#TimTalk – Data storytelling in marketing

In this 20 minute video I talk to Timothy Hughes, founder of the podcast #timtalk, about what inspired me to write ‘Data Storytelling in Marketing’, how the 5Rs framework works in practice, and the art and science of combining analytical rigour with creative storytelling. I enjoyed sharing my belief that you can improve your data […]

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Unlocking GenAI’s potential for storytelling

The Insight250 spotlights and celebrates 250 of the world’s premier leaders and innovators in market research, consumer insights, and data-driven marketing. The awards have created renewed excitement across the industry whilst strengthening the connectivity of the market research community. Winners of the 2025 Insight250 were announced this past September – you can see the full list of Winners at Insight250.com. […]

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Embedding storytelling into ways of working

Over the years, one thing has become very clear – embedding data storytelling practices that drive insight activation and decision-making takes more than capability building. Skills matter, but they’re only part of the equation. Alongside training, I am passionate about helping teams build a sustainable culture where insight and storytelling consistently contributes to business decisions […]

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Unleashing GenAI as a creative partner

When I completed my chapter on the future of data storytelling in January 2024, I explored how AI, synthetic data, augmented reality, and transmedia storytelling were beginning to reshape the field. Fast forward nearly two years, and that future has well and truly arrived.GenAI’s influence on data storytelling is no longer a prediction, it’s a daily reality.  […]

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How visual thinking unlocks cognitive superpowers

Why Draw? The Cognitive Case Human cognition is powerful, but not limitless. When faced with large volumes of information, our working memory quickly becomes overwhelmed. In our previous blog post “5 Steps To Ruthless Data Distillation” we referred to George Miller’s classic 1956 paper “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our […]

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Why great data stories start with better questions

A well-crafted question is like a compass. It doesn’t just tell you where to start. It also keeps you on track, guiding the entire analysis, shaping the narrative, and helping you decide what to leave out. A great question: But here’s the catch: stakeholders rarely arrive with great questions. Requests are often rushed, vague, or […]

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