Prolific North

What Prolific North does

Prolific North is a regional B2B media and information services platform serving the creative, digital, marketing, and technology sectors across Northern England. Founded in 2012-2013 and headquartered in Manchester, the company operates a multi-format publishing ecosystem anchored by prolificnorth.co.uk, which delivers daily news, features, and editorial content across categories including Agency, Brand, Tech, Ecommerce, Audio, Gaming, Publishing, and TV/Film/Streaming. The platform also runs a daily email newsletter, company profile pages, and a jobs board targeting creative professionals.

The company's commercial proposition layers on a portfolio of recurring revenue-generating properties: four annual awards programs (Champions Awards, Creative Awards, Marketing Awards, Tech Awards), live events including the multi-city Northern Marketing Festival (Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester), Growth to Gold, GRAFT, CTO Debrief, Prolific North Live, and Prolific Agency Labs. It also produces benchmark research products — notably the Top 150 Agencies ranking (which consolidated the prior Top 50 PR, Digital, and Integrated lists), Tech Companies to Watch (Scale-up Edition), Tech Start-ups to Watch, and the Northern Agency Guide distributed to 3,000+ senior decision-makers.

The business monetizes primarily through B2B sponsorships, event partnerships, and awards entry fees. Sponsorship clients span marketing agencies, tech companies, law firms (Glaisyers), consultancies (KPMG, MHA), insurance brokers (Vista Insurance Brokers), and regional PR firms. Audience scale reached 1.5 million unique users and 2.5 million page views in 2025, representing 66% year-on-year growth. The company has 11-50 employees and was acquired by RM Communications Ltd in January 2026, which took a majority stake. Post-acquisition, managing director Alexandra Balazs and commercial director Ben Waterhouse retain significant stakes, founder Nick Jaspan moved to an advisory role, and Rob McLoughlin OBE succeeded Mark Dickinson as chairman after Dickinson's 13-year founding tenure.

Name

Prolific North

Legal name

Prolific North Limited

Website

https://prolificnorth.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Prolific North is a Manchester-based B2B media platform that publishes news, runs awards programs and events, and produces agency rankings serving the creative, digital, marketing, and tech sectors across Northern England.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Media & Industry Events

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (51311), Directory and Mailing List Publishers (51314), All Other Publishers (513199)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Newsletters & Email-Based News Publishers (B2B/B2C) (MPAJADAJ)

Keywords

• Regional media publishing
• Creative industry news
• Marketing industry events
• Agency rankings
• Creative sector awards

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Prolific North is a B2B media publishing platform covering news, features, and industry insights for the Northern UK creative economy across agency, brand, tech, ecommerce, audio, gaming, publishing, and TV/film sectors. It operates a unified offering that combines a daily news website, a daily email newsletter, multiple annual awards programs, live industry events across multiple Northern cities, authoritative agency rankings, a jobs board, company profiles, and a printed Northern Agency Guide distributed to senior decision-makers.

Product overview

Prolific North is a media publishing platform covering the Northern UK creative economy. The company operates a unified platform comprising a news website (prolificnorth.co.uk), multiple awards programs (Champions Awards, Creative Awards, Marketing Awards, Tech Awards), live events (Northern Marketing Festival, Growth to Gold, GRAFT, CTO Debrief, Prolific North Live, Agency Labs), research rankings (Top 150 Agencies unifying Top 50 PR/Digital/Integrated lists, Tech Companies to Watch, Tech Start-ups to Watch), the Northern Agency Guide resource, company profiles platform, jobs board, and daily newsletter. The platform serves agency, brand, tech, ecommerce, audio, gaming, publishing, and TV/film sectors across the North of England.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Northern Marketing Festival: A three-day marketing festival spanning Liverpool, Leeds, and Manchester with talks, workshops, and interactive sessions focused on marketing trends and strategies.
• GRAFT
• Prolific North Tech Awards
• Champions Awards
• Creative Awards
• Marketing Awards
• Growth to Gold
• Northern Agency Guide
• CTO Debrief
• Prolific Agency Labs
• Prolific North Live

Products and services

• Prolific North News Website

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core, supporting and flagship.

• GRAFTcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2026GRAFT is Prolific North's tech initiative that celebrates and recognizes tech pioneers driving economic growth across Northern England. The programme features editorial deep dives and invite-only roundtables. GRAFT Regional Champions has covered Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, and is expanding to North East. Backed by Vista Insurance Brokers and accountancy firm MHA.
• Beyond Echo PRsupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 28 May 2026Exclusive sponsor of Prolific North's 2026 Tech Companies to Watch: Scale-up Edition list. Beyond Echo PR specialises in helping tech businesses gain visibility and positions the partnership as a platform to champion the strength and ambition of the Northern tech ecosystem.
• Amy NewtonsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 March 2026Former founder and director of Manchester Tech Festival collaborating with Prolific North on The CTO Debrief event - an invite-only summit for more than 150 seasoned tech leaders and in-house CTOs.
• Ginger FurysupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 23 March 2026Strategic marketing agency Ginger Fury has been confirmed as a sponsor for the Leeds event at Prolific North's Northern Marketing Festival 2026. The agency looks forward to sharing insights on customer-first approaches and marketing technology.
• EmbryoflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2026Manchester digital agency Embryo has returned as strategic partner for Prolific North's Northern Marketing Festival 2026. Embryo's Chief Commercial Officer James Guerin said the partnership aligns with the agency's goal of providing fresh, actionable insights to clients. Embryo works with Prolific North to shape sessions focused on performance, innovation, and sustainable growth.
• BuymediasupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 March 2026Ireland-based AI-powered advertising specialist, ranked Ireland's fourth fastest-growing company, has been confirmed as a Prolific North Partner for 2026. The adtech firm launched its UK headquarters in Manchester in 2025 with £1.5m investment and plans to create 30 jobs. Partnership provides opportunities to feature at industry events and awards.
• Print.comsupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 2 March 2026Print platform based in Sale, Greater Manchester, has renewed its partnership with Prolific North for 2026. The company focuses on B2B model for graphics professionals and has experienced significant growth in the UK in 2025.
• GlaisyersflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 19 February 2026Law firm specializing in legal services for creative and tech sectors has been announced as headline partner for Growth to Gold 2026 conference and Headline Sponsor for Northern Agency Guide 2026. This marks the firm's second consecutive year of sponsoring Prolific North events.
• MHAcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 19 February 2026Accountancy firm backing the GRAFT Regional Champions programme. The initiative celebrates and recognizes tech pioneers driving economic growth across Northern England.
• Vista Insurance BrokerscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 19 February 2026Insurance broker backing the GRAFT Regional Champions programme focused on celebrating and recognizing tech pioneers driving economic growth across Northern England.
• KPMGflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 16 February 2026KPMG has been named as headline partner for Prolific North's Growth to Gold 2026 event scheduled for March 25 in Manchester. The event is targeted at agency owners and senior digital or tech leaders seeking to scale their businesses.
• Beyond Echo PRsupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 6 February 2026Wigan-based B2B and tech PR agency founded in 2023 by Sara Donnelly has signed up as a Prolific North Partner for 2026. Partnership extends existing collaboration that included sponsorship of Scale-ups edition of Tech Companies to Watch at Digital City Festival and Female Tech Entrepreneur of Year award at Prolific North Tech Awards.
• BIG PartnershipsupportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 December 2025Independent agency with over 25 years of experience operating in four UK locations has announced a formal partnership with Prolific North for 2026, highlighting its growth focus in the North of England. Works with over 350 clients including Aldi and Booking.com.
• MustardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent research partner collaborating with Prolific North to compile agency rankings including Top 50 PR, Integrated, and Digital Agencies. Mustard provides data verification and research methodology for rankings using information from agencies and Companies House data.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Others

• Prolific North (Tech side): Own platform. Listed only for completeness as the tech/news half of Prolific North's content mix overlaps with specialist UK tech trade titles such as UKTN and TechCrunch UK.

Direct peers

• Campaign: Leading UK marketing trade publication covering agencies, brands and the advertising industry with news, awards (Campaign Awards) and events. Directly comparable to Prolific North as a B2B marketing/agency media brand targeting the same audience of CMOs and agency leaders.
• The Drum: Global B2B media brand covering the marketing, advertising and creative industries with news, events and awards. Most direct comparable to Prolific North in terms of editorial coverage of agencies, brands and digital creativity, though operating at significantly larger national/international scale.
• BusinessCloud: UK B2B technology and digital media platform with news, events, rankings and awards focused on the regional tech ecosystem, particularly the North. Closest comparable to Prolific North's GRAFT and Tech Awards verticals and its Northern England tech audience.
• Marketing Week: Major UK B2B marketing publication with news, analysis, events and awards serving marketing directors and brand leaders. Direct competitor for Prolific North's core CMO and brand-leader audience, though it operates nationally rather than regionally.
• Creative Review: Long-standing UK B2B title covering the creative industries including advertising, branding, design and production. Comparable to Prolific North's Creative Awards and Champion Awards content categories and to its agency/brand readership.

Broad incumbents

• TechCrunch: Global tech media brand covering start-ups, venture capital and the technology industry. Comparable to Prolific North's Tech and Tech Companies to Watch rankings at the broader tech-media layer, though operating at a very different scale and geography.

Emerging players

• UKTN (UK Tech News): Independent UK tech news outlet covering funding, start-ups and the regional tech ecosystem with a strong North of England focus. Comparable to Prolific North's Tech and GRAFT content verticals and overlapping agency/start-up audience.

Regional players

• Mancunion: University of Manchester student newspaper with strong Manchester-focused coverage of culture, business and creative industries. Regional peer in the sense that it covers the same Manchester creative ecosystem, but operates as a student publication rather than a B2B media platform.
• Manchester Evening News: Largest regional news outlet covering Greater Manchester and the North West. Regional comparable for Prolific North's local-news coverage of Northern England creative and tech sectors, though it serves a general consumer audience rather than B2B marketing/agency readers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ProlificNorth
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/prolificnorth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/prolific-north-limited
• Instagraminstagram.com/prolific_north

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Prolific North