Titem Mouici on the Exquisite Craft of the Luxury Sector
After over 15 years at McCann as production manager for the L’Oréal Paris key account, Titem Mouici decided that the producer’s role needed an essential transformation. At that point in her career, she felt that the time was right to try something new. And so, Titem drew on her past experience to set up her own production agency specialising in the luxury sector.
Titem describes Kind Parisas the ‘nerve centre’ of the client/creative/producer/director relationship. As a global supervision office, Kind Paris oversees advertising production as a whole, helping directors and producers see eye to eye with clients throughout the projects they embark on together.
In just four years, Kind Paris has built its solid reputation as the most innovative agency on the market and a pioneer of production recoupling.
As part of LA/PACs partnership with LBBOnline to celebrate French talent and creativity, LBB’s Zoe Antonov spoke to Titem about her time in agency, her advice for the luxury sector during the European financial crisis and how Kind Paris maintains its 100% independence.
LBB> Tell me more about the start of your career - did you know you'd end up in advertising, or was it more of a happy accident?
Titem> I started by chance, as a receptionist in a communication agency. I knew nothing about the industry and even less about the people working in advertising. I started by correcting the spelling mistakes on the faxes sent by the bosses, and that's how I got noticed. I then made great connections with people who trained me and taught me the trade. A few years later, I was head of a TV production department.
I wanted to create my own title because the title ‘TV producer’ has a basic problem - its name suggests that the [agency] producer's role is to manufacture something, but our role is not to make something. It is to identify talent through productions and to bring together the client's objectives with the talent in question. We are both arbitrators and conductors, but the actual manufacturing belongs to the production companies. The transformation of this profession is essential for those who want to defend the film production process to clients at every stage.
For instance, Kind Paris is at the nerve centre of the client/creative/producer/director relationship. To achieve this, there must be no intermediaries between the client and Kind Paris. Today, with the high level of knowledge clients have about the manufacturing process, we can no longer function on the idea that directors/producers speak a different language than clients. Allowing them to meet so late in the process sometimes leads to the worst situations.
LBB> After 15 years of agency work, what was the turning point that made you change your course?
Titem> I changed direction because of the conclusions I drew after those 15 years in agencies. It is essential to redefine the roles of everyone in order to better value them. TV producers who today want to move into production in the context of integrated productions are first frustrated by not having been involved enough in the process as it exists today. It would be necessary for me to guarantee them a more valued role within their current title, to prevent some from imagining that producing can be improvised. Producing is a profession with a complexity that is completely underestimated. To believe that one can become a producer by staying in the comfort of an agency and salaried work is at least a mistake, at most ignorance.
LBB> And how did you create Kind Paris in 2017?
Titem> I created Kind Paris after 15 years of agency experience as a TV producer. I felt that my agency role no longer met the expectations of everyone involved. Kind Paris is a global supervision office responsible for overseeing advertising production as a whole. For us, the advertiser, agency, and production are all on the same level, and that is where our positioning is innovative. We protect the interests of each party for the benefit of the final project.
LBB> What were some of Kind’s very first projects and what were the most valuable lessons you took from them?
Titem> Our first clients were largely luxury advertisers who called on us in addition to the communication agencies with whom they work throughout the year, to ensure the production follow-up and talent search. We prefer to define ourselves as partners and we have established unique collaborations project by project. This positioning has allowed us to maintain our 100% independence. In our luxury sector, talent is at the heart of discussions, and we have therefore learned to focus on that.
LBB> How has the luxury industry changed throughout the years you worked in it and what do you know about it today that you didn’t at the start? Is there more onus on diversity and inclusion now?
Titem> In the luxury industry, execution cannot be differentiated from creation and it is first and foremost the execution that will make the difference between a good film and a bad one. Luxury houses need to be as close as possible to the best talent to advance their brands. Players who have positioned themselves as production factories are, in my opinion, on the wrong track. Each project must be treated exceptionally. A good script poorly executed, poorly photographed, or poorly produced can only lead to disaster.
Upon closer inspection of some beautiful collaborations between major luxury groups and some often self-taught artists with nothing but their talent and desire to express it - in the production of advertising films or music videos - one wonders if some lines may be starting to shift. Are artists from all social backgrounds and the luxury industry in France not, in fact, bringing together those that society too often tends to oppose ?
LBB> Since its beginning, Kind has taken over the luxury sector by a storm - what was your recipe for success?
Titem> We are still in development today, so we are growing with our partners and we continue to learn every day. But if we had to talk about a recipe, it would be our first know-how, which is to search for and find the best talent for each creation, and it is more complicated than it seems. It is not just about presenting a demo reel of a director or a photographer. The challenges in production are immense and almost infinite. It is the combination of talent, a producer, a script, and a client's real desire. It is the sum of these elements that drives us to present such or such talent and to defend such or such creative direction. That is what produces a good luxury campaign.
LBB> What were some of the most impactful projects that you worked on and why?
Titem> I have experienced several notable projects, but not for the same reasons. There are creative projects that seduce me, such as how we will succeed in producing this advertising object, the excitement of working with a particular talent, a big name or even better, a young talent that I have identified and dream of pushing into the business. There is also the challenge of succeeding with constraints, which feels like an intense battle. Finally, there is the pride of being part of a major project with the name Kind Paris alongside big names in our industry.
LBB> What is your advice to the luxury sector during a time of economic crisis in Europe?
Titem> Based on my information, it seems that the luxury economy is not experiencing a crisis in Europe. Far from it, the numbers are exponential and luxury brands have more and more projects that open up to art, music, cinema, and all of culture in general. So my advice would be for brands that haven't taken this turn yet to do so.
LBB> What are your passions and hobbies outside of work?
Titem> My hobbies are the same as everyone else's - family, friends, and travel. I have to say that I'm really looking forward to going on vacation somewhere sunny. We've been working hard over the past few months, and that's the only downside to being an entrepreneur - work takes up a special place in your life.
