Morgan Spurlock believes companies and brands should look to One Direction for inspiration on engaging with their consumers.

The American movie man directed the band's first feature film This Is Us, which was released in 2013, and he mentioned the group whilst speaking at a recent Advertising Week Europe talk.

He suggested that the apparent reciprocal nature of One Direction's relationship with their fans can be a lesson for all companies.

Spurlock said: "If you are a brand and you want that brand loyalty, you need to cultivate that, you need to cater to that, you need to listen to that and you need to give back to that constantly.

"That’s what the boys do really well. The boys give back to the fans all the time and you start to see how that reciprocal relationship really pays off for both of them. For the fans, they feel they’re that much closer and for the boys, they’re creating this relationship which is valuable and deeper and that’s exactly what brands should be doing."

Spurlock added that the intensity of One Direction's fandom was 'exceptional' during filming of This Is Us.

Watch clips from This Is Us below: