RESEARCH DISSEMINATION
Research in between campaign deadlines. Most research, as published, isn’t packaged in a way that non-academics can act on. The writing style is technical, the insights are buried in theory, the channels of distribution are narrow and often the timelines are years behind what’s happening in the market. Meanwhile, in the industry, decisions are being made every day about branding, targeting, messaging, pricing and positioning, sometimes with little more than instinct, trend-watching, or a best guess. Academics have what many marketers are searching for: rigour, insight and clarity. But if the findings never leave the confines of gated journals or tenure‑driven conversations, they won’t shape campaigns or strategy – and that’s a loss for both sides. This brings us to the seven-step framework: Destiny, an acronym that stands for digital, engagement, storytelling, time, innovation, network and yield. Originally proposed as a response to the persistent gap between marketing theory and practice, it isn’t about creating more content. It’s about making better choices with how, when and where you share what you already know. Let’s explore each part, not in isolation, but as interconnected ideas that, together, can change the way your work moves through the world. • Digital – promoting content on accessible channels: The days of assuming people will ‘discover’ your research are over. Attention is the new currency and access its gatekeeper. If your work is only available in a paywalled journal or a university database, don’t be surprised if the people who need it never see it. Being digital means meeting your audience where they already are. That could mean turning a key insight into a succinct LinkedIn post, writing a blog for your business school’s website with real-world takeaways, recording a three-minute video explaining your latest findings in plain language, or creating a visual version of your model using Canva or Miro. You don’t need a social media strategy. You need to think of your research like a product: if it’s hard to find or hard to use, it won’t catch on. Making your ideas easier to access multiplies their power rather than diluting it. • Engagement – invite your audience in: One of the biggest missteps made by academics when trying to reach a wider audience is treating communication
L et’s start with a reality most marketing scholars already know too well. You pour months, sometimes years, into designing a study. You test your hypotheses, write your findings, revise the manuscript, navigate peer review and finally publish your paper in a respected journal. And then what? Silence – a few citations trickle in, a few colleagues notice, but the bigger picture – the one where this work informs real- world marketing decisions – rarely unfolds. That’s frustrating because this isn’t abstract theory; your research focuses on consumer behaviour, brand resonance and the effectiveness of campaigns. In short, it’s relevant, useful and timely – so why isn’t it making waves beyond the academic echo chamber? The truth is that the research isn’t the problem; it’s the communication strategy around it. In recent conversations around bridging the theory-practice gap, my co-authors and I proposed a seven-part framework in a Journal of Global Marketing article published earlier this year. The framework offers a practical roadmap to help academics amplify their work, make it more accessible and build stronger bridges with practitioners. It doesn’t require them to oversimplify their ideas, but rather to communicate them in ways that resonate with the fast-moving, context-driven world of modern marketing – a strategy that can make your work visible and valuable. The gap between theory & practice There’s no shortage of high-quality research in marketing – the problem is its reach. Most practitioners aren’t reading the Journal of Consumer
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Business Impact • ISSUE 5 • 2025
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