Headjam (noun, informal): the coming together of ideas, a collective input, the brainstorm.

Headjam is a creative agency based in Newcastle, NSW, Australia that is notable for its contributions to research and the arts, and its support of public health campaigns and education. The agency has also published three books on the topics of bohemian culture and contemporary design process.

Headjam coffee spot
Headjam cameras
Headjam paint brushes

Headjam was established in 2002, and create marketing and communication solutions that adopt an ethical approach. This is evidenced by their choice of clients, which are selected for their ability to create positive social change. Their portfolio of work is therefore focussed in five areas: public health, research, education, community and the arts.

Public Health

Headjam’s work in public health includes notable national and international collaborations with institutions including Hunter New England Population Health (HNEPH), the Hunter Institute of Mental Health (HIMH), the AIDS Council of NSW (ACON) and the Schizophrenia Fellowship of NSW.
 Most notably, since 2007 Headjam have worked with ACON to advocate sexual health awareness in diverse gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender (GLBT) communities. In 2008/9 they developed the “Up Ya Bum” campaign to promote the use of condoms in the Sydney community, and syndicated to other Australian and South East Asian markets where the spread of AIDS is a major public health concern.
 Headjam worked with HIMH during 2014 to develop the Mindframe suite of resources, a national initiative that supports media professionals and “provides access to up-to-date, evidence-based information to support the reporting, portrayal and communication of suicide and mental illness in the media”.

Research

Headjam’s work in formal University based research projects is purposed to create novel digital communication resources, specialising in computer tailored solutions that promote physical activity. 
During 2012-13 Headjam worked with the University of Newcastle to produce a computer-tailored, web deliverable intervention designed to “promote physical activity in post-treatment breast cancer survivors”. 
In 2014-15, Headjam assisted the Physical Activity Research Group at Central Queensland University in the planning, production and delivery of a world first, web deliverable, video tailored fitness program funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) of Australia.

Arts

Headjam’s affiliation with the Arts includes philanthropic associations with art galleries and individuals, including the facilitation of exhibiting and publishing activities with institutions such as the Newcastle Museum and The Lock-Up, a Newcastle based gallery that offers residencies to visiting artists. 
Headjam published a volume of selected ethnographic photographs by Luke David Kellett (2011) entitled This City Speaks to Me. The included images are drawn from a collection of several thousand photographs that record the lives of members of the bohemian community in Melbourne, Victoria, during the years 2008-10 that were acquired by the State Library of Victoria in 2011 to form part of their ethnographic image collection. The works were shown in 2014-15 as part of the Bohemian Melbourne exhibition at the Keith Murdoch Gallery, State Library of Victoria.
 Headjam also work on photographic and film clip work with popular musical groups, including high profile Australian bands Boy and Bear and Hiatus Kaiyote.

Education

Headjam’s extensive work in formal education is primarily conducted in the tertiary sector, collaborating with a number of universities, technical colleges, Group Training Organisations (GTOs) and Registered Training Organisations (RTOs).

Headjam’s portfolio includes a range of marketing and technologies that meet the uniquely complex needs of these large institutions, and includes online delivered content for virtual learning environments. Key clients include: The University of Newcastle; Gradschool; Central Queensland University; Hunter TAFE; and the Hunter Valley Training Centre (HVTC).

Notably, from 2010-15 Headjam have been the sole agency of the HVTC, Australia’s oldest and largest GTO. Headjam provided websites, intranet, extranet, and a major rebrand for rollout across offices and vehicle fleet throughout New South Wales, including the $5 million HVTC Skills Centre located at Rutherford.

In 2010, Headjam completed branding for the online postgraduate portal at the University of Newcastle, Gradschool, and continue as the lead digital agency for the institution.

Community

Headjam work extensively with community based organisations, and are actively engaged in the production of media and strategic communication planning for a range of not-for-profit and Non Government Organisations (NGOs) in Newcastle, and throughout Australia. They frequently partner with artists, musicians, and small start up concerns that are associated with the creative industries and community oriented business endeavours.

Notable associations include national arts based events such as the annual This Is Not Art (“Tina”) festival held in Newcastle. Headjam have partnered to provide media in 2015 for the festival that includes several cultural sub-events of national and international significance, including the National Young Writer’s Festival, Critical Animals and the Crack Theatre Festival.

Headjam frequently partner with Regional Development Australia (RDA) Hunter, a federally funded, regionally focused NGO that act to promote national and international investment in the Hunter region of NSW. Notable examples include an international video based campaign entitled Smart Happens Here produced in 2013 and a computer animated video in support of iSTEM – a program that assists students to pursue a career in advanced manufacturing by guiding them toward Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

Headjam bike rack
Meet the team