Storytelling

Untapped asks “How can storytelling further enhance the innovation process and the return on investment?”

Storytelling isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s the secret sauce that makes innovation stick. A great idea on its own isn’t enough; it needs a compelling narrative to bring it to life. A strong story helps teams align around a shared vision, keeps leadership bought in, and makes customers care. When people see themselves in the story, they engage emotionally—leading to stronger uptake, faster adoption, and ultimately, better commercial returns.

Untapped Asks “How do you measure the impact of storytelling on innovation outcomes?”

It’s vital—and often overlooked. The best brands measure both emotional engagement and business impact. Key indicators include:

• Consumer response – Are people connecting with and buying into the idea? Both qualitative and quantitative research matter.

• Stakeholder buy-in – Does the team understand and rally behind the vision? Strong storytelling aligns and motivates.

• Commercial results – Sales, market share, trial, and repeat purchase—do story-led innovations outperform? (Hint: they usually do.)

• Speed to market – Are teams aligned and moving faster? Are you outpacing competitors?

“When storytelling is working, you’ll feel it in the brand—and see it in the numbers.”

Untapped asks “Can you share an example of a successful story-led innovation product-based initiative that caught your eye?”

Easy – it has to be ON Running. This awesome brand (I am obsessed with it) proves that storytelling isn’t just about words—it can be built into the product itself. Their trainers are instantly recognisable, even without a logo. They don’t rely on ads to convince people to buy—the product itself sparks obsession. ON’s brand is its product—performance, aesthetics, and a cult-like community only build an even stronger story for them. It is genius as it also shows that when innovation speaks for itself, customers do the marketing.

Collaborating for Success

Untapped asks “What makes marketing and R&D collaborations thrive? And what are the biggest barriers to overcome?”

The best innovations don’t just launch faster—they land better. That magic happens when great marketing has real substance, and great innovation has a story. When R&D and marketing stop working in silos and start solving problems together, from the start, ideas become stronger, stickier, and more successful. Here’s how I’ve seen it, and made it work:

• Start with the customer, not the campaign – Both teams should be obsessed with real needs, not just their own priorities.

• Ditch the ‘us vs. them’ mindset – It’s not ‘cold tech folks’ vs. ‘the fluffy marketing team’; it’s about creating something people actually want. Shared goals, not competing agendas, make all the difference.

• Make collaboration a habit, not a last-minute panic – Get R&D into early customer sessions, bring marketing into prototyping, and keep the conversation going.

Biggest barriers? Silos, misaligned KPIs, and teams speaking different languages. The best leaders don’t just fix these issues when they crop up—they make sure they never take root.

Untapped asks “How can brands create synergy between their multi-functional teams?”

• Make collaboration the default, not an afterthought. If teams only meet at the launch event (and trust me, I’ve seen it happen) it’s way (way) too late.

• Speak in shared outcomes, not department goals. If R&D is chasing efficiency and marketing is chasing engagement, they’ll always be at odds. Find the common ground.

• Use storytelling internally too. If you want teams to rally behind an idea, tell them why it matters beyond their own function.

Untapped asks “How can R&D teams unlock customer insights from marketing teams to inform product development in innovation? How can product development help inspire business innovation strategy in return?”

In short, this shouldn’t feel like getting blood out of a stone. The onus isn’t just on one team to extract insights—it’s on R&D, Brand and Insight teams to make them accessible, digestible, and useful. So when a cracking insight is spotted, make that insight real. How?:

• Make insights visible. Don’t bury them in decks—create living, breathing spaces (‘customer of the week’ stories, video clips) where R&D can engage with real voices.

• Speak in relatable language. If marketing is too abstract or fluffy, insights won’t land. Frame insights in ways R&D can act on.

“Great innovation happens when insights aren’t just a handover—they’re a shared language.“

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