Features

Take a look through our weekly features and opinion pieces, including insights into some of the most exciting companies in the North, as well as interviews with the people who run them.

Latest features

See more
Features

Age of Opportunity: The marketer’s guide to reaching older customers

Features

Age of Opportunity: How HUB brought style and independence into mobility marketing

Deep dives

Almost 85% of the North’s Top 150 agencies are independent, but what does that tell us about the sector’s future?

Features

Age of Opportunity: How do considered customers decide to trust a brand?

Features

Bringing Silicon Valley ambition to Manchester: The 21-year-olds betting big on the city’s tech future

Northern creators are having a moment. The accent, humour and bluntness that once felt like something to hide are now their superpower, and brands are listening, says Ashley Rudd, co-founder of MODA PR. For as long as I can remember, there was an unspoken rule: tone it down. I know, I followed it. Stick a camera in my face and instantly my eyes widen like a deer in the headlights, and my voice goes full telephone voice. Vowels I didn't know I owned suddenly appear, and then there's just a natural pull to sound like someone from anywhere but home. I softened the accent, polished the edges and hoped people would think I sounded more "refined" and less like someone raised between a McArthurGlen outlet and an oil refinery. Then the pandemic hit. We were stuck at home, with no shiny office to hide behind and no fancy events to get lost in. Just us, our kitchens, the box room at our mum and dad's, and our phone cameras and TikTok flipped the script completely. What we hid became the hook On TikTok, the accent isn't a liability. It's the hook, blunt and funny is exactly what stops the scroll, and Northern creators have it in spades. Manchester's Farron Clark is fronting ASOS's autumn campaign as its Marketing Insider, and TALA handed her the keys to design its new outerwear collection while founder Grace Beverley was on maternity leave. Stoke's Luke Hamnett has gone from comedy sketches to M&S ambassador. And Ellisha Clapham has gone viral time and again talking openly about her working-class roots and her path from Yorkshire to London fashion PR, never once shying away from her accent. Now she's back up North, building her own talent management agency, ES Collective. Audiences trust people who sound like them The reason is simple. Too polished reads like an advert, but a familiar voice reads like a recommendation from a mate. And it's not just a feeling. When OnBuy asked more than 2,000 people to rate 15 British accents, Yorkshire was voted the most trustworthy, with 60% of the vote. When someone sounds like your sister, your colleague or the girl you prod on the arm to ask "omg, where did you get that from?", you believe them. You believe them when they say a jacket is worth it, and you believe them when they say a product is absolute rubbish and not worth your time, or your hard-earned cash. And brands are listening. The question in brand partnerships has shifted from "who has our audience?" to "who would our audience trust on this?" Farron comes from a marketing background, so her ASOS role feels seamless: she brings real insight to the brand and to her followers. Northern creators are on the rise It's part of a bigger shift. For years, the North's creative and digital scene has been growing, and London agencies are now opening offices and building teams up here rather than just visiting (if Avanti West Coast gets them here on time). That momentum is spilling into the creator economy. I'll try not to go full Sansa Stark, Queen of the North, here, but as someone proud to be from the North West, I'm here for it. And the brand deals are only the start. The next stage is national press, panels, awards shortlists and boardrooms, and Northern voices belong there just as loudly. A viral moment gets you noticed; a reputation keeps you in the room. How to make the moment last In my work, I see the opportunity every day: big, loyal audiences ready to become household names. For creators: Don't sand it down for the bigger stage. The accent that got you here is the reason people listen. I'm not one to keep throwing the word "authenticity" around, but audiences want three things: connection, community and consistency. Start acting up to be something you're not and you'll get rumbled real fast. Build assets you own. Press coverage, speaking slots, award entries and a newsletter all outlast a viral video. Think less "content creator", more media empire. Choose partnerships that fit the story. You've worked hard to build a community, so protect it. A handful of long-term brand relationships builds more than fifty one-off posts, and your audience will notice the difference. For brands and agencies working with Northern creators: Listen to them. They understand their audience, the landscape and what will land, often better than the brief does. And please don't lean into stereotypes. If the idea starts with a flat cap, a shellsuit or a can of coke ... get in the bin. Treat creators as talent, not media space. Invest in ambassadorships, not just deliverables. Put them forward. Book them for your brand panels and pitch their stories to press, not just their content to feeds. Shout about them. When a creator sells out your product, say so. Their success becomes part of yours. The North has always been good at telling stories and now it's our turn to be the story. Northern creators are already selling out and already shaping how brands sound. We spent years being told to tone it down. Now the smart money says turn it up, and as for my telephone voice? It can finally hang up. Ashley Rudd is co-founder of MODA PR, a strategic public relations and consultancy agency based in Chester, working with entrepreneurs, creators and names across entertainment.
Features

Once something to hide, the Northern accent is now the creator economy’s superpower

Creative Powerhouse

From ‘gruelling’ exit processes to squeezed margins: Northern agency leaders share their lessons on the path to profit, AI and selling

Features

Age of Opportunity: What does authentic age representation actually look like?

Features spotlight

See more
Features

Age of Opportunity: How HUB brought style and independence into mobility marketing

Features

Age of Opportunity: How do considered customers decide to trust a brand?

Features

Age of Opportunity: What does authentic age representation actually look like?

Features

Age of Opportunity: The ‘considered’ customers brands can’t afford to misunderstand

Creative Powerhouse

See more
Creative Powerhouse

From ‘gruelling’ exit processes to squeezed margins: Northern agency leaders share their lessons on the path to profit, AI and selling

Creative Powerhouse

‘Everyone has a different version of what good looks like’: Inside some of the North’s rising independent agencies

Kimberly Hart-Simpson
Creative Powerhouse

‘The stats are appalling for women in TV, but we are the change’: Former Coronation Street star on the scheme that transformed her confidence and career

Creative Powerhouse

“The challenge is proving this isn’t the Andy Burnham Show”: What PR and branding experts really think of No 10 North 

GRAFT

See more
Features

Bringing Silicon Valley ambition to Manchester: The 21-year-olds betting big on the city’s tech future

Graft

Calling all ambitious tech companies: Prolific North’s Tech Start-ups to Watch list returns for 2026

Features

9,700 businesses and counting: what’s driving West Yorkshire’s tech growth?

Graft

Prolific North turns spotlight on Lancashire’s growing digital and tech sector

People spotlight

See more
Ashley Rudd, MODA PR
A Week in My Life

A Week in My Life: Ashley Rudd, Co-founder, MODA PR

Sarah Colling, Northern Healthcare
A Week in My Life

A Week in My Life: Sarah Colling, People Director, Northern Healthcare

A Week in My Life

A Week in My Life: Liam Augur, Senior Designer, Propaganda

A Week in My Life

A Week in My Life: Richard Anderton, Head of Education, Sync

Companies spotlight

Add Your Profile
Browse all

Chilli

BIG Partnership

Edison Media

adam+gary

Drummond Central

Excite OOH

Ride Shotgun

HUB

IMA

Add People

Add People

Summit

Summit

21Digital

Latest rankings

See more

Top 50 Integrated Agencies

The definitive ranking for the North's top integrated agencies.

Top 50 PR Agencies

Take a look at Prolific North's Top 50 PR Agencies for 2024.

Top 50 Digital Agencies

Find out which agencies have earned a coveted spot in the 2024 Digital Agencies ranking.

Top Northern Brand Marketers 2024

Prolific North's new list of ambitious leaders and rising stars working at brands in the North.

Spaces and Places

See more
Features

Roof terraces, karaoke, yoga and private dining: Inside Manchester’s new 509-bed student tower

Spaces and Places

“Manchester is entering a new era”: First look inside Colony’s King Street workspace with podcast studios and rooftop terrace

Spaces and Places

Inside Campfield – the 130,000 sq ft creative tech campus in the heart of Manchester

Spaces and Places

First look: Manchester flexible workspace provider Colony expands to meet soaring demand for co-working

Upcoming Events

Browse all
Roundtables
  • November 5, 2026 9:00 am
  • Manchester

ROUNDTABLE: The Customer Growth Gap

Conferences
  • November 18, 2026 9:00 am
  • Manchester

Prolific North Live

Conferences
  • October 21, 2026 9:00 am
  • Merseyside

Regional Tech Champions Breakfast: Liverpool City Region

Join us for an exclusive morning of insight and networking at the Prolific North Tech Champions Breakfast for the Liverpool City Region. This event is for founders, investors, and leaders from across the region’s thriving tech ecosystem for a focused discussion on the sector’s current landscape. This event.....

This is Manchester Awards® Live 2026

  • November 5, 2026 6:00 pm
  • Manchester

Prolific North Live

  • November 18, 2026 9:00 am
  • Manchester

Prolific North Marketing Awards

  • November 19, 2026 6:00 pm
  • Manchester

SCALE Manchester

  • November 25, 2026 8:00 am
  • Manchester

Join us in celebrating the North!

We have a range of opportunities to suit, and can also work with you on a bespoke package. Download the media and reach out to the team today!

Download Media Pack