
Our team immersed itself in the latest insights on marketing, branding and consumer behaviour at Mad//Fest Up North last week. While the event reinforced many of the strategies we already champion at ICG, it was a great opportunity to share industry thinking about how to engage with audiences, build communities and stay ahead of the curve.
Here are our top takeaways:
Young People Value Trusted News Sources
It's easy to assume that Gen Z and younger audiences are disengaged from traditional news, but the reality is far from it. Research shared by Newsworks highlighted that while teenagers and young adults enjoy soft news (celebrity gossip, entertainment), they are equally interested in hard news, provided it comes from authentic, trusted sources.
The takeaway; Authenticity is non-negotiable, and younger audiences are increasingly adept at filtering out clickbait and misinformation.
Pain Points: Think Bigger Than Your Audience
Solving customer pain points is Marketing 101 but what about the pain points of the wider market? Angela Cameron of Mars Petcare gave the Whiskas Meowzer campaign as a example. Instead of simply targeting existing cat owners, Whiskas capitalised on the rising search demand for low-maintenance dogs and cleverly reframed cats as an alternative. The result? More cat adoptions, increased brand loyalty and a boost in cat food sales.
The takeaway: Expand your thinking. Instead of just addressing your customers' needs, consider adjacent audiences, cultural shifts, and unexpected opportunities.
Building a Community is a Long-Term Play
A successful brand community isn't built overnight. It requires constant nurturing, much like feeding a sourdough starter (a brilliant analogy shared by Melanie Goldsmith of Project 30 Ventures). Brands must continue engaging their core audience while strategically expanding to new ones.
A thriving brand community is more than just a fanbase; it's a valuable research tool. Your audience can provide real, unfiltered feedback, both on social media and offline. Organisations that foster this sense of belonging by listening, responding, and involving their community in decision-making create advocates, not just customers.
The takeaway: Nurture your core audience, but always be looking for ways to bring new people in.
Social Influence: The Pull' Factor
In a world of constant brand messaging, the most credible marketing doesn't come from brands, it comes from people. Eloquently put by Tom Ridges, CEO of Herdify, this isn't about paid influencers it's about creating real-world social influence that makes your brand naturally desirable, talked about and shared.
Think about how Prime Hydration went from an unknown product to a phenomenon. Yes, the Logan Paul and KSI connection helped, but beyond that, the real-world pull' factor limited availability, peer-to-peer hype, and word-of-mouth drove demand. When people see something being talked about and sought after in their circles, FOMO kicks in.
The takeaway For brands, the challenge is to create products, campaigns, and experiences that are so compelling and shareable that they don't need to be forced into conversations they naturally become part of them.
Psychographics Over Demographics
Kenyatte Nelson, Chief Membership & Customer Officer at Co-op, put it best: I'm more of an anthropologist than a marketer. While demographics (age, gender, location) still have their place, the real power lies in psychographics understanding people's values, motivations, and behaviours.
It's not about targeting a 25-34-year-old female it's about understanding why she buys certain products, what influences her decisions and how she interacts with brands.
The takeaway: Brands that understand their customers on a human level will always have a competitive advantage.
AI Can't Predict the Future
AI is powerful, but it's important to remember that it only knows what has happened before, not what will work in the future. While AI is brilliant for automation, data analysis, and predicting trends based on historical data, it lacks the intuition, creativity, and cultural awareness that human marketers bring to the table.
The takeaway AI should be embraced as a tool, but the real magic in marketing still comes from human insight, gut instinct, and creative risk-taking.
Stay True to Your Brand, But Adapt to New Markets
One of the most interesting insights from Mad//Fest was how brands are successfully evolving while staying true to their identity.
Lorraine Rothwell, Head of Brand at Weetabix shared how Weetabix pivoted from engaging with new audiences with inventive use of its iconic product, back to the hero' serving suggestion at the core of its latest marketing campaign, using inclusive humorous and culturally relevant situations.
Adam Zavalis, Vice President Marketing at Asda recently doubled down on Rollback pricing, northern family-based partnerships (Joe Wicks), and its nostalgic Leeds' brand voice (Jodie Whittaker) reconnecting with its core audience while remaining relevant today.
The takeaway: Brands need to evolve, but never at the cost of losing what makes them unique. Change what needs to change, but hold on to your brand's authentic voice and core DNA.
Hope you've enjoyed these insights. If you're looking to take your brand marketing, trade marketing, or digital strategy to the next level, get in touch -we'd love to help!
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
20/11/2025
MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: NBC's New Three-Year Deal Covers Sunday Night Bas...
20/11/2025
MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: New Deal Will Bring 30 National Games to ESPN's Li...
20/11/2025
MLB Media-Rights Shakeup: Netflix Lands Opening Night, Home Run Derby, Field of ...
20/11/2025
MLB Media-Rights Shakeup Overview: ESPN, NBCU, Netflix Ink Three-Year DealsESPN gets new 30-game package, MLB.TV; NBC extends Sunday nights; Netflix adds tentpo...
20/11/2025
SVG Students To Watch: Henry Thuss, Indiana UniversityThe Southern California product has his goals set on the front benchBy Brandon Costa, Director of Digital ...
20/11/2025
Done+Dusted's Guy Carrington on Creating the Spectacular League of Legends W...
20/11/2025
FIA Extreme H World Cup Host Broadcaster Aurora Goes Inside the Production of th...
20/11/2025
Platinum White Paper: Amagi Utilizes Cloud Production for Sports Events - Multi-...
20/11/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Marc Herklotz, Steady Hand Behind the Sce...
20/11/2025
NFL Deep Dive: How 32 Cameras at Each Stadium Drive Virtual Measurement, Boundar...
20/11/2025
Charlie Shackleton attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Zodiac K...
20/11/2025
Your playlists are personal. They're the soundtracks to your road trips, your quiet mornings, and your biggest celebrations; collections of memories and dis...
20/11/2025
Spotify, uzun s redir zerine al t T rk m zik k lt r n n ikon haline gelmi ...
20/11/2025
For the first time, Spotify has teamed up with The Hollywood Reporter to cohost ...
20/11/2025
This year's ARIA Awards marked a turning point for Australian music, and Spotify was right at the heart of it. For the first time in the awards' nearly ...
20/11/2025
L3Harris has achieved NSA Cybersecurity Directorate certification for its KSV-650 space hub end cryptographic unit, ensuring secure, adaptable communications fo...
20/11/2025
L3Harris is strengthening its long-term partnership with Poland through the opening of a new facility in Warsaw to serve as a central business hub for regional ...
20/11/2025
15 March 2012
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Cinegy and Vericom are pleased to announce the recent deployment of Cinegy Archive for production and as...
20/11/2025
6 September 2012
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
FIC Turkey supplies media content to Pay TV under Fox TV Channel brands in Turkey.
At the start of s...
20/11/2025
25 June 2014
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Last month VIVA finalized its Cinegy installation in order to produce and broadcast the World Cup Brazil ...
20/11/2025
1 October 2014
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
With 5 locations spread out around Baden-W rttemberg, Schw bisch Media required a scalable end to end s...
20/11/2025
27 April 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Cinegy, which develops and produces media asset management products that are used in flagship production...
20/11/2025
12 August 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 26 October 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...
20/11/2025
5 November 2015
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 3 November 2015 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital ...
20/11/2025
12 February 2016
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 9 February 2016 - Cinegy, which develops and produces software technology for digital...
20/11/2025
22 June 2016
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 21 June 2016 - Cinegy today announced that ABS BROADCAST, one of the largest independentl...
20/11/2025
10 January 2017
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Find us on page 12 of the Program Guide 2016
Tags
NewBay Media Awards , Program Guide 2016 , broadc...
20/11/2025
15 March 2017
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 15 March 2017 - Cinegy today announced that Thailand's Next Step direct-to-home Free...
20/11/2025
12 December 2017
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany 13 December 2017 - Cinegy today announced that it is making its Cinegy Air Cloud Pack...
20/11/2025
25 June 2018
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich 25th June 2018 - Cinegy today announced that Canada-based Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) has implemen...
20/11/2025
27 May 2019
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
The best quality live video from the worst networks - Haivision
Although DVB and the World Wide Web are...
20/11/2025
24 November 2020
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
ATV Expand and Increase their Playout and Editing Capabilities using Cinegy Software
Munich, Germany...
20/11/2025
1 September 2021
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 1st September 2021:
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software technology for di...
20/11/2025
20 September 2021
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
ElectronicVerve continues a strong history of supporting Cinegy customers in India
Munich, Germany,...
20/11/2025
1 November 2022
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Munich, Germany, 01 November 2022: Cinegy, a premier provider of software technology for digital video...
20/11/2025
31 October 2023
SHARE Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email
Britt Broadcast at TBC...
20/11/2025
CINCINNATI Oklahoma Community Television (OCT) has selected GatesAir and Triveni Digital as key technology partners in an ATSC 3.0 deployment that establishes a...
20/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has opened a wide-ranging inquiry into the relations between broadcast networks and their affiliates that could...
20/11/2025
NEW YORK Ad spend in the creator economy has more than doubled since 2021 from $13.9B to $29.5B in 2024 and that amount is projected to reach $37 billion in 202...
20/11/2025
Graduate Spotlight: Krysta Mirsik DePuy The educator from Hackettstown, New Jersey, shares how it took her 11 years to find the right graduate program for her...
20/11/2025
LONDON The winners of the Rise Awards 2025, which recognize women and companies whose achievements have stood out in the media technology industry, have been an...
20/11/2025
SANTA MONICA & NEW YORK Lionsgate's Worldwide Television Distribution Group and Debmar-Mercury have launched MovieSphere Gold in more than 30 million homes....
20/11/2025
ALAMEDA, Calif. Clear-Com has introduced its four-channel HelixNet beltpack, a next-generation advancement of its widely used two-channel model, and anticipates...
20/11/2025
NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J. Streaming technology and services provider Kiswe has launched Kiswe Core, a next-generation cloud-based platform designed to simplify the s...
20/11/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Dolby Laboratories has signed on as an official signature partner of the Bay Area Host Committee (BAHC) for the 2026 Super Bowl and the we...
20/11/2025
STUTTGART, Germany 3 Screen Solutions (3SS) has announced that the Canadian multiservice operator Telus has launched its Telus TV+ entertainment platform on Sam...
20/11/2025
Major League Baseball has announced deals with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix covering 2026-2028 that make ESPN the exclusive distributor for MLB.TV, put regula...
20/11/2025
Berklee Presents Holiday Extravaganza: Duke Ellingtons The Nutcracker Suite and ...
20/11/2025
Thursday 20 November 2025
Football seven nights a week, as Sky Sports secures a...