Following our themes reveal, Northern Marketing Festival 2026 is now lifting the lid on the Manchester agenda.
We’re bringing the industry’s biggest questions to Manchester
We’ve built the Manchester programme to reflect the pressure marketers are under right now – balancing performance, creativity, and constant change.
From the outset, we’re challenging the fundamentals.
Jess Atkinson (Embryo) will open up the evolving role of organic search, while Nathan Lomax (Quickfire Digital) takes on the sustainability of the ecommerce boom.
These are not surface-level talks. They’re designed to give you clarity on where to focus next.
Built for action, not just inspiration
As the day unfolds, we’re leaning into the realities of modern marketing.
Lucas Coe (Foremore) will tackle the often-unspoken issues behind bad briefs and broken processes, while Dmitry Bastron (Byteminds) explores how AI and rapid development are reshaping expectations around delivery.
In the afternoon, we bring together senior voices to address media strategy head-on. Our Rethinking the media mix panel (with reps from Sky, Bauer Media Group, Print.com and Citipost – hosted by Buymedia) looks at the role of traditional channels in 2026 and where they genuinely deliver value in a performance-driven landscape.
Alongside this, brand leaders including Elle Barker, UK&I CMO at Lipton and Uber Advertising will share how they’re approaching creativiTEA (get it!) and growth, with additional insight from JBH and Impression on aligning PR, SEO and social for measurable impact.
And we’re not done yet
We still have some surprises yet to be revealed so keep an eye on the Prolific North LinkedIn page where all will be revealed soon.
Join us in Manchester (or Liverpool or Leeds)
If you want to understand where marketing is heading, meet the people shaping it, and leave with ideas you can actually apply, this is your room.
