What We Overheard in the Networking Zone at APA’s Production Unplugged

While Studio Spaces in East London pulsed with activity on the 1st of May – from live shoots to creative showcases and industry meet-cutes – the Networking Zone at APA’s Production Unplugged offered something a little different. No product pitches or checkbox talks, only proper conversation – bold, self-aware, and at moments, uncomfortable.

Across six sessions, voices from brands, agencies, production companies and platforms gathered to unpack what’s actually happening in the industry – behind the buzzwords and beyond the press releases. From ESG realities, to AI misfires and the economics of creativity, here’s what stuck.

“Enough Food if We All Bring Something to The Table”

Amazon’s Kate McCagg, head of brand innovation lab, put it plainly during the first fireside chat: it’s time to rethink the way brands and production companies work together. Forget traditional briefing and rigid timelines; the new model is agile, upstream and relationship-led. Hence the panel name: ‘Why agile partnerships are the way forward’.

Kate urged producers to show up earlier in the process – not to wait for briefs, but to help build them. “We want prototype mental models, which production teams are great at creating” she said. “Something tangible we can bounce around internally.”

Her advice is to try hosting production company open days. Invite clients into your world. And read their annual reports – properly. “Figure out how to put your production company in their space. It might cost you something now, but it’s an investment in connection.”

The way Kate puts it, there’s always two sides to an agile partnership – there’s the process, but also the responsibilities, and if production companies are open to understanding this they don’t need extreme speed. They just need a mindset that helps them bring their best to the table.

These sentiments were echoed by consultant Janet Markwick from the J&R Collective, who sees too many production companies waiting to be invited in. “You’ve got to put yourself in the room. You don’t get innovation by sitting on the bench.”

Marketing Budgets Have Shrunk, Expectations Have Grown

Later, during the finance-meets-creativity panel, CMOs and production leaders shared hard truths and practical fixes. Matt Muniz, formerly Reckitt, Kimberly-Clark, didn’t mince words: “Marketing budgets are at their lowest in 2025. And they’re only going to get smaller.”

His solution is to stop selling savings and start selling results instead. “Promising efficiency only gets you so far – talk about efficacy. Show me how much money you can make me, not just how much I can save.”

Charlie Read, co-founder of The Outfit backed him up: “Sell business outcomes, not outputs.” It’s about trust, he said – and showing up early in the conversation. That’s how long-term partnerships are built. “We started at briefing,” he said of his 14-year relationship with Matt. “Not at execution.”

He continued: “Matt’s case started with us as a team doing our best to understand what’s on the mind of a marketing director. We got to grips with the business, the sector, and the audience they want to reach, which helped us reframe how we talk about our production product.”

Adrian Mooney, interim marketing director at New York Bakery emphasised the importance of a back and forth between the industry and brands, with no middle men: “This is the first exclusively production-dedicated event that I’ve been at during my career! As clients, we want to have a choice, we want to see what’s out there.”

Long-form Isn’t Dead – It’s Only Getting Better

During the panel dubbed ‘The Future is Long Form’, Waitrose’s Kirsty Rolfe and Channel 4’s Joe Churchill claimed that attention spans aren’t shrinking – people are just bored of lazy content.

Kirsty spoke more on ‘Dish’, the Waitrose podcast-turned-YouTube-hit featuring Angela Hartnett and Nick Grimshaw. “It feels like you’re having dinner with them,” she said. Zero media spend, fully PR-led, and racking up major engagement.

Joe, meanwhile, shared how ‘The Secret Life of 4 & 5 Year Olds’ got a sustainability-focused reboot with Eon Next. The ‘trick’ was real emotional connection that went far beyond polished platitudes. “YouTube’s algorithm loves long-form,” he said, “but it has to be honest. Audiences can smell the bullshit.”

The good news for production companies? Both Channel 4 and Waitrose are eager to create more branded content and continue to work closely with external production partners. No doubt, this excellent way for brands to form deeper relationships with their customers will continue to evolve.

DE&I, Sustainability, and Care

The ESG panel ditched token gestures. This sharp, clear-eyed conversation took a look at what actually moves the needle.

Ali Hanan, CEO at Creative Equals set the tone: “Who makes the work, shapes the work. More than 69% of award-winning campaigns have DE&I at their core.”

In all the best endeavours, courage is required – and you, as a company, knowing which storms to brave is a good start. “You can put out a Peppa Pig baby and still end up in a shitstorm,” Ali said. “You have to decide what you stand for. Know which backlash to care about.” However, we should all be prepared to fight the good fight in a time where DE&I is famously under fire.

Bryony Harrison-Miller, communications & sustainability at Get Set Hire brought it back to set. Think carbon tracking, water cooler swaps, circular hiring practices. Simple stuff, but it adds up, according to her.

But the proof is always in the numbers – so count. And then record. So that you’re able to back yourself, when time comes. Traci Dunne, founder of Transform- Renew-Sustain, had a blunt warning for anyone dragging their heels on this: “If you don’t measure and report, your clients will fuck you off.”

AI Doesn’t Need to Be Sexy; Just Useful

The AI conversation, refreshingly, skipped past the usual hype and fearmongering. Richard Wilson, founder and CEO at Media Lake AI was on a mission to reframe the discussion.

“Most brands don’t even know what content they already have,” he said. “They’re duplicating assets, overspending on formats that never get used.”

Media Lake’s model connects all those messy content touchpoints to surface what’s already there, which results in smarter reuse, faster access, and fewer shoot days wasted.

“We don’t need to burn the house down,” Richard said about integrating AI in your processes. “Give brands something they can feel in a quarter – not in two years.”

Blurred Lines Between Agency, Brand, and Production

The final panel of the day, chaired by LBB’s Matt Cooper, tackled agile brand partnerships and what that means for companies’ ways of working.

Sky’s creative director Alex Haley nailed it: “Some people want rigour. Some want informality. What matters is flexibility, and honesty. Where we’re heading is this: we’re all just one team.”

Jody Allison, partner at Heads Up Production, shared that 95% of her business now comes direct from brands – a shift driven by transparency and speed. Patrick Burgoyne, founder of the IHALC, and Nick Louisson, agency services head at ISBA,both noted how client-side teams are demanding clearer structures – and clearer value.

- The consensus: production has never been more vital, but that value needs to be articulated, early and often.

- The takeaway: people are tired of singing the same old song.

What came through loud and clear in the Networking Zone was this: everyone’s looking for a new tune. One that embraces agility without chaos, technology without theatre and partnerships without posturing.

The day was an open love letter to production companies – it was an invitation for them to step up and show up. To create a market for themselves where they really shine, for the product they deliver and the relationships they are open to building.

So, if the people in that room are anything to go by, the future of production is certainly more honest, more human, and entirely collaborative.

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Meanwhile, the APA is prepping The Production Unplugged Directory, curated by brands, for brands. It's an online resource for those wishing to learn more about how production companies are meeting the needs of modern marketers and which one to choose as their future partner.

It’s a quick and easy-to-use platform full of case studies that demonstrate how production companies are meeting the needs of modern marketers through; agile partnerships, smart and efficient practices, future-focused innovation, CX-driven content and ESG-focused metrics. Watch this space for more information soon!

If you attended Production Unplugged but haven’t received your login details please email productionunplugged@a-p-a.net