge is a complex business game. We considered when we created the game and the Official Rules, that playing EStrat requires a certain level of experience, knowledge of business, and time management. That's the reason why the game is only open to students in their final or penultimate year of school/university, and MBA students.

REGISTRATION PROCESS

I forgot my password. How can I retrieve it?
Please write down your password carefully and put it in a secure place.

Is the team information we submit considered final, or can we change it?
If you do not have all the information of your team at the time of registration, any team member can come back and complete the form at a later date but before submitting your first round (at the latest December 5th, 9:00 a.m.). However remember that in order to submit and start playing you should have completed all the mandatory files (*) of the three members and one member profile with all the required files (*).
Also remember that you will not be able to change your team name or password. Make sure you write them down in a safe place and remember them.
Please make sure that your team is registered in the right category (MBA or undergraduate). Once the registration period is over, you will not be able to change your personal details, and you could be disqualified if you are found to be competing in the wrong category.

When is the deadline for the First Round?
This year all registered teams get a taste of the game playing the First Round. You can start making your decisions for the First Round as soon as you have completed your registration and downloaded your team file from the EStrat server. Please note that the deadline for registration (Nov. 28th Paris time) and the deadline for sending in your decisions for the First Round (December 5, 9:00 a.m. Paris time) are different.

What do I do if my computer crashes during registration?
Any incomplete form will be automatically eliminated on 5th December 2006 at 9:00 a.m. Paris time. We will check for duplications, and those whose names appear on two completed forms for two separate teams on this date will be disqualified, along with their teams. If you accidentally register on 2 teams, please eliminate one of your two teams via the login section.

MY TEAM

Can I change a team member?
Yes. As long as you have not downloaded your team file from the EStrat server, you can change anything you like on the form except your team name or password, until December 6th , 9:00 a.m. Paris time. After downloading your team file you will not be allowed to change a team member, so you must make sure the information you provide is accurate.

Can I play in more than one team?
No. You can only be in one team. L'Oréal reserves the right to disqualify any student who plays in more than one team, as well as the teams involved.

TEAMS PER COUNTRY

Is there a limit to the number of teams who can register per country?
No. Any amount of teams can register per country. However, when it comes to selection, the number of teams selected from one country will not exceed 15% of the total.

Is there a limit to the number of teams who can register per school?
No. There is no limit to the number of teams who can register per school.

FEES

Are there any fees for the students to pay?
No, no participation fee or purchase is required.

MY UNIVERSITY

If my university is not on the list does this mean that I can't play?
No! The drop-down menu consists of universities who have played EStrat in the past, or with whom L'Oréal has a partnership. The L'Oréal EStrat Challenge is open to all university students all over the world. You need to fill in your university name in the field provided. Your school will be in the dropdown list next year!

ACADEMIC CHALLENGE

Can I register for the Open Challenge if I am taking part in the Academic Challenge at school?
No. The two challenges will be separate until the semi-finals. In the interest of fairness it will not be possible to participate in both. Teams will be disqualified if they (or one of their team members) are found to be registered in both challenges.

FIELD OF STUDY

My degree is not at all business related, but I am very interested in the game. Is it only for business students or can I play as well?
You can play too! The game is open to students no matter what their field of study. Remember, you must be in your final or penultimate year of studies!

EXCHANGE STUDENTS

I am currently on an Erasmus exchange away from my home university. Would it be possible for me to enrol for EStrat together with two other people who are still at my home school?
No. You must register in a team with 2 people from the university you are enrolled in at the start of the game, that is to say before November 28th 2006, 9:00 a.m., Paris time. This enrolment may be an exchange programme. Caution! Once you have downloaded your team file, you are no longer allowed to change team members.

GRADUATION DATE

My MBA Program finishes at the end of December 2006. Can I still participate?
Yes. In order to be eligible, you must still be a student on the date registrations closes (November 28th 2006). By this we mean that you have not yet received your degree, and you are still officially affiliated to a university.

Am I eligible to register if I expect to graduate in 2009?
Unfortunately, no. Players must be in their final or penultimate year of studies, which for undergraduates means they graduate in 2006, 2007 or exceptionally in 2008 if at the period of registrations they are at the end of scholar year, and for MBAs means they receive their Master's 2006, 2007 or 2008.

How long does the challenge last?

The challenge is divided into 4 steps:

Step 1 - First Round (From registration date - December 5th 2006): All registered teams play the First Round of the Challenge.

Step 2 - Online Competition (December 14th 2006 - January 30th 2007): 1500 teams selected to play in the Open and Academic Challenge.

Step 3 - Semi-Finals (February 2nd 2006 - February 20th 2007): the 300 top worldwide teams from both the Open and the Academic Challenge (with proportional representation of both MBA and undergraduate categories, with a minimum representation of each zone) are selected to take part in the semi-finals to play a 6th round and write a Business Plan.

Step 4 (18th April 2007) - International Final in Paris. The top MBA and undergraduate teams from each of the 8 geographical zones (a total of 16 teams) defend their strategy in front of an executive panel of judges.

How much time do I need to spend?
We estimate that each team should invest 4 hours per week during each of the 5 rounds. In the semi-finals, teams will produce a Business Plan and play a 6th round. Instructions on how to produce the Business Plan will be available from February 2nd , 2007. This is our estimation! Some teams spend more, some teams spend less time.

What kind of mathematic/statistical analysis (historical series, function analysis etc) do you have to use during the game?
Whatever kind you want! You are under no obligation as to your methods of analysis.

The game is based on L'Oréal. For the 4 virtual competitors, where do the figures come from?
All figures used in the simulation are extracted from market data pertaining to L'Oréal face creams. Since this category offers a particularly wide price range, it allows a greater flexibility among the choice of decisions taken within the simulation. All figures pertaining to Prima and its competitors relate to this category, which is considered as highly representative of the range of L'Oréal products.

What kind of environment do we play in? Which country?
You play in a fictional environment, which doesn't represent any country in particular, but is representative of a developed country.

Are we limited in any way when we take our decisions?
Yes. If there are any serious inconsistencies in your decisions at the end of each Round, you will receive an "error message" and will not be able to submit your decision until you have modified it. These "error messages" are essentially designed both as warnings, (you are unable to go over your budget limit) and as reflections of real market constraints. For example, there are limits on how low you can set your price in relation to the unit production cost of a product, which corresponds to the reality of anti-dumping laws. The aim of error messages is to help you during the decision-making process!

When and where does the competition take place?
The competition is divided into 4 steps.
- During the three first phases of the Competition (from registration date until January 30th 2007), the students will play the game via Internet.
- The fourth phase of the Competition, the International Finals, which will include an Awards Ceremony, will take place on April 18th 2007 in the Paris Region, France. The 8 best MBA teams (1 from each zone) and the 8 best undergraduate teams (1 from each zone) will be invited to the International Finals.

How is the SPI calculated?
The Share Price Index is a simple measure used to monitor the variation of your share price and to compare it with those of your competitors. It is calculated by the software. All teams have an SPI of 1000 at the start of the game. If it increases, it means the company has created shareholder value (the aim of the game). If it decreases, some value has been destroyed.

RESOURCES

What resources can I use to answer our questions throughout the competition? Can I use public studies? Can I ask peers for advice?
You may access any sources that you see necessary to make your decisions, be it web-based, print or interviews. Public studies may be consulted if you so desire. The Rules and Regulations specify, however, that you may not ask for information from employees, interns or apprentices at L'Oréal or StratX. You may not exchange information with other teams at any stage of the competition. In the interest of fairness, L'Oréal reserves the right to disqualify any teams suspected of collaborating.

SOFTWARE

The game is based on software. What are the system requirements to operate it?
In order to use the software and to read the manual, you need: Acrobat Reader version 4 - a PC (only one version of EStrat has been developed for Pentium-based computers). You can install the software on several computers (home computer, university computer, laptop, etc.). Further details are provided in the Team manual.

Can I use the EStrat software on a mac?
The EStrat software isn't Mac-compatible. Only one version of EStrat has been developed so far, for Pentium-based computers. You absolutely need to find a PC (in your university?).

When will I have access to the software? Can I see a sample of it before the competition starts?
Whether you are participating in the Open or the Academic Challenge you will be able to download your initial team file from the EStrat server within 48 hours upon completion of your registration. To access it you will need your team name and password.

e-MAIL CAPACITY

The space of my e-Mail is only 2M. Is it big enough to receive the file each time?
The weight of the files that will be sent during the Competition will take less space than 200 kb.