Line//Up
Galvanize: MAD//North's 2027 theme
We're urging marketers + the industry to break free of rusty old silos, embrace difference + create a robust ecosystem that can weather the storm of disruption + ongoing economic uncertainty.
MAD//North promises to spotlight the North’s dynamic role within the UK + international marketing landscape. Expect insight from a stellar line-up of marketers + disruptors to inspire progress, challenge your existing thinking + make sense of a complex world.
2027 Stages:
Expect provocative thinking, straight-talking debate and real-world stories from the people pushing marketing forward. From AI and creativity to culture, technology and commercial growth, we’ll challenge the status quo, break down silos and leave you with ideas you can actually put to work.
The Factory Stage is back to galvanize fresh thinking, excite and inspire. The North’s biggest brands and boldest challengers will take to the stage with no BS and no jargon - just honest insight, big ideas and practical action to build stronger, more resilient businesses and take advantage of the opportunities uncertainty creates.
Expect provocative thinking, straight-talking debate and real-world stories from the people pushing marketing forward. From AI and creativity to culture, technology and commercial growth, we’ll challenge the status quo, break down silos and leave you with ideas you can actually put to work.
Well known as one of the epicentres of innovation, the North has been home to plentiful developments in tech and media and shows no signs of slowing. Staying on top of these and seeing where the biggest battlegrounds are being fought in the media and tech landscape to see how the most innovative brands are showing up and switching up the playing field has never been more important.
Culture doesn’t sit still. Neither does creativity. Across music, art and entertainment, the North is where ideas collide, creative boundaries get pushed and movements start.
Across sport, the old lines are getting harder to hold. The moment is no longer just LIVE. The fan is no longer just watching. And the next generation of fandom isn’t necessarily coming from the places sport has traditionally looked to.
Data, technology, media, culture and creativity are colliding to create new opportunities for brands to do more than show up around sport. They can galvanise it.
2027 SPEAKERS
Diane Morgan
// Multi-BAFTA Nominated + EMMY Nominated Actor, Writer + Director
Diane is a multi-BAFTA nominated and Emmy nominated actor, writer and director.
Best known for her incarnation of professional dim-wit ‘Philomena Cunk’, a role Diane has played in various incarnations over the last decade. The most recent being Emmy nominated comedy special ‘Cunk on Life’ which aired on BBC and Netflix and was beloved by audiences worldwide.
Diane played the regular role of Liz in critically acclaimed and BAFTA winning comedy series ‘Motherland’, the show is an audience favourite and ran for three series on the BBC. She also starred as Kath in Ricky Gervais’ hit comedy ‘After Life’, all 3 series available on Netflix.
Diane created, writes, directs and stars in ‘Mandy’, a comedy series about Mandy Carter, a hapless, jobless heroine whose daft adventures mostly end in disaster. All 4 series available on BBC iPlayer.
Other notable acting credits include Fiona in Series 1 and 2 of ‘Frayed’ (Sky/HBO Max), Netflix comedy specials ‘Death to 2020’ and ‘Death To 2021’ alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Hugh Grant and Lisa Kudrow; ‘The Completely Made Up Adventures of Dick Turpin’ (Apple), ‘Intelligence’ (Sky), ‘Cockfields’ (UKTV) and ‘Rovers’ (Sky).
Diane recently appeared in Oscar nominated ‘Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl’ and will also appear in Duncan Jones’ hotly anticipated film ‘Rogue Trooper’.
Jacob Nelson
// Co-Founder, SpudBros
THE GREATEST SPUDS ON EARTH. From Preston to the world 🥔
SpudBros’ journey began in 1955 when a hot potato cart first opened on Preston’s Flag Market. Decades later, Jacob and Harley Nelson transformed a family-run business into one of the UK’s most recognisable food brands.
With more than 9 million followers on social media, SpudBros has built the world’s largest community of spud lovers, including the likes of Mr Beast, Will Smith, and the Sidemen.
In 2024, SpudBros expanded with the launch of SpudBros Express. Today, Express is a rapidly scaling franchise operation with over 20 locations across the UK.
In 2027, the doors will open to SpudBros Express UAE, in Abu Dhabi, and UK retailers will finally get their hands on products including the world-famous SpudBros Tram Sauce.
Great Food, Good Vibes, and Giving Back.
Serving legends WORLDWIDE since 1955.
Harley Nelson
// Co-Founder, SpudBros
THE GREATEST SPUDS ON EARTH. From Preston to the world 🥔
SpudBros’ journey began in 1955 when a hot potato cart first opened on Preston’s Flag Market. Decades later, Jacob and Harley Nelson transformed a family-run business into one of the UK’s most recognisable food brands.
With more than 9 million followers on social media, SpudBros has built the world’s largest community of spud lovers, including the likes of Mr Beast, Will Smith, and the Sidemen.
In 2024, SpudBros expanded with the launch of SpudBros Express. Today, Express is a rapidly scaling franchise operation with over 20 locations across the UK.
In 2027, the doors will open to SpudBros Express UAE, in Abu Dhabi, and UK retailers will finally get their hands on products including the world-famous SpudBros Tram Sauce.
Great Food, Good Vibes, and Giving Back.
Serving legends WORLDWIDE since 1955.
Russell Bisset
// Founder, Northern Monk
Kenyatte Nelson
// Chief Membership + Customer Officer, Co-op
Leah Spears
// Marketing Director, PaddyPower
Leah Spears is the Marketing Director at Paddy Power responsible for leading the brand's marketing strategy, creative, media and cultural partnerships across Sports and Gaming.
With a 25 year career spanning major brands including Asda, Leah is known for bold creativity, challenging category conventions and building brands that genuinely connect with culture.
Vicki Maguire
// Creative Leader
Alex Paver
// Customer + Marketing Director, Morrisons
David Hills
// Chief Customer Officer, Jet2
Charlotte Ford
// Brand + Growth Senior Director, Monzo
Cath Ryan
// Head of Brand + Customer Experience, Betfred
Rory Sutherland
// Vice Chairman, Ogilvy UK
Claire Hooper
// Group Marketing Director, Calbee UK
Claire Hooper is Group Marketing Director at Calbee UK, owner of Seabrook Crisps. She has spent more than 20 years in food and drink, working across brand, communications, innovation and retailer brand management. At Calbee she has led Seabrook’s move from a much-loved Bradford favourite to a national contender.
A strategic thinker with a pragmatic approach, Claire relishes a challenge and is driven by delivering business growth, bringing deep category and consumer understanding to every brand she leads.
Trevor Robinson OBE
// Founder + Executive Creative Director, Quiet Storm
Trevor Robinson OBE is responsible for some of the most talked-about, innovative advertising of our era, including the multi-award-winning, game-changing “You’ve been Tango-ed” campaign. More recently, his business Quiet Storm is best known for its equally humorous work on brands including Haribo, Google, On the Beach, Vimto, Yakult, and Channel 4's Black in Business. He founded Quiet Storm in 1995 as the first creative agency and production company dedicated to transforming businesses, lives, and society through creativity. In 2007, he launched Create Not Hate, an initiative that gives underrepresented young people the opportunity to experience the advertising industry and unlock their creative potential while tackling the social issues they face every day, specifically gun and knife crime. Renowned for encouraging future creative talent, Trevor is an Honorary Fellow at the University of the Arts London and was awarded an OBE in 2009 for services to charity and advertising.
Hannah Pain
// Marketing Director, McDonald's (UK + I)
Dirujan Sabesan
// Chief Brand Officer, Wingstop UK + Ireland
Annie Gaddis Black
// Head of Marketing, Six By Nico
Mark Agnew
// Antartica Explorer + Keynote Speaker, Adventure Agnew
Kirsten Pugsley
// Marketing Director UK + I, Puma
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