The Narrative Research Forum 2025

The field of Narrative Research,  accessing consumer stories and narratives to generate deeper and more effective insights, is a growing one. A few years ago, Irrational Agency pioneered narrative research, or System 3 as we call it, and have since helped some of the world’s biggest brands get a better understanding of audience, product and category. 

The story is evolutionary. Narrative is hardwired into us. It is fundamental in how we communicate, how we think, and how we make choices. Narrative research uncovers the stories that sit at the centre of the decision and opinion-making process, and can provide true future insight, accurately forecasting our future behaviours and motivations. At Irrational Agency we believe that narrative research is key to getting closer to consumers and generating unique insights. That’s why we created the Narrative Research Forum. An annual event that brings together global speakers to share the latest in narrative research.

You can watch all the presentations from the event below. 

Lilla Magony of Irrational Agency and Danica Caiger-Smith of Energy Systems Catapult discuss how narrative researh provided a better understanding of the emotional barriers to heat pump adoption.

Threadline's Kristian Aloma discussed narratives at the intersection of chatbots and humans 

Pulsar's Oryelle Clements explored how narrative intelligence can unlock deeper social insights 

Our very own Leigh Caldwell and NewMR's Ray Poynter sat down to discuss the future of behavioural science and narrative research in an industry landscape rapidly accelerating use of artificial intelligence.