News and blog

Gamification is the application of gaming mechanics to non-gaming scenarios. It’s a fairly new term, but the concept definitely isn’t. After all, when you strip away the buzz words, you’re left with the practice of making something that isn’t usually fun feel pleasurable and rewarding.

Following our recent Madhouse seminar on The Future of Digital, we thought we’d consume a few blog-inches by looking at some of the trends that are likely to be transforming the way we all buy, share and communicate in the years to come.

It’s often said of Jarvis Cocker that, in his current corduroy-jackets-with-elbow-patches phase, he resembles nothing so much as a geography teacher – albeit of the kind who still seems close to his inner teenager even while describing the formation of an ox-bow lake.

Read more ›

Say hello to your digital future…

Madhouse has just hosted the latest in our ongoing series of quarterly seminars.

This one was entitled “The Future of Digital” and once again a packed house full of the agency’s friends and clients came together  to find out where our industry is heading.  The key question at this session was “what we can expect from  the digital world over the next two, five and ten years?”

Joining us to gaze into the crystal ball was digital expert Andrew Gordon, who talked the audience through a range of topics, asking thought-provoking questions and helping everyone to focus on the bigger picture.

Music is a matter of taste – that much we all know. One man’s Meat Loaf is another man’s Poison after all. Here in the Madhouse creative studio though, we take a positive delight in combining seemingly disparate sonic flavours to create a steaming aural gumbo from which we all sup. With our ears.

We call this exercise ‘Five Tunes’.

As autumn is settling in, the Manchester festivals are just warming up.

If you are a foodie like me, you should visit this year’s Manchester Food and Drink Festival from 7^th-17^th October at Albert square and other locations. With a pop-up food village, resident bars and the all new street food dining experience it looks like a fun packed few days! Plus don’t miss the Oktoberfest Bar and Real Ale Festival (7-12 Oct): entry is free and authentic German beer will be on sale as well as live entertainment. See all the events here.

Once upon a time, the word ‘renewable’ was rarely appended to anything other than library books. However, in today’s resource-conscious world, ‘renewable’ is one of the best things to be, and never more so than in the case of fuel sources.

It’s something we know all about at Madhouse, as recently we have been working closely with Verdo Renewables, manufacturers of wood pellets and briquettes for a range of heat sources including open fires, multi-fuel stoves and biomass boilers.

One of the ways we make sure we continue to build a strong team here at Madhouse is to hold an annual graduate recruitment day for the cream of the summer’s marketing graduates. We invite them over to Madhouse HQ, then give them a range of projects designed to give them chance to shine. And while it’s intended to be plenty of fun – no one says, “You’re fired” – there is a real job at the end of it.

Our regular Madhouse seminars have become a highlight of the Manchester marketing calendar, with a steady stream of regular attendees and newcomers all enjoying insightful speakers in an informal setting.

The next seminar, which takes place on November 30^th, will take a good look into the future, though we won’t be buffing up our crystal ball in order to get a good view of what lies in store. Instead, we’ve invited Andrew Gordon to peer into ‘The Future of Digital’ and help us all make the most of the opportunities ahead.

Moving to a new home is always a hectic time, but after twelve years in the same building in central Manchester, we decided to put up with a little disruption and move Madhouse a couple of minutes down the road to 196 Deansgate. Admittedly, it was a little emotional at times – we couldn’t help but remember the pitches won, the memorable work produced, and the very many valued clients and team members who took the rather slow lift to our old home down the years – but with a brand new office specifically designed to our requirements, we definitely made the right decision.