From secret agents to space missions: how creative themes and narratives make learning stick

What do you get when you fuse 007 with learning? A licence to engage!

Yes, I can hear you all groaning with that one. Dad jokes aside, there is something incredibly powerful about tapping into a bold creative theme and weaving a compelling narrative through a learning experience. It quite literally lifts the experience off the page (alright, metaphorically then!).

Over the past few months, I've had the pleasure of working on an exciting customer experience programme that does exactly that. It all starts with a covert invitation and teaser film, followed by a series of ‘training missions’, beautifully designed materials, and a top-secret initiation into the elite ranks of certified CX agents.

It's slick, playful, and immersive - but more importantly, it works. People lean in. They take risks, collaborate and practise the real-world behaviours we were targeting.

What could have been "just another training" is instead an experience and one they’ll remember long after the final training mission debrief.

And that’s the point.

A strong creative concept and narrative isn’t just decoration: it’s one of the most effective (and underused) forms of gamification in learning design. When done well, it turns information into emotion, and participation into meaning.

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Why narratives work: the science

Neuroscience tells us that when we hear a compelling story, our brains release oxytocin, a chemical linked to empathy, connection, and trust (Paul Zak, Claremont Graduate University). It’s the same chemical surge that makes us root for the hero in a film or tear up at an advert about a lost dog finding its way home.

That emotional response isn’t just sentimental; it’s the gateway to learning. Emotion acts like glue for memory. In other words, we don’t remember content; we remember how we felt about the content.

So when learners feel curious, challenged, amused, or even slightly competitive, they’re creating emotional tags that help them recall and apply what they’ve learned back on the job.

Stories and themes also create a cognitive 'container' for learning. A narrative provides structure and coherence; a beginning, middle, and end. That helps the brain organise information into meaningful patterns instead of disconnected fragments. When you give people a mission to complete, or a story world to inhabit, you’re essentially giving their brains a filing system for new ideas and behaviours.

And that’s where the magic happens: when emotion, structure, and purpose align, learning moves from the page into memory...and ultimately into action.

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How to design your own 'Licence to Engage' experience

If you’re tempted to bring a creative theme and narrative into your next learning programme, here are a few design tips that separate the gimmicky from the genuinely great:

1. Start with behaviours, not the theme

   Identify the real-world actions you want people to take, then choose a theme that amplifies those, not one that overshadows them.

2. Map a clear narrative arc.

   Think like a storyteller: set up a challenge, create moments of tension or discovery, and build towards a satisfying resolution.

3. Use sensory and emotional cues

   Visuals, language, tone, props (even the invitation email) can build anticipation and set emotional context before learning begins.

4. Anchor learning with debriefs and reflection

   After the fun comes the meaning. Link every mission or activity back to the real-world performance outcomes you’re targeting.

5. Keep it human

   A theme works best when it’s felt, not forced. If people sense authenticity and care in the design, they’ll lean in.

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Mission debrief

A strong creative theme or narrative isn't a pretty layer of glitter on top of content but a powerful learning scaffold that can make the abstract or routine, tangible and remarkable.

Whether it’s spies, astronauts, detectives, or time-travellers, the theme is just the vehicle. What matters is that it creates a moment learners feel, because emotion is the shortcut to memory and the foundation of behaviour change.

So, what do you get when you fuse 007 with learning? You get a licence to engage... and, if you design it well, a mission that really sticks.

If you’d like help crafting your next learning experience or harnessing the power of storytelling in learning design, get in touch. We’ve spent over a decade creating learning experiences that people don’t just attend... they remember!