Privacy Policy

Last updated: 1 August 2026

At Prolific North, we are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information. This Privacy Policy applies to customers, suppliers, website visitors, newsletter subscribers, event attendees, award entrants, judges, contributors, advertisers, sponsors and other third parties with whom we interact in the course of our business. It explains how we collect, use, disclose and retain personal data when you use our website, interact with us online or offline, attend our events, submit material, or otherwise engage with our services.

This Privacy Policy applies to Prolific North’s customers, suppliers, and other third parties that we interact with during the day to day provision of our Services. By accessing and using the Website you are agreeing to be legally bound by the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Contents

  1. Our details
  2. Information we collect
  3. How we collect or receive your information
  4. How we use your information
  5. Our legal basis for processing
  6. Data sharing
  7. Data security
  8. Data retention
  9. Your rights 
  10. Changes to our Privacy Policy
 

1. Our details

The Site and our Services are made available by We are Prolific, trading as Prolific North, company registration number: 14854085 whose registered office is at Colony Fabrica, 269 Great Ancoats Street, Manchester, M4 7DB. We are the controller for the personal data described in this Privacy Policy.

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or how we use your personal data, you can contact us by email at [email protected] or by post at the address above.

You have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). We would appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns first, but you are not required to do so.

2. Information we collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

  • Identity data such as name, job title, company name and role;
  • Contact data such as email address, phone number and postal address;
  • Account data such as login details, preferences and subscription choices;
  • Transaction data such as payment status, billing information and booking records;
  • Technical data such as IP address, browser type, device information, operating system, login data and usage data;
  • Marketing and communications data such as your preferences in receiving communications from us;
  • Event data such as attendance records, badge details, dietary requirements, accessibility requirements, photographs and audio-visual recordings;
  • Submission data such as comments, award entries, articles, pitch material, feedback and other content you provide;
  • Special category or sensitive data where you voluntarily disclose it or where it is collected incidentally at an event and we are permitted by law to process it.

We may collect personal data directly from you, automatically through cookies and similar technologies, from third parties such as analytics providers, payment providers, event partners, clients, sponsors, service providers or referees, from publicly available sources, and where relevant, from organisations that have a contractual relationship with you or with us and are authorised to share data with us.

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the website, improve performance, analyse usage, remember preferences and, where applicable, support marketing. Where required by law, we will ask for your consent before placing non-essential cookies. You can manage your cookie preferences through our cookie banner or browser settings, although blocking some cookies may affect functionality.

Our website and services are not directed at children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal data, please contact us and we will review and, where appropriate, delete it.

3. How we collect or receive your information

You may give us your personal data directly. This will be the case when, for example, you contact us with enquiries, complete forms on our Website, enter the awards or competitions we run, subscribe to receive our newsletter, marketing communications or provide feedback to us.

We collect personal data using cookies and other similar technologies. When you access and use our Website, we will collect certain Usage Data. 

From time to time, we will receive personal data about you from third parties. Such third parties may include analytics providers, payment providers, clients on behalf of whom we invite you to events, and third parties that provide technical services to us so that we can operate our Website and provide our Services. This may be because sharing your personal data with us is necessary in order for the third party to perform a contract it has in place with you, or because you have asked the third party to share your personal data with us.

From time to time we may collect personal data about you from publicly available sources (including open source data sets), media reports or that you or a third party may otherwise make publicly available (for example through speeches at events or publishing articles or other news stories or posts on social media platforms).

 

4. How we use your information

We may use your personal data for the following purposes:

  • To provide, manage and administer our website, services, events, awards and publications;
  • To respond to enquiries and communicate with you;
  • To process bookings , entries, registrations, payments and subscriptions;
  • To send newsletters, marketing communications and event invitations where permitted by law;
  • To personalise content and user experience;
  • To operate, improve and secure our website and services;
  • To analyse website usage and audience engagement;
  • To verify identity, manage access and prevent fraud;
  • To enforce our terms, establish, exercise or defend legal claims, and resolve complaints;
  • To comply with legal and regulatory obligations; and where relevant, to use submissions, speaker content, event footage or publication material for editorial, promotional or archival purposes.

5. Our legal basis for processing

We will only process your personal data where we have a lawful basis to do so under UK data protection law. Depending on the context, we rely on one or more of the following: contract; legal obligation; legitimate interests; consent. Where we rely on legitimate interests, our interests may include operating and improving our website and services, business administration, event management, fraud prevention, direct communication with business contacts, editorial activity, and defence of legal claims. Where we rely on legitimate interests, we have carried out a balancing test where required.

 

6. Data Sharing

  • Third-Party Service Providers: We may share personal data with service providers and processors who help us operate our website, events, mailing systems, ticketing, payment processing, analytics, storage, communications and IT infrastructure; sponsors, event partners, judges or clients where necessary for event administration, awards management or fulfilment of a service; professional advisers such as lawyers, accountants, insurers and auditors; regulators, law enforcement agencies or courts where required by law or where necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims; and a buyer, seller, investor or other third party in connection with a merger, acquisition, restructuring or sale of assets, subject to appropriate safeguards. We require processors to act only on our instructions and to implement appropriate security measures.
  • Legal Requirements: We may disclose your information when required by law or in response to a valid request from law enforcement or governmental authorities. 

We or the third parties referred to above may transfer, store or process your personal data outside the UK and, where relevant, outside the EEA. Where we do so, we will ensure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as an adequacy regulation, the UK International Data Transfer Agreement, the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or another lawful transfer mechanism. You can contact us for further information about the relevant safeguards.

7. Data security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction, loss, alteration, unauthorised disclosure or access. No system is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we become aware of a personal data breach that affects you and where required by law, we will notify you and the relevant regulator as appropriate.

8. Data retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, including to satisfy legal, regulatory, tax, accounting or reporting requirements, to resolve disputes, to enforce our agreements and to defend legal claims. Retention periods vary depending on the type of data and purpose.

Where appropriate, we will apply the following general approach: enquiry and correspondence data for as long as necessary to manage the query and for a reasonable period afterwards; marketing data until you unsubscribe or object, subject to suppression-list retention where lawful; event and awards data for a period appropriate to administration, audit and future reference; accounting and transaction data for the period required by law and prudent record-keeping; and legal claims data until the relevant limitation period has expired and any related proceedings are concluded.

9. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may have the right to access your personal data; rectify inaccurate data; erase your data; restrict processing; object to processing; data portability; withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and complain to the ICO. If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details above. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

You also have the right to make a complaint at any time to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK regulator for data protection issues (www.ico.org.uk). We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you approach the ICO so please contact us in the first instance.

10. Changes to our Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The latest version will be posted on our website with the effective date. Where changes are material, we will take reasonable steps to notify you.