Whether it was the strained resources, the frustration of being pulled away from day-to-day production or just an inevitable reshuffle after years of stability, it was hard not to notice the number of heads of TV who left their posts in the UK last year - a list which included all-star names like Saatchi London's Mark Hanrahan.

While that hasn't been the case in the US, where deputies to the likes of Y&R's Ken Yagoda or McCann Erickson's Peter Friedman have probably tried everything short of voodoo dolls to get their bosses moving along, don't mistake consistency for passivity. US heads of production have begun to sport the hyphenated titles of medieval gentry - titles which both better reflect their role in the creative process and the enormous changes taking place within agencies.

Suffice to say, adaptation is the order of the day on both sides of the Atlantic.

As NY-based EVP/director of broadcast production Friedman observes: "There is a lot of pressure on all the heads of production to re-examine what they do, day in and day out." Forget just assigning work and problem solving, "now we're being asked by upper management to figure out ways to generate some of our own profits through the production company."

It's an alchemy that turns production heads into entrepreneurs, setting up in-house music companies or recording studios, adding post facilities for finishing, doing their own animatics or testing - adding anything that can generate income or offer clients an alternative to getting into a cab and going off-site.

"If I could do 10% of the work in-house," notes Friedman, "I would generate a couple of million dollars to the bottom line and my clients would save money. This is all a work in progress because it takes a lot of money to build this stuff, but these things are on the table and they will happen. It is just a matter of time for every agency."

Evidence of that evolution is more apparent in Blighty. BBH London already sported an on-site arm of post facility The Mill, when head of TV Frances Royle opened in-house music publishing arm, Leap, last year. "The role of the head of the production is now to really be thinking: how can we be working better for our clients?" says Royle. "It's not just about being another heavyweight producer, it's about looking for ways to work smarter" in terms of processes and suppliers.

But after half a decade of slicing and compressing, the cuts are likely as deep as they can get, whether it's in the US, UK or any other mature advertising market. (As Friedman observes, basic overheads mean you can't drop below a 20% mark-up and still expect to stay in business.) All that's left now is adjusting to the new reality.

Nigel Foster, J. Walter Thompson's executive head of television production for London and Europe, thinks the time has come for clients and agencies to sit down and have honest discussions about the new production paradigm. He believes, for example, that simply lengthening the bid process would greatly improve the quality of the work.

"I don't think we can tighten up much more, to be very honest," says Foster. Clients, he adds, should give agencies more time to "shop around" and explore alternative production routes, as well as allowing them to get on the radar of the best directors.

While the halcyon days of the '80s are likely gone for good, it doesn't mean the industry has to remain mired in the doldrums. If his producers can do :30s, observes Friedman, then they can do five-minute films. Or they can do Web spots. They can do anything the client wants, provided both sides start pulling the same way and his department adapts to fit the changing needs of his clients.

"We don't want to be in the buggy whip business," he says. "If we don't change, if we don't go with it and we are not leaders in it, we are going to be left behind."

BBH> www.bartleboglehegarty.com

JWT> www.jwt.com

McCann Erickson> www.mccann.com