Marketing Manchester Taps Paper Films and Pixel8 for 'The Real Manchester' Autumn/Winter Shoot

Marketing Manchester has completed a new round of video and photography production for 'The Real Manchester,' its ongoing destination marketing campaign. The shoot, covering the autumn/winter phase of the campaign, was produced with two local agencies: Paper Films and Pixel8.

The content marks the latest asset drop in a campaign built to position Manchester as a leisure destination. Marketing Manchester, the city's official tourism and inward investment body, has run 'The Real Manchester' across multiple seasonal phases, refreshing visual content to reflect the city through different times of year.

Paper Films and Pixel8 both operate out of Manchester. Their involvement keeps production local, with both shops handling the video and photography output for this stage of the campaign. Details on shoot locations, talent, and specific deliverables have not been disclosed publicly. Neither the budget for this phase nor the total campaign spend has been released.

The announcement came via a post on Marketing Manchester's LinkedIn page on August 1, 2026. No additional creative, media, or strategy partners were named in connection with this phase of the work.

'The Real Manchester' is part of a pattern of city and regional destination marketing activity across the UK, where local tourism boards frequently work with independent production and creative partners rather than national agency networks. Marketing Manchester's use of Paper Films and Pixel8, both based in Manchester, is consistent with that pattern.

No further phases of the campaign have been announced. Marketing Manchester has not indicated when the autumn/winter content will go live or across which channels it will run.

Free Agency Media will continue tracking updates to 'The Real Manchester' as new phases, partners, or placements are confirmed.