Marketing researchers could improve the way they design studies, communicate findings and interpret evidence by borrowing lessons from professionals in fields such as screenwriting, game design and investigative journalism, according to insights lead Sam Salama.
Salama, who works on research to improve communications and engagement at the Metropolitan Police and founded the Uncommon Thread inspiration library, said some of his most useful recent lessons had come from people outside the research profession.
Brandspur Brand News reports that his central argument is that researchers and professionals in seemingly unrelated fields face a similar challenge: understanding people and finding effective ways to hold their attention.
Speaking with screenwriter Danny Stack, Salama said he was struck by the difference between capturing attention and creating genuine engagement. Something can interrupt a person’s scrolling without giving them a lasting reason to care.
For researchers, that distinction matters when presenting findings. A striking statistic or headline may make an audience look, but the real test is whether people understand why the information matters and can connect it to a wider issue.
Stack also pointed to the romantic comedy Anyone But You as an example of how familiarity and originality can work together. The film uses a familiar romantic storyline while introducing enough variation to keep the audience interested.
The same principle can apply to research. Findings that simply confirm what an audience already believes may add little value, while conclusions presented without a clear connection to reality can quickly lose credibility.
Salama also drew lessons from game designer Rami Ismail, who challenged the tendency to measure research primarily through performance indicators such as response rates, drop-out rates and the amount of time participants spend answering questions.
Instead, the game design approach asks what sort of experience people are having. Applied to research, that could mean considering whether questions are engaging, whether participants feel understood and whether they believe their contribution is worthwhile.
That perspective could be particularly relevant as researchers compete for people’s increasingly limited attention. A study may meet its numerical targets while still providing participants with a frustrating or forgettable experience.
Also read: https://brandspurng.com/2026/06/01/the-last-researcher-how-ai-is-reshaping-the-insights-profession/
Investigative journalist Iain Overton offered another lesson: researchers should pay close attention to things that appear unusual or do not fit neatly into the data.
While examining gun culture in the United States, Overton encountered seemingly strange objects and imagery at a gun show. Rather than dismissing the observations as irrelevant, he saw them as clues to the deeper fears, identities and perceptions shaping the industry.
For researchers, the lesson is that an unusual response or unexpected behaviour may contain information that a dataset alone cannot fully explain.
Salama also highlighted the importance of direct human interaction at a time when artificial intelligence and searchable information are becoming increasingly powerful research tools.
His argument is not that technology has little value, but that some insights emerge only when researchers leave their screens, observe people directly and engage with them in real-world settings.
The broader message is that useful research ideas do not necessarily have to originate within the research industry. Skills developed by storytellers, game designers, journalists and other professionals can offer new ways of thinking about familiar research problems.
For businesses and organisations that rely on consumer insights, such cross-disciplinary thinking could help researchers move beyond simply collecting data towards producing findings that are more meaningful, memorable and useful to the people expected to act on them.
