With NDA preparing to bring its PitchLab event to Manchester for the first time, we caught up with Clive Mishon of the Alliance of Independent Agencies to talk about the growing strength of the Northern agency sector, the opportunities for independent agencies and why collaboration is becoming increasingly important to the future of the industry.
PitchLab Manchester takes place on 9 September 2026 at Dakota Manchester., bringing technology companies together with senior agency leaders for a Dragon’s Den-style day of lightning pitches, deep-dive sessions and networking. The aim is simple, to create meaningful relationships between agencies and technology partners, and help drive innovation across the industry.
The agency judging panel includes senior leaders from Republic of Media, Notorious, Incubeta, I-com, Reigning Media, AMS GROUP, Boutique and Open Partners.
For Mishon, the timing feels particularly appropriate. The Alliance has seen a significant increase in membership across the North, with around 15 or 16 members now spanning Manchester, Newcastle and beyond, while Manchester itself is emerging as an increasingly important centre for independent agencies.
Why is Manchester such an important market for independent agencies right now?
There has been a big influx of members in the North, and Manchester is clearly a burgeoning area. We have a group of agencies there and we are seeing real momentum.
There is a feeling among agencies that they have lost business to London and that they want to reverse that. A lot of their clients have traditionally been North-focused, and I think the independent agency community is helping win that business back.
There are also some very strong specialist businesses coming out of Manchester. You have agencies operating across very different parts of the discipline spectrum, and that gives you quality as well as quantity. You are not necessarily seeing huge agency sizes, but you are seeing some very good specialist businesses.
One encouraging sign is that this year we have been able to get enough people into our training courses specifically in Manchester to run a good intake. That is important because you can only build an ecosystem if you are also developing the talent within it.
How important are technology businesses and partnerships to that ecosystem?
Very important. We are increasingly seeing partners wanting to do things beyond London and into the North.
One of the disciplines working particularly well at the moment is experiential, human involvement. That creates opportunities to bring people together through smaller, focused events. They might only involve 15 to 20 people, but they can be incredibly valuable for building relationships.
That is one of the reasons initiatives like PitchLab are interesting. It is about putting technology businesses directly in front of agencies and creating the opportunity for a proper conversation, rather than simply another sales presentation.
Collaboration seems to be a major focus for the Alliance. Why?
We have set up the Agency Collaboration Group, or ACG, specifically to create ecosystems within our membership.
You can have a media company working with a creative agency, a creative agency with an experiential agency, or a social media business with another specialist business. We now have 105 people signed up to the Collaboration Group, within a total membership of around 129.
The idea is to create an environment where independents can organise themselves and articulate what they stand for. One of the things we believe they can stand for is collaboration, and the ability to work together.
If businesses with different disciplines can collaborate based on mutual respect, that can become a real competitive advantage.
And how does that apply to Manchester?
We want the agencies in the North to be collaborating in the same way. There are a lot of independent businesses, and the opportunity is to bring those different capabilities together.
We are also looking at how intermediaries can brief multiple agencies at the same time, with those agencies prepared to work together.
That is a very different proposition from simply saying it is independents versus the holding companies. It is about creating an environment where independence itself becomes stronger through collaboration.
What makes events like PitchLab particularly relevant now?
The industry needs better ways of creating relationships between agencies and partners. We work with intermediaries, and we have a friendly but sometimes challenging relationship with them, because we also need to be able to challenge practices that are not necessarily in the best interests of agencies.
The pitch process itself needs to be overhauled. If we carry on with the way it has been run in the past, it is a big drain on agencies.
That is why creating more direct, useful relationships matters. If PitchLab can give technology companies and agencies an environment where they can meet, pitch, challenge each other and explore what they can achieve together, that is a positive thing for everybody.
The Alliance of Independent Agencies brings together more than 150 independent agencies around the world, helping them connect, collaborate and grow. Together, we champion the value of independence and create opportunities for agencies to achieve more.
