While day one of MAD//North was all about Bez, bakers and the growing BRIT Awards buzz ahead of Saturday’s star-studded ceremony in Manchester, the festival’s final leg turned its focus to the power of authenticity, people and trust.
Taking place on 25 and 26 February at Factory International’s Aviva Studios, the festival brought together marketing leaders and industry experts to share insights on how brands can stand out, stay relevant and shape the future.
READ MORE: Inside MAD//North day one: Big brands, bold ideas and a confident Northern creative scene
Opening the second and final day on the Factory Stage, MAD//Fest co-founder Ian Houghton praised the support behind the festival, saying he has “real confidence” the event will continue to grow in the North and it deserves to be “as big as the show in London”.
As media partner, Prolific North was there across both days, capturing some of the event’s highlights.
Gary Neville reveals what’s next for The Overlap
Gary Neville took to the stage to share the keys behind the success of his sports media network, The Overlap.
Now reaching 38 million views, Neville said the network’s growth comes down to authenticity: minimal rehearsal, the lived experiences of its hosts, and a strong focus on securing the right guests and brand partnerships.
Following Global’s majority stake in The Overlap, he also revealed plans to expand over the next 12 months by bringing “four or five” additional podcast platforms into the network, while championing the continued importance of long-form content in building deeper audience connections.
The North already has world-class creatives
One of the standout sessions came from Vicki Maguire, Havas London’s first female Chief Creative Officer, who delivered a sharp and unapologetically honest rallying cry for Northern creativity.
Challenging long-held industry assumptions about where great ideas come from, Maguire argued that breakthrough creativity doesn’t come from trying to sound like someone you’re not. Instead, she positioned diverse thinking as a strength rather than a risk, insisting that authenticity, resourcefulness and lived experience are far more powerful creative drivers than privilege or polish.
Taking aim at creative directors “parachuting” into the North in search of inspiration, she argued the region has always been world-class — just without the London postcodes or matching day rates. Her talk served as a timely reminder to “say it how it is” and recognise that real creativity comes from life, not location.
“If you want to get into advertising, just f*cking go for it — but it needs people like us to get in front of students and tell them there is a job out there for them,” she said. “Don’t lose that chip on your shoulder. Embrace it and put more vinegar on it.”
The power of connection
Ad legend Rory Sutherland joined Tom Ridges of Herdify and Sam Benton from MAD//Masters to explore the power of human connection and its role in driving behavioural change.
The discussion reframed the role of ‘herd mentality’, arguing that it can be a powerful tool for marketers rather than a weakness as there is nothing more human than looking to others before deciding to try something new or make a purchase.
The key takeaway was that in a world of AI and metrics, ultimately people copy people, ideas need reinforcement, and once “enough” connected individuals adopt something, momentum builds and the idea sticks. And even the biggest brands recognise that strong storytelling — and creating products people feel proud, not embarrassed, to say they’ve bought — is perhaps the clearest measure of marketing success.
How broadcasters are engaging young audiences
Over on the Factory Stage, ITV leaders offered a fascinating look at what news can teach brands, exploring how broadcasters are navigating the “wild west” of the internet amid misinformation, disinformation and so-called “AI slop”, while finding new ways to engage younger audiences.
The panel — featuring ITN journalist Nina Hossain, ITV Granada Reports head of news Lucy West, ITV director of news and current affairs Andrew Dagnell, and ITN digital reporter Cree-Summer Haughton — examined how storytelling is evolving in a rapidly shifting media landscape.
Dagnell explained that a growing part of his role now focuses not just on how ITV tells stories, but how it delivers news digitally across multiple platforms. West reflected on the “huge amount of change” she has witnessed throughout her career as technology reshapes where audiences consume news, stressing that trust, accuracy and reputation remain the industry’s most valuable assets.
Haughton then shared how ITV’s youth-focused digital bulletin The Rundown, distributed across Snapchat, YouTube and Instagram, has helped reach younger viewers, with its TikTok channel now surpassing 5.5 million followers. She explained how this is proof that younger audiences are engaged with serious news when it is delivered in accessible formats.
And while television was once the UK’s primary source of news, digital platforms have now taken the lead, a shift Dagnell described as a “real wake-up call” for broadcasters. TV news still reaches millions, but as those audiences are older, it has driven ITV to curate content differently for new generations. The panel agreed that the stories themselves haven’t changed but the formats have. Success now lies in meeting audiences where they are, acknowledging experimentation along the way, and recognising that younger viewers increasingly encounter news through social-first experiences.
Industry takes
Bill Dennett, regional team lead at Uber Advertising, shared his take on the festival: “MAD//North has once again shown that the centre of gravity in UK advertising isn’t just nudging north — it’s accelerating there. What stood out wasn’t just the energy, but the commercial intent behind it. This is a market that blends creativity with accountability, challenger ambition with real operational grit. From bold storytelling to smarter measurement, the conversations felt less theoretical and far more focused on how brands actually drive growth.
“One of the clearest themes running through the festival was the continued maturation of retail and commerce media. We’ve moved beyond the hype cycle. Brands aren’t asking why anymore, they’re asking how fast they can operationalise it. As consumers collapse the gap between inspiration and action, the opportunity lies in showing up at the precise moment intent is forming.
“What’s increasingly clear is that discovery doesn’t just happen in traditional brand environments. It happens in everyday moments. The morning commute coffee. The midweek top-up shop. The “what’s for dinner?” scroll. These are high-intent, high-attention touchpoints where platforms have a real role in shaping outcomes, not just influencing perceptions.”
