Benedetta Cappellini, Professor Marketing, University of Durham

Benedetta Cappellini is a Professor of Marketing at the University of Durham. She is interested in Food Studies, Consumer Culture, Critical Marketing and Sociology of Consumption. Topics she has recently studied include food cultures, meal practices, austerity, intensive mothering and domestic violence. She has published in journals such as Journal of Business Research and Journal of Marketing Management; Consumption, Markets and Culture, Sociology, Sociology of Health and Illness and the Sociological Review. She has co- edited books on the practice of the meal and mothering and food consumption.

Paul Hewer, Reader in Marketing, Strathclyde University

Paul Hewer is a Reader in Marketing at Strathclyde University. His research falls within the domain of Consumption, Markets and Society. He draws on a range of social theories around notions of celebrity, community, liquid times, identity and space to further understanding of consumption and marketing. Research leadership is clearly expressed through his ability to lead projects on a range of consumption topics to publication to enhance understanding of Consumer Culture Theory.  Such projects have more recently included research around the notions of consumer fandom, liquid modernity and celebrity culture. His academic background is in Sociology and he draws upon sociological theories to understand and problematise consumption, marketing and consumer culture. He therefore sees a fit with the Transformative Consumer Research tradition, especially the link to consumer well-being and mental health theorised through the lens of consumption.

Leighanne Higgins, Senior Lecturer, Lancaster University

Leighanne Higgins is a Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University. She began studying marketplace accessibility for consumers with disabilities in 2016.  Leighanne has a strong publication record within leading marketing and business journals such as The Journal of Consumer Research, Annals of Tourism Research, Marketing Theory, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research and Journal of Marketing Management. She is Chair of the Academy of Marketing's Special Interest Group on Marketplace Access. She has a keen interest in conducting research with impact, and her art-based research project: The Marketplace and I: Commercial Experiences of Disability Explored through Art, has exhibited regionally in Lancashire and Yorkshire throughout 2019-2022, and is set to exhibit (inter)nationally at internationally acclaimed, Edinburgh Fringe Festival throughout August 2022. 

Finola Kerrigan, Professor of Marketing, University of Birmingham

Finola Kerrigan is Professor of Marketing in the Department of Marketing at Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham where she teaches and researches marketing and consumption. She has published her research in a range of international journals, edited collections and is the author of Film Marketing (2010/2017). Drawing on a range of qualitative and creative research methods, Finola has researched subjects on branding, digital identity, ethics and the incorporation of new technologies into marketing practice and how this impacts consumers. With a specific focus on researching the cultural and creative industries, Finola centres the arts both in terms of arts based methods and as a context for her research. As well as her academic research, which has been funded by the ESRC, EPSCR, British Academy and a range of charitable organisations.  Finola has completed several industry research projects in collaboration with public bodies and commercial companies. 

Francesca Sobande, Senior Lecturer in Digital Media, Cardiff University

Francesca Sobande is a Senior Lecturer in digital media studies at Cardiff University. She is the author of The Digital Lives of Black Women in Britain (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) and Consuming Crisis: Commodifying Care and COVID-19 (SAGE, forthcoming 2022). Francesca is also co-editor with Akwugo Emejulu of To Exist is to Resist: Black Feminism in Europe (Pluto Press, 2019), and is co-author with layla-roxanne hill of Black Oot Here: Black Lives in Scotland (Bloomsbury, forthcoming 2022).