What are Tokens, and how do they work?
⚡ QUICK ANSWER
Creative Tokens give regional teams access to Creative Studio production time for promising opportunities that do not yet have an approved media budget.
They allow Sales to show clients what Eskimi could create, bring proactive ideas to existing clients and strengthen important pitches before a campaign has been confirmed.
💡A Token is a unit of Creative Studio production capacity. It is not money, a discount or an approved campaign budget.
✅ USE A CREATIVE TOKEN WHEN
- There is no approved IO or confirmed media budget
- The work is proactive and could help win or grow business
- The potential opportunity is worth at least $5,000
- Your Regional Manager supports the request
- You have submitted a complete brief
- Your region has enough Tokens available
❌ DO NOT USE A TOKEN WHEN
- The campaign already has an approved IO
- The client is already going to buy the campaign
- The request is routine campaign production
- The brief is incomplete
- The request has little realistic commercial potential
- You need delivery in less than 7 days
BEFORE SUBMITTING A TOKEN REQUEST
Confirm that:
- ☑️ The work is genuinely proactive
- ☑️ The campaign does not already have an approved IO
- ☑️ The opportunity is worth at least $5,000
- ☑️ The requested creative matches the potential value
- ☑️ Your Regional Manager has approved the request
- ☑️ Your region has enough Tokens available
- ☑️ The purpose of the pitch is clear
- ☑️ The requested delivery date allows 7 - 14 days
- ☑️ The client meeting or pitch date is confirmed
Need more detail? Read the explanations below👇
🍭 WHAT IS A CREATIVE TOKEN?
A Creative Token allows a region to request proactive creative work without a confirmed campaign budget.
Creative Studio reserves a limited amount of production time for this work each quarter. Each region receives a Token allocation based on factors such as:
- Market size
- Market maturity
- Pitching activity
- Previous Token usage
- Demand for proactive work
- Available Creative Studio capacity
Regions decide which opportunities are important enough to support with their available Tokens.
Because production capacity is limited, Tokens should be used thoughtfully on opportunities with genuine commercial potential.
✅ WHAT CAN TOKENS BE USED FOR?
- New business pitches: Use creative examples to strengthen a proposal, open a conversation or help a client understand what Eskimi can produce
- Proactive client ideas: Present a new idea to an existing client before they request it. This may help grow the account, introduce a new format or encourage an upsell
- More ambitious creative: Support a valuable opportunity where the available media budget does not meet the normal minimum investment for the requested format
- Detailed creative exploration: Request more detailed brainstorming, a creative concept, storyboard or demonstration when informal advice is not enough
❌ WHAT TOKENS ARE NOT FOR
Tokens should not be used to replace the normal production process. They are not intended for:
- Campaigns that already have an approved IO
- Standard work that the client has already agreed to buy
- Basic campaigns presented as proactive work
- Requests with no clear opportunity or client need
- Incomplete ideas that Creative Studio must develop from nothing
- Several costly concepts for one small opportunity
- Avoiding the minimum media investment without a strong commercial reason
- Urgent requests that have not been planned properly
If the campaign already has an approved budget, do not use a Token. Submit the brief through the normal Creative Studio process.
Business-as-usual campaign production continues as normal and does not use the regional Token allocation.
🧭 DO I NEED A TOKEN FOR PROACTIVE WORK?
| SITUATION | TOKEN REQUIRED? | WHAT TO DO |
| The campaign has an approved IO | NO | Submit a normal production brief |
| The client has approved the campaign and budget | NO | Submit a normal production brief |
| You want creative for an unconfirmed pitch | YES | Request Regional Manager approval; submit a Token brief |
| You want to present a proactive idea | YES | Request Regional Manager approval; submit a Token brief |
| The budget is below the minimum for the requested format | MAYBE | Upsell, choose another format, or request a Token |
| You only need informal advice from a Project Manager | NO | Discuss the idea before submitting a Token brief |
| You need a storyboard, concept or demo for an unconfirmed opportunity | YES | Request Regional Manager approval; submit a Token brief |
| You need full strategic pitch support | NO | Contact Theshlin and follow the strategic pitch requirements |
🎟️ HOW MANY TOKENS DOES A REQUEST USE?
| REQUEST | TOKEN COST |
| Proactive static creative concept | 1 Token |
| Custom Rich Media banner for confirmed campaign below the normal minimum investment | 1 Token |
| Proactive detailed creative brainstorming or concept development | 2 Tokens |
| Proactive storyboard or demo | 2 Tokens |
| 3D Forced Perspective / Augmented Reality banner for confirmed campaign below the normal minimum investment | 2 Tokens |
The Token cost may increase if the request includes:
- Several different concepts
- Several complex formats
- A storyboard and a working demo
- 3D production
- Custom animation
- Complex interactive functionality
- A large number of sizes or versions
One Token does not automatically cover every item included in a pitch. Creative Studio will confirm the Token cost after reviewing the complete brief.
🔎 CHECK YOUR TOKEN ALLOCATION AND USAGE
Each region receives a new Token allocation for the quarter.
FIND YOUR QUARTERLY ALLOCATION
Check the Creative Tokens presentation to see how many Tokens have been allocated to your region for the current quarter.
The presentation shows the starting allocation before any Tokens are used, returned or transferred.
TRACK TOKENS USED AND REMAINING (COMING SOON)
Use the Creative Token tracking dashboard to check:
-
Which Token requests have been submitted
-
How many Tokens your region has used
-
How many Tokens your region has remaining
-
Whether Tokens have been returned after a successful campaign
💰 MINIMUM OPPORTUNITY VALUE
A Token request should support a potential media opportunity worth at least $5,000.
The potential value should also make sense for the format being requested.
For example, an expensive 3D concept should support an opportunity that could realistically meet the usual minimum media investment for that type of execution if the pitch is successful.
This prevents Creative Studio from spending a large amount of production time creating several high-cost demonstrations for a small or guaranteed campaign.
The scale of the creative request should match the realistic value of the opportunity.
📋 TOKEN BRIEFS STILL NEED TO BE COMPLETE
A Token gives access to production time. It does not remove the normal briefing requirements.
The Sales Team must please confirm:
- Who the client is
- What the opportunity is
- Whether the campaign is confirmed or still being pitched
- The potential media value
- What the client needs
- When the pitch or client meeting will take place
- What Creative Studio is expected to deliver
A strong Token brief gives the team enough information to understand the opportunity and recommend the right creative approach.
⏱️ LEAD TIMES AND WEEKLY CAPACITY
The standard lead time for Token work is 7 -14 days.
The exact delivery date depends on:
- The complexity of the request
- Whether all assets have been supplied
- Current campaign workload
- Available Token production slots
- The amount of work already scheduled
Shorter delivery times may occasionally be possible, but they cannot be guaranteed.
Creative Studio can deliver a maximum of four Tokens of work per week across the whole company.
During busy periods, Token work may be limited, paused or scheduled for a later date.
🔄 WHAT HAPPENS IF THE PITCH BECOMES A CAMPAIGN?
If the proactive work results in a paid campaign and an IO is assigned, inform Creative Studio.
The Token used for that opportunity will be returned to the region’s available allocation. This allows the region to invest the Token in another proactive opportunity.
Win the campaign, get the Token back.
The Token is only returned once the campaign and IO have been confirmed. A positive client response or possible future campaign is not enough.
📆 TOKEN EXPIRY AND QUARTERLY ALLOCATIONS
Tokens are allocated per quarter.
Unused Tokens:
- Do not automatically carry over into the next quarter
- May result in a smaller future allocation
- May be transferred to another region before they expire
- Are lost if they are not used or reassigned
Token allocations may increase or decrease each quarter based on:
- Previous usage
- Regional demand
- Commercial potential
- Creative Studio workload
- Seasonal production requirements
Regions may agree to exchange or transfer Tokens. Any transfer must be confirmed by the relevant Regional Managers and communicated to Creative Studio.
If your region has run out of Tokens, speak to your Regional Manager. Additional capacity may sometimes be available from another region or from the central overflow allocation.
Tokens should not be saved indefinitely for a perfect opportunity. Use them carefully, but use them while they are available.
🎄 Q4 AND PEAK-SEASON AVAILABILITY
Creative Studio has less capacity for proactive production during Q4 because of increased campaign demand and the holiday season.
Token availability may therefore be reduced or paused during Q4. Token briefs are not accepted during the Christmas production period unless capacity has been agreed in advance.
Plan important Q4 pitches early and submit them before the communicated cut-off date.
📉 WHAT IF A CONFIRMED CAMPAIGN DOES NOT MEET THE MINIMUM SPEND?
Minimum media investments help ensure that the income from a campaign covers the cost of producing the creative.
Creative production includes costs such as:
- Staff time
- Freelancer support
- Specialist production
- Software
- Hardware
- Quality assurance
- Operational costs
If the media investment of a confirmed campaign does not cover production, Creative Studio may be required to complete the work at a loss. Repeatedly doing this is not sustainable to the business.
If a proposed campaign does not meet the minimum investment, you have three options:
- UPSELL THE CLIENT: try negotiate to increase the proposed media investment so that it meets the minimum required for the format.
- RECOMMEND A DIFFERENT FORMAT: Choose an execution that is available within the client’s confirmed budget.
- REQUEST A TOKEN: if the opportunity is strategically valuable and meets the Token requirements, ask your Regional Manager to approve the use of a Token, and submit a Token brief.
A Token is an exception for a valuable opportunity. It should not become the standard way to sell formats below their minimum investment.
🚨 NOTE: there are NO approved lower minimums in any regions. Anything that comes in below minimum investment is assessed and approved on a case by case basis. All exceptions need to be approved by Lee.
🌟 EXAMPLE: USING A TOKEN TO OPEN A DOOR
The Turkey team wanted to secure a meeting with Coca-Cola after trying to open the conversation for more than a year.
Creative Studio produced a proactive “Share a Coke” banner that displayed client names.
This is a good Token use because:
- There was a clear commercial objective
- The creative was specific to the client
- It demonstrated Eskimi’s capabilities
- It helped the team access an opportunity that had previously been difficult to reach
A Token does not need to produce an immediate campaign to be valuable. However, it should have a clear purpose and a realistic chance of helping the business.
❓FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- DOES A CAMPAIGN WITH AN IO NEED A TOKEN?
- No; campaigns with an approved IO follow the standard production process
- CAN I USE A TOKEN FOR A CAMPAIGN THE CLIENT HAS ALREADY AGREED TO BUY?
- Normally, no; Tokens are intended for proactive work and unconfirmed opportunities, not guaranteed business
- CAN I USE A TOKEN WHEN THE BUDGET IS BELOW THE FORMAT MINIMUM?
- Yes, if the opportunity is strategically valuable, meets the Token eligibility requirements and is approved by your Regional Manager
- DOES ONE REQUEST ALWAYS COST ONE TOKEN?
- No; simple concepts may cost one Token, while storyboards, demos, 3D work or more complex requests may cost two or more
- CAN I REQUEST SEVERAL DEMOS USING ONE TOKEN?
- Not automatically; the Token cost depends on the total amount and complexity of the requested work
- CAN CREATIVE STUDIO DEVELOP THE IDEA FOR ME?
- Creative Studio can help develop a clear starting idea, but the local team must provide the client context, opportunity, objective, available assets and expected outcome
- HOW QUICKLY WILL I RECEIVE THE WORK?
- Standard production time is 7 -14 days after the complete brief has been accepted
- CAN TOKEN WORK BE COMPLETED URGENTLY?
- Urgent delivery cannot be guaranteed; confirmed campaign work takes priority
- WHAT HAPPENS IF WE WIN THE CAMPAIGN?
- Once the campaign receives an IO, tell Creative Studio and the Token will be returned to your region
- CAN UNUSED TOKENS MOVE TO THE NEXT QUARTER?
- No; Tokens expire at the end of the quarter unless a different arrangement has been approved
- WHAT IF MY REGION HAS NO TOKENS LEFT?
- Speak to your Regional Manager; they may request a transfer from another region or ask whether central overflow capacity is available
- ARE TOKENS AVAILABLE DURING Q4?
- Availability is limited during Q4 and may be paused during the festive production period; always check the current allocation and cut-off dates before submitting a request