Gary Neville, AI, and brand building: MAD//UpNorth Day 2
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Following the expert marketing advice and insights our team gained from Day 1 at Madfest, I couldn’t wait to attend the event on the second day.
With over 4,000 attendees, 3 speaker stages and plenty of opportunities to connect with industry professionals, Day 2 of MAD//UpNorth was an exceptional day.
In case you don’t know much about MADfest, it was originally based in London, but this year, the north had its time to shine. Mad//UpNorth is a two-day festival filled with a range of speakers, sessions and even live podcasts!
In this blog, I am going to share the insights and key takeaways from the talks I was lucky enough to attend!
MAD//UpNorth Day 2
An interview with Gary Neville
Gary Neville: Serial Entrepreneur + Broadcaster
Justin Pearse: Editor, New Digital Age
My first talk of the day was a real personal highlight for me; Gary Neville is a role model for many people from Manchester, including myself!
Gary spoke about the pride he feels coming from Manchester, the passionate spirit of Mancunians, the development of the city, and that he loves that people in Manchester ‘crack on’ in life and ‘get things done’. A phrase that particularly stood out to me was ‘if you commit to Manchester, Manchester will commit to you’. This was said in relation to business growth in the city and how businesses that invest in Manchester are likely to see a great return on that investment. Gary then went on to talk about how to succeed in the business world.
He discussed the importance of embedding business values internally within your team. He explained how internal team values need to reflect the brand values that are expressed externally; brands should be aligned with how the people within a business act.
Gary went on to define key attributes that make-up a successful person, not only in business but in life generally: he urged people to stay grounded, be authentic, put in hard work and be passionate about their work. He also expressed his love for mentoring and explained how he wouldn’t be where he is now without the support from mentors throughout his life.
The interview touched on the strong work ethic he sees in young people, why content should be authentic and relatable to an audience, as well as how AI is helping him in some areas of his life currently (but not when it comes to subjective/opinion-based work).
I felt truly inspired by the talk, and it was brilliant for anyone wanting to gain advice on how to succeed in business and life too.
AI: killing creatives or giving them superpowers?
Oliver Yonchev: Founder / Entrepreneur, cocreatd.com
Oliver Yonchev, founder of cocreatd.com, came to the stage with passion, excitement and fascinating insights surrounding the part AI plays in the creative industry.
He began his talk by discussing the headonic treadmill effect in relation to AI; society has become somewhat desensitised to the capabilities of AI and the good it can do.
He explained how AI should be ‘invisible but not irrelevant’ to marketing. He also explored the similarities between AI content creation and human content creation; if AI is built on language processing and information gathered from inputs/experiences, then is it so vastly different to how humans create content? By defining Boden’s three types of creativity (combinational, exploratory and transformational), Oliver was then able to explain how AI can fit into this definition of creativity.
I found it particularly interesting how Oliver discussed the capabilities of AI but also stressed that AI does require effort; if you put minimal effort into AI, then you are likely to get poor results, but if you invest and take time with AI usage, you can expect so much more.
Oliver also spoke about AI agents being active contributors (agents are applications that work with other agents to complete tasks) and whether this can be viewed as much different from how humans work together as a team to create successful campaigns.
It was impressive to hear from Oliver about the power AI can give to creatives; he believes creatives are now not bound by technical limitations and that those with left side brands (e.g. creatives) can now use AI is access the technical support that they were once unable too.
The talk concluded with Oliver urging the audience to broaden their perspective on AI and stating that if you are already good at your job, AI can be an effective tool to enhance your work.
As opinions of AI are varied across the creative industry, it was fascinating to learn Oliver’s perspective and how positive he was about AI in creativity.
Asda: How going back to your roots can plant the seeds to success
Adam Zavalis: Vice President Marketing, Asda
Simon Lloyd: Chief Marketing and Customer Officer, ex BBC, Virgin Atlantic and Aldermore Bank.
This interview with Adam Zavalis provided fantastic insights into how to build a brand and why sticking to your roots is vital for success.
In terms of building a brand like ASDA, Adam spoke about the need to convince people with your content, building an emotional connection with your audience, the importance of a quality offer and why you should focus on the unique features your business provides. He also stressed the importance of a unique brand tone and getting that right.
He advised brands to look at how their brand can help people with specific problems within society; being topical and relatable to specific customer challenges is really important to resonate with your audience.
Adam also discussed how focussing on ‘where’ ASDA came from (e.g. the north) has been a driving factor in the brand’s success; focussing on the DNA of a brand whilst also incorporating modernity is the perfect combination.
Before wrapping up the talk, Adam mentioned how getting your product proposition and engaged colleagues are the sweet spot to building a truly great brand.
Gaining Adam’s insights was a real privilege, and the interview was ideal for professionals wanting to grow their brand successfully.
Lessons from Greggs on how a brand from the north can take on the world
Nichola Elgie: Senior Account Director, Drummond Central
As someone who frequently visits Greggs on a lunch break, this talk was one I did not want to miss. Nichola Elgie, Senior Account Director at Drummon Central (one of the agencies that works with Greggs), broke down the 5 key lessons ‘Greggs’ have learnt whilst building one of the UK’s biggest brands.
The first lesson: ‘Know your challenge’
- Nichola expressed the importance of using the team around you and leveraging minds from different generations to stay relevant. She discussed how Greggs’ biggest challenge was ‘perceived relevance, ’ so the team had to work on staying relevant despite changing customer demands. Something that stood out to me from this talk was when Nichola explained how a brand’s core challenge might always be the same, but the ways to deal with it consistently need to change.
The second lesson: ‘Know your brand’
- I learnt that brands should be authentic and stay true to their core identity whilst also considering how they want to be perceived by the audience. The key to success is to align your core identity with the clear message you want to spread.
The third lesson: ‘Know your channels’
- Nichola shared that businesses should have a mix of campaigns: those on a brand level and those on a product level. She also urged brands to show up authentically; by this, I think she meant to remain genuine to your audience.
The fourth lesson: ‘Know your internal stakeholders’
- This section explored how brands can clearly show evidence of campaign success to internal stakeholders.
The fifth lesson: ‘Know how to have fun’
- Nichola finished her talk by urging brands to have fun with marketing, to be the brand that competitors want to be and to be brave with marketing decisions.
Overall, the Greggs brand journey can teach us to have fun with marketing, connect with your audience, be authentic and aim to be unforgettable.
Dot-com & Scale up
Robert Bridge: Chief Customer Officer, Cinch
Katie Walderman: Broadcaster, ITV News
Soco Núñez de Cela: Global Marketing Director, Red Engine Team
This talk provided insights on the importance of taking advice from other members of your team; you can’t always trust what you think is right, so learning from different generations is a powerful way to make sure your marketing is relevant. They expressed how the mentality of the team is just as important as the external brand when it comes to generating success.
The panel also explained why brave marketing choices are the only way to stand out in a crowded market; disrupting the industry (in a suitable way) is an effective way to attract attention and engage customers.
Boosting equity & making a meaningful difference
Lucy Barnes: Joint General Manager, Havas Media Network, Manchester
Thomas Reeve: Strategy Partner, Havas Media Network, Manchester
Christina Taylor: Founder, Aim Sky High
This inspiring talk focused on social mobility and why underrepresented entrepreneurs need a voice in the business world. The speakers stated that social mobility should be at the forefront of brands, and by empowering unrepresented entrepreneurs, brands can break barriers in media and business.
The highlight of the talk was hearing from Christina Taylor, who was on the Havas Boost programme, a programme designed to boost opportunities for minority groups in business. She has gone on to have phenomenal success and is now the founder of Aim Sky High Talent agency, working with megastars such as Stormzy, DAVE and Mary Earps.
The experience equation
Paul Cooper COO, EssenceMediacom North
Katy Woodward Planning Director, EssenceMediacom North
Louis Georgiou VP Engineering Agentic Intelligence, Choreograph, WPP
This session really focussed on how agencies/companies can provide a better ‘experience’ for clients/customers. They opened the talk with an impressive stat that 3 in 4 people admit they don’t like advertising, so it is super important to provide a good experience when working with clients/customers so that perception can hopefully change.
The speakers discussed the importance of a positive overall client experience, from the friendly staff they meet at the door to the useful emails sent. They explained that by focusing on the pain points in the customer journey, agencies can provide a better experience and outcome for everyone involved.
Brands stop wasting your time with creators
Ben Kaluza: Creator
Oliver Yonchev: Founder / Entrepreneur, cocreatd.com
Ben and Oliver had a fascinating conversation about influencer marketing and the best way agencies/brands can work with creators to achieve success.
It was clear from this talk that the influencer marketing industry is growing, and now is the time for brands to invest. Ben urged brands to be specific with campaign objectives so that both brands and creators are on the same page when working on a project. He also expressed his distaste for template emails (he receives around 80-100 a week) and that he is more likely to reply to an email that feels personal.
Ben also had advice for creating top-class content: Pick an interesting topic, and that the topic is more important than the length of the video. He also urged brands not to overpromise what they are offering because creators can see straight through it.
Interestingly, they mentioned the Mcnamara fallacy in relation to how campaigns are perceived by an audience. For example, easy-to-measure metrics like impressions and likes only show so much, it is harder to measure a negative reaction of a consumer. Therefore, it is difficult for brands to determine the success of a campaign.
I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the influencer industry directly from a creator.
Phil Cowdell: Global Chief Strategy Officer, Channel Factory
This eye-opening talk was a fantastic insight into the risks of social media and how to avoid them so that your marketing is safe and sustainable.
Phil opened the talk by explaining that human principles are just as important as business principles and that it is a brand’s responsibility to use the platforms that are aligned with their brand.
By staying true to their brand and moral values, brands can reduce risk and achieve higher performance.
Phil advised brands to reduce resource waste by making sure campaigns are targeting the right people at the right time. Interestingly, Phil stated that brands should look at sustainable marketing in the same way they look at ROAS: a key driver of success and not a cost to the business. If you make a good return on carbon use, the business is likely to succeed. He also expressed that one person shouldn’t be the only one in a business who is aware of sustainability; the whole team should be.
Too much to watch: A conversation with stars from one of Channel 4’s biggest shows
Ewan Douglas: Head of Sales for Nations & Regions, Channel 4
Pete and Sophie Sandiford from Channel 4’s Gogglebox
Now, this talk had some unexpected guests! Siblings Pete and Sophie Sandiford from Gogglebox joined the stage to talk about their viewing habits and what makes good content.
They discussed their favourite shows the watch and gave us behind-the-scenes insights into how Gogglebox is filmed.
Effectiveness the northern way
Rachel Emms: Managing Director, Effie UK
Jemma Townsend: Marketing Director, Aldi UK
Jane Colbeck: Managing Partner, McCann Manchester
My final talk of the day featured a panel made up of Rachel Emms (Managing Director, Effie UK), Jemma Townsend (Marketing Director, Aldi UK) and Jane Colbeck (Managing Partner, McCann Manchester). They discussed client X agency relationships and how teamwork is key to achieving success.
Both Jemma and Jane made it clear that the agency and clients should be one team. Their objective should always be the same, and that honesty/candor is key for successful relationships. They explained that they recommend agencies being present in specific interal client meetings so everyone hears updates/decisions first hand.
The panel also provided expert insights into brand success; the consumer mindset might change, so working together to innovate and create new ideas is essential. They also said that brand identity should be extremely clear and consistent within an internal team; e.g. ALDI asked some team members ‘who ‘aldi’ would be’ if they were a person and all descriptions were very similiar. This shows a clear internal understanding of the ALDI brand, which the panel stated is important for overall brand success.
Common themes from the day
All the talks I attended were extremely informative, and I learnt so much. There were plenty of common themes that popped up throughout the day:
- The pressure on creators to make short-form video content
- The general opinion that AI is a positive in the creative industry
- The mentality of a marketing team is just as important as the external aspects of a brand, and they shouldn’t be viewed as separate; the people who work within a brand are the brand.
- Brands need to show that they are doing more for social mobility
- Use different minds and teams to your advantage; make the most of the people around you
- Authenticity is crucial in marketing
- Business objectives stay the same, but the challenges on how to deal with them change, and you need to adapt to this in order to succeed.
Overall, MAD//UpNoth was a great success for me. I gained invaluable insights from a variety of industry experts, and I fully enjoyed my day. I hope you enjoyed reading all about it.
If you are looking for more insights into how you can improve your digital marketing, our team of experts are ready to help. Get in touch today, and let’s start your journey to success.
