About
WTF is MAD//Fest?
Like many good ideas, MAD//Fest came to fruition in a pub.
A motley crew of marketers, start-ups, disruptors, tech types + media folk started talking about events over a few beers. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if there was an event that actually brought together the great + the good? Something that packs a punch with no-nonsense, relevant content? A space where people can have a bit of fun rather than fall asleep in the back row?
And so, three pints in, MAD//Fest was conceived, and a decision was made (with a little Dutch courage) to quit our jobs + launch a marketing/advertising festival that no corporate would dare.
To cut a long story short, from relatively humble beginnings in 2018 (2,000 attendees), we’ve grown fast to become the UK’s biggest, boldest + most distinctive marketing/advertising festival. We’ve got stacks of innovation awards, happy clients + magical stories of people coming together + forging new partnerships (plus a few extra grey hairs).
We survived COVID and were the industry’s first In Real Life event to return in July 2021. How? By staging MAD//Fest in a Shoreditch car park, which became the playbook of the multi-location summer festival it is today. Another good thing came out of COVID - we teamed up with a good friend + industry legend to launch MAD//Masters by Rory Sutherland - a hybrid learning experience designed to help marketers, commercial leaders + entrepreneurs use behavioural science + creativity to solve business challenges + drive growth. And whilst we still haven’t had any in the Antarctic complete the course, MAD//Masters has a large + enlightened alumni in all four corners of the globe.
2024 was a big year for us. Not only did we host our most ambitious festival to date with 12,000 attendees across a 1/4sqm of real estate at the Truman Brewery, we also became part of The Ingenuity Group. This exciting chapter of the MAD//Fest story has enabled us to scale our ambition and take MAD//Fest UpNorth to Manchester in 2025 as we go about our mission to connect the marketing world.
MAD//Fest Charter
Just like your old Nokia phone, we’re in the business of connecting people. We’re also here to serve up an inspiring programme of content from the world’s top brands + disruptors, encourage positive action on key industry issues, facilitate innovation, enable buyers + suppliers to do business. Here’s our charter:
We promise no bullsh*t
We’re serious about ideas, inspiration + innovation and using tech to make more of your meetings count.
We promise to create something people want
We believe the event industry hasn’t moved with the times + continues to pump out boring trade shows/conferences. We’ll always focus on providing an audience of industry leaders with inspiring content, new ideas + fresh ways to meet kindred spirits.
We promise more brands
It's all about a good balance of buyers + suppliers - not flogging as many tickets as possible to anyone who will buy them or packing a room with people who have little interest other than picking up free stationery. That’s why we’re all about the audience + making sure the right people are at the show.
We promise to value your time
This means serving up a programme of amazing speakers, curated content + targeted networking in an inspiring + entertaining space to justify the time spent out of the office.
We promise to promote diversity, equity + inclusion
We’re committed to promoting the value of diversity, equity + inclusion through our speaker line-ups, content + initiatives. We’re also passionate about supporting women on their career journey + changing the gender split in senior roles through our Female Leaders’ Club initiative (scroll down for more).
We promise to be human
Until AI can do it better, we will strive to add a personal touch. Want to invite a specific brand? Just let us know who they are + we’ll make sure they get a free ticket!
We promise to have fun
Dull conferences have had their day. We’ll assault your senses with incredible food, drink, experiences, parties + DJs.
Female Leaders’ Club
Launched in 2023, the Female Leaders’ Club has become one of the vibiest, most valued + important parts of MAD//Fest. The FLC (as it’s affectionately known around here) is a programme of networking, inspirational content + topical conversation to support women on their career journey + address long-standing inequalities in the industry.
We’re now ready to take the Female Leaders’ Club concept on the road to MAD//UpNorth.
Open to all genders, the Female Leaders’ Club UpNorth is a must if you want to meet female leaders, learn from the experiences of women in our industry, and find out how the most progressive businesses are simultaneously supporting the development of female employees + driving positive change.
Want to hear news + views from the marketing/advertising industry’s leading ladies + be the first to know about events, meet-ups + more? Subscribe to our Female Leaders’ Club newsletter + join a year-round community of people dedicated to making change happen.
MAD//Masters By Rory Sutherland
Ever wondered what happens when you combine creativity, behavioural science + critical thinking - “Alchemy!”, as Rory Sutherland might say. MAD//Masters By Rory Sutherland is a new breed of online/hybrid course for marketers, salespeople, c-suite executives, founders + agency execs who are looking to gain an edge in business + in their careers.
Created, hosted + assessed by legendary adman Rory Sutherland, MAD//Masters is a CPD-accredited, on-demand personal development programme with a twist.
Run three times per year, expect plenty of Rory’s lateral thinking, creative genius + unique brand of observational humour via 10 on-demand lectures, 12 months access to live Q&A sessions, bonus interviews, an optional assessment with video feedback from Rory, and a special in-person ‘Lunch + Learn’ session at MAD//Fest where you can meet Rory + your fellow students IRL.
DEI
MAD//Fest is committed to promoting positive change on Diversity, Equity + Inclusion (DEI). We work with the fantastic folk at DigiLearning to enable young talent from underrepresented ethnic, gender + social class backgrounds to connect with the industry + present their innovative ideas to top brands. This has led to the creation of several jobs.
In 2025, we’ll bring the Female Leaders’ Club to MAD//UpNorth in Manchester and MAD//Fest London to provide women (and allies!) with a mix of lively networking + insightful content from influential female leaders.
Click HERE to subscribe to our Female Leaders’ Club newsletter.
Whilst we know that we can’t change long-standing inequalities overnight, we do believe that our events should act as a platform for progress and we’re always open to hearing your ideas.
Drop info@madfestlondon.com an email to discuss ways in which MAD//Fest can be a force for good.
Accessibility
We endeavour to make our events as accessible as possible for guests. Provisions we are able to make include wheelchairs onsite, reserved seating for people with mobility issues on key stages, and a hearing loop on all public stages.
If you do have mobility issues you’d like to discuss with us, please write to us at info@madfestlondon.com so that we can arrange the best possible access.
Please also note that we cannot provide dedicated one-to-one support but we will make complimentary tickets available for carers and support persons.
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