Scratch Creative seeks production manager for live brand experiences

Independent design and production studio Scratch Creative is recruiting a production manager to support its growing portfolio of retail, experiential and live event projects for global brands.

Based at the company’s Battersea studio in London, the role focuses on delivering end-to-end physical brand experiences, from flagship retail installations and pop-up environments to exhibitions, live events and large-scale activations across the UK.

Background and industry context

As brands continue to invest in experiential marketing, demand has risen for partners capable of bridging creative, technical and operational disciplines. Specialist studios that can design, prototype and deliver in one place are increasingly sought after to reduce friction between concept and on-site execution.

Hybrid retail and event formats, immersive pop-ups and temporary brand environments now form a central part of many marketing strategies, particularly in sectors such as fashion, technology, automotive and lifestyle. These projects typically require rapid turnarounds, detailed technical planning and coordination of multiple suppliers, making experienced production management a core capability.

Studios like Scratch Creative operate at this intersection, translating creative concepts into buildable, safe and scalable physical experiences, while managing budgets, timelines and logistics for clients with high expectations around brand consistency and delivery quality.

Key elements of the production manager role

The production manager position at Scratch Creative is designed to strengthen the company’s ability to manage complex experiential and live event programmes from brief to de-rig. The successful candidate will work closely with designers, technical teams and clients to ensure concepts are realized accurately and efficiently in physical form.

Core responsibilities are expected to include:

• Overseeing production planning for retail displays, pop-ups, exhibitions and live events, ensuring projects move smoothly from design development to on-site delivery.
• Coordinating internal teams and external suppliers involved in fabrication, AV, graphics, logistics and installation.
• Managing project schedules, production budgets and resource allocation to meet agreed milestones.
• Supporting technical development, including material choices, construction methods and feasibility assessments based on creative concepts.
• Ensuring compliance with health and safety requirements, venue regulations and brand guidelines across all builds and installations.
• Attending site visits, overseeing installations and managing live event delivery where needed.

Working from the Battersea studio, the production manager will be embedded in the company’s integrated workflow, where creative thinking, design engineering and production logistics are handled within a single location. This setup is intended to reduce delays between concept revisions, technical detailing and fabrication decisions.

Integrated production for retail and experiential environments

Scratch Creative’s portfolio spans multiple types of brand environments, each with distinct technical and operational demands. Permanent or semi-permanent flagship retail projects call for robust construction, long-term maintenance planning and alignment with in-store operations. Pop-ups and mobile activations, by contrast, often need modularity, quick build times and easy transportation.

Exhibitions and live events introduce further variables, including venue coordination, rigging requirements, access times, power and data infrastructure and safety documentation. A production manager working across these formats must be able to anticipate and reconcile these different demands, designing production plans that are flexible while still tightly controlled.

The role further reflects ongoing convergence between traditional event production and experiential retail design. The same production skill set is now deployed to deliver content-driven environments in stores, temporary spaces and event venues, with digital elements, interactive installations and social media-friendly features increasingly part of the brief.

Industry impact and talent needs

Recruitment for roles that sit at the junction of design and production highlights a broader talent requirement across the live and experiential sectors. As campaigns become more integrated, production managers are expected not only to execute builds, but also to understand brand objectives, guest journeys and the technical possibilities of modern materials and AV technologies.

Studios with in-house production oversight can provide brands with greater predictability on cost and delivery while reducing the risk of misalignment between creative intent and the physical outcome. This model can also support more iterative approaches, enabling live optimisation of designs during the development phase.

For the wider industry, demand for experienced production managers suggests that career pathways are expanding beyond traditional staging and exhibition build roles into more hybrid positions that combine account handling, technical production, logistics management and on-site leadership.

Why this matters for event professionals and technology providers

For event organisers and experiential agencies, the recruitment of senior production talent by design-led studios underlines how delivery capabilities are becoming a differentiator in a crowded marketplace. Reliable, technically competent production partners can reduce operational risk and free creative teams to push for more ambitious experiences.

Technology providers, including AV companies, interactive solution vendors and build partners, may see increased collaboration opportunities as studios look for specialist support on complex activations. A clearly defined production management function can streamline communication between creative, technical and supplier teams, particularly on projects involving interactive media, complex lighting or temporary structural builds.

For professionals working in events, exhibitions and retail experiences, roles like this highlight the skillsets that are in demand: familiarity with live event operations, understanding of fabrication processes, proficiency in scheduling and budgeting tools and the ability to translate creative briefs into actionable production plans.

Conclusion

Scratch Creative’s search for a production manager underlines the importance of integrated production leadership in today’s experiential and live events landscape. As brands continue to invest in distinctive physical experiences across retail, pop-ups, exhibitions and large-scale activations, studios that can manage both creative development and delivery under one roof are well positioned to support that demand.

For event and production professionals, the role showcases how responsibilities are evolving to encompass not only technical execution but also collaboration with design teams and alignment with broader brand strategies. As the sector continues to recover and expand, similar positions are likely to remain a key focus in recruitment across the experiential and live events ecosystem.