Steve Davies – Helping UK Advertising thrive in a changing world

04/23/25 • 30 min

This week on The MCA Prodcast Pat Murphy talks with Steve Davies, Chief Executive at the Advertising Producers Association, the trade body for UK commercial production, editing, post production and music and sound design companies. The aim of the APA is to create the best possible business environment for its members, addressing challenges and connecting them with opportunities.

Steve’s career began in law where he was partner at a London law firm, before moving into Sports Television. His media/law crossover career saw him work on the first pay-per-view sports deal with Sky and even act as Mike Tyson’s lawyer, negotiating his entry to the UK with the then Home Secretary Jack Straw!
Steve talks us through the changes he’s made at the APA to benefit their members; adding training, contractual advice, overseas marketing and business advice. Steve and Pat discuss the recent demise of Technicolour and Steve explains how the APA is trying to support its members by connecting those who lost jobs with new opportunities elsewhere. Steve also shared details of ‘Production Unplugged’, a new event hosted by the APA where brands can meet with potential production partners. The event is designed to build relationships, share knowledge, and drive real change in the industry. MCA is really proud to be sponsoring this event and you can find out more here.

Steve considers the changing production landscape and the evolving role of the producer. He argues that the producer role is often be misunderstood with a common perception being that they exist to service the needs to the director. Steve argues they are in fact a critical and valuable part of the creative process as properly understanding production is what allows magic to happen.

Most revealing is Steve's insight into what clients truly want from production partners. Forget awards and director reels – brands want case study proof demonstrating how you’ve helped similar clients achieve concrete business goals. Steve believes it’s this shift in focus from creative execution to strategic partnership that will determine which production companies thrive in the coming years.

See Steve’s favourite ad: Stella Artois – Ice Skating Priests

Hosted by Pat Murphy

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See Steve’s favourite ad: Stella Artois – Ice Skating Priests

Hosted by Pat Murphy

**The MCA Prodcast is now available on YouTube. Click here to Subscribe**

Connect with Murphy Cobb and The Prodcast:
Murphy Cobb & Associates | The MCA Prodcast | LinkedIn | Instagram | Email

Previous Episode

The Best of Season 3

To mark the end of a really successful season 3, we bring you a very special episode of The MCA Prodcast as we look back on some of our favourite bits of advice that guests have given us over the last few months.

Pat Murphy has been lucky enough to sit down with some of the real shining lights in our industry and we’ve covered so many different topics; from creativity and storytelling, to leadership, nurturing new talent, technological developments and even exploring entirely new ways that we can connect with audiences.

Exploring these topics and many more are:

Doerte Spengler-Ahrens – Chairwoman of Jung von Matt and President of the Art Director’s Club (ADC)
Upasana Roy – Global Creative Strategy Director at Reckitt
Philipp Schuster – Agency Management and Marketing Partnerships Director from Bayer Consumer Health
Sir John Hegarty – Co-founder and Creative Director at The Garage Soho & The Business of Creativity
Mark Benson – President of The Mill
Kristen Cavallo – Former Global CEO of MullenLowe
Matt Miller - President and CEO of the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP)
Paul Burke – Radio Copywriter and Producer

Season 4 of The MCA Prodcast will be landing in early 2025!

Hosted by Pat Murphy

Connect with Murphy Cobb and The Prodcast:

Murphy Cobb & Associates | The MCA Prodcast | LinkedIn | Instagram | Email

Next Episode

Nils Leonard – Faff Tax: The Uncommon Way to Ensure Clients Actually Make Stuff

This week on The MCA Prodcast Pat Murphy is joined by Nils Leonard, Founder of Uncommon Creative Studio. Nils has spent over 25 years in the advertising and design industry working across some of the most recognised agencies in London. Nils was voted into Adweek’s coveted Creativity 100 and was named The No.1 creative person in advertising globally by Business insider, and is listed as one of the Sunday Times 500 most influential people in the UK.

Nils loves and values production. He describes it as the ‘literal distance between an idea and reality’ and explains that this understanding has reshaped his entire approach to creativity. Rather than prioritising process or placating stakeholders, Uncommon focuses relentlessly on output - even creating a "faff tax" that charges clients more if they haven't made anything within six months. "We've never had to use it, but it's defined the type of client that comes to us", Nils says. Nils is not only insistent on creating, but confident that past work is the best case-study and shop window your agency can ask for. Nils explains that the best clients approach Uncommon knowing their work, understanding their ethic and wanting them above any other creative partner.

Nils also explains how leadership and creativity are not mutually exclusive. As a lead creative for a company, you are effectively the leader of the business as the revenue comes from your creative output. As such, Nils argues, you should be party to the fee negotiations and you should have a full understanding of the business side. Also, Nils’ advice to all creators is to not be afraid to walk away from the wrong type of client or the wrong type of work. "When someone pays you for your time but not your work... they're actively stopping you doing something else that could change your life", he says. This selective approach has helped Uncommon achieve remarkable growth, including being named Agency of the Year in the US after just 12 months.

Nils shares his unique approach to sourcing talent too, and explains that many of his global offices have been opened and built around a talented individual that he wanted to welcome into the business. “You meet great people and think ‘I need to find a way to get them in the fold and I know good shit will happen'”.

See Nils’ favourite ad: Macmillan Cancer Support – Whatever it Takes

Hosted by Pat Murphy

**The MCA Prodcast is now available on YouTube. Click here to Subscribe**

Connect with Murphy Cobb and The Prodcast:

Murphy Cobb & Associates | The MCA Prodcast | LinkedIn | Instagram | Email

The MCA Prodcast - Steve Davies – Helping UK Advertising thrive in a changing world

Transcript

Pat Murphy:
Hi and welcome to The MCA Prodcast, your fix for everything innovative in advertising production. I'm Pat Murphy and I've been working in this industry for more than 35 years now. I've seen a lot of changes, but know there's plenty more around the corner. Each week on the podcast you'll get to hear from one of the movers and shakers who are shaping the world of advertising for the future and we'll dive into some of the key challenges facing our sector today and