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MAD//North returned to Manchester's Aviva Studios in February 2026, and the team was in the room for two days of sessions that genuinely made us think differently.
Across the Factory Stage, the Content, Culture + Creativity Stage, and the Retail Media Stage, one theme kept surfacing in different forms: the brands that win aren't the ones shouting the loudest, they're the ones that understand people the most.
Here are our biggest takeaways from the event…
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If you weren't in Kate Nightingale's session, we'd strongly encourage you to look up her work at Humanising Brands - because this was one of the most genuinely thought-provoking talks of the two days.
Kate broke down the psychological codes that sit behind consumer behaviour, and the numbers alone are worth sitting with. 67% of Gen Z view brands that increase their sense of safety as more attractive. 88% of consumers say trust is a dealbreaker. And crucially - we only tend to trust people and brands that feel like us.
This is why influencer marketing works when it works: not because of follower counts, but because of perceived similarity. "I like them. They're like me. I trust them. I'll buy."
Kate's framework for brand alignment operates on three timescales.
Short-term alignment is about embedding your brand into the rituals of your customer's daily life - think the Aesop pop-up that placed its products naturally in every room of a home.
Mid-term alignment means tapping into the macro human truths that will still define behaviour in a decade - loneliness, the need for safety, the pull of comfort. That's why brand mascots resonate. It’s why there’s so many run clubs.
Long-term alignment is where the real competitive advantage lives: building a brand personality so distinct and emotionally resonant that it earns genuine, lasting trust. It's why sweet, playful, sensory products like P.Louise's fruit-inspired lip glosses feel so compelling, they deliver interpersonal safety through aesthetics.
Kate also spoke compellingly about the concept of the 'brand world for the inner child' - using nostalgia, cuteness, multisensory experience and fantasy to create what she called "mental teleportation." The idea that there is no reality, only perception, is a provocative one, but for marketers, it's a powerful lens. P.Louise was cited as a gold standard example: layering taste, smell, implied motion, ASMR and visual storytelling to create an experience that feels immersive even through a screen.
The takeaway? Human brands aren't just brands with a personality. They're brands with a heart. Ones that build genuine community, speak to universal emotions, and earn their place in people's lives.
Rory Sutherland's session on herd mentality was one of those talks that reframes something you thought you already understood, and the Guinness example he used is one we'll be repeating for a while.
His argument: Guinness has, in the last couple of years, passed a critical threshold. It no longer needs to explain itself. The social norm has been set. And once a brand reaches that point, individual persuasion becomes almost secondary - because the herd has already decided.
That's a profound idea for marketers. We don't buy through individual agency. We buy through reinforcement. People aren't loyal to products - they're loyal to their networks. And social norms, as Rory put it, are like gravity: a force so pervasive we rarely stop to name it, let alone design for it.
One of the most useful frameworks he introduced was the distinction between simple contagion (where one exposure is enough to change behaviour), and complex contagion (where repeated exposure across multiple touchpoints is required before someone acts). Most products sit firmly in the complex camp. Which means consistency and cultural visibility aren't just media planning decisions. They're the mechanism by which social permission is built.
Rory also made a pointed observation about marketers specifically: we tend to underestimate the human need to fit in. We're obsessed with differentiation, with standing out, when often, the smarter question is how to give people the social cover to join something that already has momentum.
And underneath almost every purchase decision, he argued, is one fundamental question: "How does this make me look?" Not just in lifestyle categories - in B2B, in corporate procurement, everywhere. We make decisions based on how they'll be perceived by our networks, not just on the rational merits of the outcome.
It's a humbling reminder that the best marketing doesn't just speak to individuals. It shapes the social environment those individuals exist in.
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The Jet2 session on the Factory Stage captured something that every marketer knows in theory but can struggle to execute in practice: great creative courage pays off.
The talk, titled "Nothing Beats Seeing Your Idea and Voice Go Viral", told the story of a campaign that worked precisely because someone backed a bold idea and trusted a distinctive voice. The result was organic reach and cultural resonance that no media spend alone could replicate.
It's a reminder that virality isn't a strategy in itself, but it is an outcome of genuinely great, shareable, human storytelling. Brands that create something people want to be part of - not just observe - are the ones that earn the kind of attention money can't buy.
Beyond our three highlights, MAD//North's broader programme reinforced themes we're seeing right across the industry. Rexona and Manchester City showed how partnerships need to go beyond logo placement and into genuine fan experience. Tennent's proved that a brand rooted in authentic local culture can become a national icon. Berghaus demonstrated that tapping into a specific cultural moment - in their case the Oasis reunion - can deliver brand impact far beyond the moment itself.
And on the Retail Media Stage, the message was clear: Retail Media has grown up. It's no longer a lower-funnel conversion tool, it's a storytelling channel in its own right.
The common thread? Growth comes from participating in culture, not interrupting it.
We came back from Manchester energised, full of ideas, and reminded of why this industry, at its best, is genuinely exciting.
If you'd like to talk through how any of these themes apply to your brand or strategy, we'd love the conversation.
- The SOAR GROUP Team.
MAD//North returned to Manchester's Aviva Studios in February 2026, and the team was in the room for two days of sessions that genuinely made us think differently.
Across the Factory Stage, the Content, Culture + Creativity Stage, and the Retail Media Stage, one theme kept surfacing in different forms: the brands that win aren't the ones shouting the loudest, they're the ones that understand people the most.
Here are our biggest takeaways from the event…
If you weren't in Kate Nightingale's session, we'd strongly encourage you to look up her work at Humanising Brands - because this was one of the most genuinely thought-provoking talks of the two days.
Kate broke down the psychological codes that sit behind consumer behaviour, and the numbers alone are worth sitting with. 67% of Gen Z view brands that increase their sense of safety as more attractive. 88% of consumers say trust is a dealbreaker. And crucially - we only tend to trust people and brands that feel like us.
This is why influencer marketing works when it works: not because of follower counts, but because of perceived similarity. "I like them. They're like me. I trust them. I'll buy."
Kate's framework for brand alignment operates on three timescales.
Short-term alignment is about embedding your brand into the rituals of your customer's daily life - think the Aesop pop-up that placed its products naturally in every room of a home.
Mid-term alignment means tapping into the macro human truths that will still define behaviour in a decade - loneliness, the need for safety, the pull of comfort. That's why brand mascots resonate. It’s why there’s so many run clubs.
Long-term alignment is where the real competitive advantage lives: building a brand personality so distinct and emotionally resonant that it earns genuine, lasting trust. It's why sweet, playful, sensory products like P.Louise's fruit-inspired lip glosses feel so compelling, they deliver interpersonal safety through aesthetics.
Kate also spoke compellingly about the concept of the 'brand world for the inner child' - using nostalgia, cuteness, multisensory experience and fantasy to create what she called "mental teleportation." The idea that there is no reality, only perception, is a provocative one, but for marketers, it's a powerful lens. P.Louise was cited as a gold standard example: layering taste, smell, implied motion, ASMR and visual storytelling to create an experience that feels immersive even through a screen.
The takeaway? Human brands aren't just brands with a personality. They're brands with a heart. Ones that build genuine community, speak to universal emotions, and earn their place in people's lives.
Rory Sutherland's session on herd mentality was one of those talks that reframes something you thought you already understood, and the Guinness example he used is one we'll be repeating for a while.
His argument: Guinness has, in the last couple of years, passed a critical threshold. It no longer needs to explain itself. The social norm has been set. And once a brand reaches that point, individual persuasion becomes almost secondary - because the herd has already decided.
That's a profound idea for marketers. We don't buy through individual agency. We buy through reinforcement. People aren't loyal to products - they're loyal to their networks. And social norms, as Rory put it, are like gravity: a force so pervasive we rarely stop to name it, let alone design for it.
One of the most useful frameworks he introduced was the distinction between simple contagion (where one exposure is enough to change behaviour), and complex contagion (where repeated exposure across multiple touchpoints is required before someone acts). Most products sit firmly in the complex camp. Which means consistency and cultural visibility aren't just media planning decisions. They're the mechanism by which social permission is built.
Rory also made a pointed observation about marketers specifically: we tend to underestimate the human need to fit in. We're obsessed with differentiation, with standing out, when often, the smarter question is how to give people the social cover to join something that already has momentum.
And underneath almost every purchase decision, he argued, is one fundamental question: "How does this make me look?" Not just in lifestyle categories - in B2B, in corporate procurement, everywhere. We make decisions based on how they'll be perceived by our networks, not just on the rational merits of the outcome.
It's a humbling reminder that the best marketing doesn't just speak to individuals. It shapes the social environment those individuals exist in.
The Jet2 session on the Factory Stage captured something that every marketer knows in theory but can struggle to execute in practice: great creative courage pays off.
The talk, titled "Nothing Beats Seeing Your Idea and Voice Go Viral", told the story of a campaign that worked precisely because someone backed a bold idea and trusted a distinctive voice. The result was organic reach and cultural resonance that no media spend alone could replicate.
It's a reminder that virality isn't a strategy in itself, but it is an outcome of genuinely great, shareable, human storytelling. Brands that create something people want to be part of - not just observe - are the ones that earn the kind of attention money can't buy.
Beyond our three highlights, MAD//North's broader programme reinforced themes we're seeing right across the industry. Rexona and Manchester City showed how partnerships need to go beyond logo placement and into genuine fan experience. Tennent's proved that a brand rooted in authentic local culture can become a national icon. Berghaus demonstrated that tapping into a specific cultural moment - in their case the Oasis reunion - can deliver brand impact far beyond the moment itself.
And on the Retail Media Stage, the message was clear: Retail Media has grown up. It's no longer a lower-funnel conversion tool, it's a storytelling channel in its own right.
The common thread? Growth comes from participating in culture, not interrupting it.
We came back from Manchester energised, full of ideas, and reminded of why this industry, at its best, is genuinely exciting.
If you'd like to talk through how any of these themes apply to your brand or strategy, we'd love the conversation.
- The SOAR GROUP Team.
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