Heads Up Production Connects the Dots at APA’s Production Unplugged

At the inaugural APA Production Unplugged event, which brought together brands and the UK’s creative production industry for a day of collaboration and insight, Heads Up Production played a central role by hosting the Networking Zone alongside the J&R Collective.

Known for their strong positioning in the direct-to-brand space as a gateway to production for all brands, the company saw the event as a natural fit for their brand ethos. Their involvement went beyond logistics or sponsorship – it was about helping to shape meaningful conversations that would move the industry forward.

Working closely with J&R Collective (Janet and Rhona) on programming, Heads Up ensured the Networking Zone stayed packed throughout the day with engaged attendees and relevant dialogue. One of the biggest insights was categorical: “Our brand values – transparency, collaborativeness, making the complex simple – were played back to us as key requirements by brands throughout the day.”

Across their many interactions a few themes emerged consistently: the demand for agility, the importance of empathy toward time-poor marketers, and the continued value of craft and storytelling. For Heads Up, the event not only reinforced their strategic focus but also marked an important step in building deeper, more collaborative brand relationships for the future.

LBB’s Zoe Antonov spoke to the team to find out more about their involvement and what Production Unplugged meant for them and the industry at large.

LBB> You hosted the Networking Zone at Production Unplugged – what was the vision behind your approach, and how did you ensure it created meaningful connections?

HUP> When the APA mentioned the event to us a few months ago, we were immediately interested. Having built our core business in working directly with brands, an event concept that put brands together with the production industry very much played to our positioning and reputation in the market. Often, we are the conduit between brands and production companies and this had some influence on our decision to sponsor the Networking Zone specifically. The programming of the zone was done by Janet and Rhona from J&R Collective but we were kept in close consultation. They did a great job!

LBB> What were some of the most surprising or insightful conversations you had with brands and production companies during the event?

HUP> The first thing to say is that there were many connections and conversations for us to have and conduct, as the event was well attended. The programming in our zone was very relevant and useful to so many attendees, which meant the space was packed all day.

We met and chatted with delegates from brands in tech, retail, media, FMCG – a really interesting spread from different categories.

Probably the most insightful conversation for us was the last panel of the day on how brands can drive agile partnerships, on which Jody, a Heads Up partner, was one of five panelists. It brought to light some key issues for clients and production folk alike.

Amongst other great panels were the Business of Creative Production and The Future is Long Form both of which had a diverse range of voices from the production and the brand sides and teased out some very interesting debate.

LBB> Were there any common themes or concerns that emerged in discussions with attendees about the future of production or brand-production relationships?

HUP> There were a number:

Agility – moving quickly in step with the needs of brands, and making processes like onboarding etc as seamless as possible – was a key one;

Linked to this, how time-poor marketers are – advertising and production are only a portion of a much bigger working slate. In order to improve and grow the relationships moving forward it’s important we learn to make access and knowledge of the market/ choice as straightforward and easy to navigate as possible for them;

Tracking the direction of travel of marketing spend was another (i.e. from the top to the middle and bottom of the funnel) was another, with brands encouraging the production community to adapt accordingly;

But good old fashioned craft and storytelling were also seen as key by brands, as was very clear in the panel focused on long-form.

LBB> How did your involvement in PU reinforce or challenge your current thinking about the role of independent production companies in today's creative ecosystem?

HUP> As pioneers in the direct to client space, a lot of what was said reinforced what we already know – and in fact what is our daily working reality with our clients.

The role of procurement, for example, is something we are very familiar with and are used to managing. We work with procurement and their colleagues in marketing to support the brand's need for agility, as procurement processes don’t always lend themselves to it.

Our brand values – transparency, collaborativeness, making the complex simple – were played back to us as key requirements by brands throughout the day.

LBB> What immediate or longer-term benefits have you seen, or expect to see, from the event, both in terms of relationships and business impact?

HUP> At an industry level, we feel this was the beginning of a meaningful coming together of the brand and production communities, although it was clear this was going to take time to grow, with adjustment, trial and error and a good deal of trust needed on both sides. Just having all parties in the same room is a great start point. We feel that those in production have something of a journey to travel in terms of really understanding the needs of clients and putting themselves in their shoes, but the will is there and in places it’s really starting to develop.

For Heads Up, it was a great opportunity to get our name and services out there. We feel we have a very applicable model and services – we need to take them to the wider world and raise awareness of our brand. The event was a great step in this direction.

LBB> If you could distill one key lesson or inspiration from Production Unplugged, what would it be – and how might it shape how HUP operates or collaborates moving forward?

HUP> On the one hand, the production community are best placed focusing their core strengths – trying to veer into other specialisms (like strategy for example) could be a distraction and comes with risk. On the other hand, we all need to really understand the minds of marketers, their needs, challenges and what makes them tick in order to build bridges and long-term partnerships.