The Melting Pot

Brand Guidelines - Q&A

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• Commercial

  • What is the commercial and remuneration setup for the Publicis PoP Studios Hermes model?

    PoP Studios operates a fixed and flex hybrid commercial model. The model is fixed for the Core Team that includes talent and tools costs which constitute the central component of Publicis PoP Studios operations (Business Lead, Production Leads, Local Ambassadors, Tools & Process). This retainer contract is mainly funded by a centralised MDLZ MEU budget. A smaller portion of the funding will come through contribution applied on some key projects in agreement with MDLZ MEU team. Flex part of the model is for the project delivery and is based project cost estimation. For services such as adaptation, transcreation and e-commerce a pre agreed pricing matrix is being applied. For origination projects a detailed and bespoke cost estimate using a standard format will be shared with the Brand team. A market price index model has also been set up to adjust Publicis PoP Studios fees depending on which MDLZ entity owns the project budget in order to remain competitive across the whole region.

  • How many POs do brands need to raise and when?

    PO creation shall be requested once project CE is approved (same process applies for each CE revision/additions).

  • What is the setup for invoicing process?

    Once project budget/cost is validated, MDLZ should raise a PO to our central biller entity Prodigious France (vendor code is 299235). Our teams will then be authorized to work on the project and the invoices will be sent according to the agreed payment schedule.

  • What are the agreed payment terms?

    For Fees, payment is expected is 120 days + invoice date (limited to 60 days in many markets due to legal regulations). Otherwise, for external talents, out of pockets and usage rights payment is expected at invoice reception. In case of shootings, upfront payment will be requested before production starts to fund the production house. It will be usually between 50% to 70% of third party costs. Payment schedule should also be agreed upfront between MDLZ brand team and Publicis PoP Studios.

  • Will the supplier get a bonus and can there be a penalty?

    No Bonus / Malus linked to Hermes model and production services.

  • How can I leverage Hermes partner capabilities to maximize savings on typical production pass through costs?

    Early visibility on Production needs and clarity of briefs are key to generate savings. Bundling of shoots and Talent books are two of the levers PoP will use to reduce overall costs. PoP Production leads and managers are asked to identify production optimisation opportunities and share with the Brand teams.

  • Can I engage my production partner beyond project Hermes scope? If so, what will be the remuneration for such cases?

    In MEU region, Publicis PoP Studios are the exclusive production partner for MEU on all Hermes scope except: - WOOP: website design and buld is owned by Media Monks and PoP will create the content - TVC: WPP equity campaigns will be discussed on case by case basis If aligned with Mondelez MEU stakeholders (Marketing, Procurement) exceptions can be discussed.

  • What should be our position as MDLZ if creative agencies want to charge for "oversee production"? Is my understanding correct that they should only input/feedback on creative assets produced? How do we avoid extra fees?

    Publicis Crossfit creative agencies have removed from their 2021 rate card any agency producer role to avoid duplication with Hermes model. However, creative agencies will be involved during campaign production stages to review assets.

  • Who will handle the negotiation of usage rights in case of TVCs that WPP or other creative agencies are handling?

    Publicis POP Studios will own usage right management and have a dedicated person to manage this scope

  • Are we going to receive a cost estimation for each projects from PoP?

    A formal cost estimation template exists and will be used and shared for every single project. You will also find all information on a project (incl brief and cost estimates version) within The Melting Pot workflow tool.

  • Is fx fixed?

    Estimates and invoices are in EUR (except for EE region). However our cost estimates also display amounts in local currency to inform the brand team. FX is updated every month.

• Hermes

  • What are the timelines for Project Hermes?

    Transition period until end of the year with all new work going through Publicis PoP Studios; hard stop on 31st Dec 2022.

  • What is the scope and objectives of Project Hermes?

    The scope of project Hermes is to simply the production agency ecosystem globally. Project Hermes will shift how we think about content. The ambition is to deliver a connected consumer experience across all touchpoints. To deliver this ambition we are on the journey to modernise our approach to production.

  • What are the overall expected benefits from Hermes? And how they have been (or will be) measured?

    Key benefits that Project Hermes will deliver are: - Taste appeal - Delicious assets fit for platform across all touchpoints, scaled - Efficiency - Higher speed, more scale, incremental savings - Effectiveness - Personalization, data driven and the metrics to optimize Specific set of KPIs for each of these areas has been delivered and performance will be tracked at MEU level on a quarterly basis starting 2022."

  • What is the scope for Publicis PoP Studios and Media Monks in Europe?

    Publicis PoP Studios owns all content production in Europe. Media Monks owns website build and authoring for Europe. The content that goes on the website is produced by Publicis PoP Studios.

  • Are Local Jewels also in the scope of Project Hermes?

    Yes, all our brands are part of scope for Project Hermes.

• PoP Model

  • What are the benefits of the Publicis PoP Studios model for MDLZ?

    Key benefits of Publicis PoP Studios model are: Single production partner with deep brand knowledge and experience. Shared infrastructure for asset creation (workflow) and storage (DAM). Single regional partner for all data, meta tagging and trafficking requirements (with media partners). Production efficiencies through economies of scale and content calendar production planning. Food expertise and high craft output.

  • Which are the Publicis PoP Studios production hubs for EU and EE?

    Publicis PoP Studios have 4 hubs: Paris, Budapest, Warsaw and Moscow. EU Origination: Paris and Budapest are mainly dedicated to origination. EU Adaptation: Warsaw will handle adaptation and eCommerce. EE Origination & Adaptation: Moscow is dedicated hub for EE.

  • Will all shoots need to take place within the 4 hubs?

    Location for shoots will be defined on a case by case requirement. If a studio is required, the origination hubs will be utilised. If a specific set / location is required, this will be determined by the creative need, identified in the response to the GTGC brief. Publicis PoP Studios will identify locations and present to the creative agency and MDLZ marketers for final selection and sign off.

  • How would a shoot outside of hubs work?

    If a specific location is required, such as an outdoor location, the Publicis PoP Studios team will be responsible for identifying locations and sharing with the creative agency and MDLZ marketers for their consideration. Publicis PoP Studios will be responsible for managing the booking of the location, once selected, managing any business affairs requirements associated with the location and all shoot activities at said location during production.

  • Does the melting pot route work automatically to a production hub?

    Publicis PoP Studios team will manage the routing of work within EU (all EE work will be managed by the EE hub). This will be based on brand knowledge and resource availability. Marketers will be approached by the team who will manage their specific project.

  • What is the responsibilities of Publicis PoP Studios Production Lead?

    Understand the needs of MDLZ brands , work alongside with creative agencies, media agencies, data & insights and any other MDLZ partner at the Origination stage to elaborate production plans. - Ensure all is in place (playbooks delivered by agencies) to ease the adoption by local markets. - Ensure brands have a good experience using the PoP platform. - Shares the performance of the campaigns with the Business Lead and brand manager. - Escalade any issues to the Business Lead. - Suggest Continuous improvements. - Participate to the optimization of production planning by getting visibility on the media planning (to be consolidated with other brands or market needs to generate efficiency).

  • If I need someone speaking my language how will it work?

    English language will be used to manage all requirements. If there are local language requirements for adaptation, this will be managed by the Polish Adaptation hub.

  • Can PoP be as agile as a small local agency that delivers within a day or two for all the BAU work on social media with usually small budgets?

    Publicis PoP Studios have SLAs in place for adaptations which will determine the response times for production within MEU. The best approach is to plan production requirements ahead of time to ensure optimised budgets and rapid response times.

  • How will POP ensure that they can deal with all requests at the same time in case of busy times?

    Publicis PoP Studios will manage workload through their hubs, routing work to teams with available capacity. The production team will be reliant on MDLZ marketers adhering to the new ways of working to achieve a timely turn around of projects. There are additional requirements for production through the Hermes model, such as the inclusion of the production partner in the initial campaign briefing process. It also includes managing projects through the PoP workflow system (The Melting Pot) and all asset data requirements, including 38 meta tags per final asset, uploading to the DAM and sharing with media partners for trafficking. All these requirements ensure quicker turnaround for MDLZ production needs.

  • Is the storytelling going to be developed by POP? Are they going to operate our social media accounts? Does this mean that PoP will get the storytelling ready (meaning visual and local language copy proposals) and then once we approve those locally, our local agency will then publish them?

    PoP will manage content creation based on the content plan and anything which included new organic posts, ad hoc posts and community management itself will stay with current agencies.

  • If we have a Master Copy with another agency & then need an adaptation (CDV) who does the negotiation of the Rights (casting, music etc.) for the CDV?

    All usage rights management moving forwards will be managed by PoP Studios. PoP will manage all business affairs and usage rights negotiations for MEU from 1st January 2022 onwards. This includes working with WPP and other agencies on the original negotiations.

  • Will there be a consistent team for each brand to secure tone of voice and previous feedback? And how will it work with local knowledge and copy talents?

    Where possible, we want to use the same production team on brands to build familiarity. However, the work will be routed between the hubs and may not be the same people each time. The network of PoP hubs, production leads and production managers will ensure consistency is service provided for each brand.

  • Is delivery of assets to media in-scope?

    Yes, PoP will share a link to all relevant assets with media agencies. PoP Studios will also deliver master TVC assets to local TV stations when applicable.

  • Who will coordinate consistency of assets/look & feel between creative and production agency?

    Both parties are responsible for the output. PoP Studios are responsible for the quality of the asset(s).

  • Will all our assets be transferred from TAG to POP?

    Assets will be transferred on a case by case basis upon request from marketing. Assets at Tag will be accessible for MDLZ until 21st Dec 22. Brand teams need to make sure that they transfer required assets to PoP in the coming months to avoid losing them. Marketers need to identify which assets they would like to transfer over to PoP Studios from TAG. PoP Studios requires the working files (e.g. Adobe Premier files) not the final files, if future revisions will be required.

• Process and WoW

  • Is there a timeline from briefing to delivery?

    The timelines will depend on the campaign's production needs. The Publicis production lead will communicate the timelines to Brand team. There are SLAs for adaptation being defined and put in place. For origination the production lead will be able to provide guidance on timelines.

  • Is the tool already available for us?

    Yes, The Melting Pot tools are available to all Marketeers in MDLZ.

  • Who will do the content planning e.g. for social beforehand to know, which assets are needed?

    If Social Content agency is part of the project then they will do the content planning. Otherwise it will be Creative or Media agency who will do the content planning.

  • Does Marketing fill out the Melting Pot Briefing form or would that be the creative team?

    PoP Studios would fill the briefing form for origination. This will be based on discussions with the MDLZ marketer. The marketer will fill out the briefing form if it is an adaptation requirement.

  • How do consumer tests fit into all of these stages?

    This would conventionally sit in the creative phase up front before production and then the voltage sessions post the shoot.

  • How do cost controlling fit in the model?

    Cost Controller's role is now under review to fit the new model, so more to come. However, cost controller will continue to be involved for the TVC projects.

  • At what point will PoP enter in the creative process?

    As part of project Hermes, the production partner will have a seat at the forefront of the process. Marketers should invite Publicis PoP to the GTGC briefing with all agency partners.

  • Do we need to brief Production and Microsite agencies together with Creative agency or only after creative concept is locked with Creative agency?

    Publicis PoP Studios will always be briefed along with Creative agency at the start of the campaign process. Websites (WOOP) are now handled by Media Monks (MM). Depending upon the scope of the campaign Publicis PoP Studios will bring in MM to the campaign process.

  • Are you going to transfer "old" asset into the melting pot platform?

    Following the decision made by MDLZ, the assets are to be transferred on need basis. Hence if Brand need any assets to be transferred from TAG then please let Publicis PoP Studios Production Lead know during briefing. The brand team will have to factor in the budget the TAG costs, if any, for asset transfers.

  • Are you using talents and location from given local markets to manage the best local alignment and costs?

    If any local talents are to be used then please let the PoP Studios Production Lead know at time of briefing. PoP Studios will manage the negotiations.

  • Does the time plan for production of assets include the time needed for internal approval of assets via GARP tool?

    GARP approval will be included in the overall time plan for production. The time allocated for GARP approval will depend on the number and complexity of assets.

  • For radio as an example, will PoP be able to produce local content with local voices?

    Yes, Publicis PoP Studio has access to 4000+ local voice talents to support these requests.

  • If we are 100% sure what we want to have on asset (simple product-focused asset, i.e. for NPD) - can we go directly to PoP, or should we include creative agency?

    The brief form is open to you for adaptation and can also be used for origination directly by you if you have all details ready.

  • Before TAG started the adaptation/ production they needed to get approved CE. Will we get CE from PoP before starting the adaptation?

    PoP team will provide you a CE for each brief submitted on the Melting Pot, including adaptation brief. It is part of the workflow.

• Tools

  • How do I get my log in details?

    Brand team should use MDLZ credentials and agencies can request the tools support team (support@productioncloud.live) for log in credentials.

  • Could I send you an asset list and Publicis PoP Studios fills in the brief?

    For Origination campaigns , your production lead will fill in the brief. For adaptation, the marketer needs to initiate the brief. You can reach out to the production lead if you need assistance filling in the brief.

  • Has DAM already been populated with ongoing campaign?

    Every time a new campaign starts, we will use the Melting Pot and upload assets to the DAM at the completion of the project.

  • Do we need to fill in these templates for all projects?

    Yes, the brief has to be filled in for all the projects. The briefing template captures the production requirements.

  • Do we need to contact anyone from Publicis PoP Studios ahead of starting a new project/fill the initiate part to say it's coming? Or is PoP contacting us after we filled that in ?

    You can fill the form in without connecting with PoP, the team will be automatically contacted after the brief is submitted or you can get in touch with someone in the PoP team and we can support you filling in the briefing form.

  • Will the costs be shared upfront? So we can estimate the budget?

    Yes production costs will be shared once brief is submitted. Marketeer will be able to review, discuss and approve/reject the costs.

  • Will we have calls to go through the asset feedback together - or is it just via system?

    If you need to get on a call, just use the general chat option on the tool to reach out the production lead. Additionally , your production lead will also request for a call if required.

  • Will the specific talent, that is local, be reach out to by Publicis PoP Studios? When the recording of VO are taken, will there be an option for MDLZ to participate in recording?

    Absolutely. If you have talent you have used in the past, please identify them and we will ensure that we use them for VO. If you want to use specific talent (e.g. food stylist / director / photographer) we will connect with them and manage negotiations. Please note we may not be able to use them if they exceed the identified budget or are not available in the production window.

  • I just filled in the full briefing form as a test, but didn't click submit and closed it. Can I find it back somewhere? Is it saved for continuation?

    You can bookmark the brief page before submitting, and then get back to it later. We have past experience that the system is clogged up by many incomplete briefs and it can be very confusing to identify which is the correct version if several versions of the same brief have been started / not completed.

  • Is visibility of the live projects only available to the ones who have submitted the project / filled in the brief? Is there any way to add other team members to the project?

    We can include other MDLZ team members on projects or we can add you to other projects. You just need to identify who or which projects you want to have access to.

  • We currently have production consultants - will they challenge this cost estimate?

    Production consultants' role is changing. They will be involved in TVC shoots but not in digital work. Please connect with the MDLZ MEU team for further information on this.

  • In case the cost estimate is too high for our available budget, can we modify the brief, and reduce the number of materials?

    Yes, you can modify the brief to meet your available budget.

  • If DE and AT use the same asset, but just another claim. Will synergies be counted and the AT asset will be cheaper?

    That would be the plan. We would consider to share the cost savings between all markets involved

• Training modules

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