Vulnerable Consumers

Marketing and advertising are changing all the time, and the skills of a marketer of today and those of tomorrow will not be the same. Dr Alan Gilchrist joins Josi to talk about the evolving world of marketing, the skills you learn on a marketing degree that prepare you for an ever-changing market landscape, how they can be applied in many different fields, and how a Lancaster marketing degree can help students become resilient and adaptable. Alan explains how his work around marketing strategy translates market research into actionable practice, and how students bring important insights into the next generations of customers. Find out more about Alan and his work here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/alan-gilchrist

Josi talks to Mary Hargreaves about her journey from a Lancaster University student, through the world of advertising and marketing, and into a role teaching the next generation of students on our programmes. Mary brings a wealth of experience working in industry to her teaching, as well as contacts from years of teaching students who have gone on to successful careers. She tells us about all the things she has learned from operating in agencies and running her own business, where she has worked with everyone from small businesses up to Asda, and the benefits of bringing alumni back into the classroom. Find out more about the BA Advertising and Marketing degree at Lancaster here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/advertising-and-marketing-ba-hons-n501/2025/

Josi talks to Professor Maria Piacentini about her research into understanding why people buy what they buy. This is translated into the Plastic Packaging in People’s Lives projects, where Maria and a team from across Lancaster University look at how consumers feel about plastics and plastic waste, and why this does not always translate into how they act. Her work considers moral issues around waste, but also the benefits of using plastics for food hygiene and preservation. PPiPL works with organisations all through the supply chain – from packaging production to retailers to consumers – highlighting the importance of working with businesses and government and making a real-world impact with your work. Find out more about Maria and her research here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/maria-piacentini Discover more about the PPiPL project here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/ppipl/

Who is regulating marketing, and how? Dr Jekaterina Rindt talks with Josi about her research around marketing, governance and innovation. Jekaterina delves into the metaverse and its disruptive innovation – how is it regulated, and how are laws and rules enforced? What are the implications of these new techs for customers and organisations? Is it easy to forget the need for an infrastructure when we get carried away with new technologies. Plus, how students consider controversial markets – from alcohol to plastic surgery – and the ethics behind marketing these products. Find out more about Jekaterina and her research here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/jekaterina-rindt

Josi speaks to Dr Beatriz Garcia about her research into dark tourism – when people visit sites associated with death, tragedy, and disaster.  Beatriz has examined the area in her home country of Spain and in the UK. She looks at how those who manage the sites prescribe emotions, crafting experiences so that visitors experience certain feelings – from horror to sadness to pleasure – and why people visit them. Discover the importance of storytelling – how stories and told, and whose stories are told.  Plus, how market simulations projects can help students prepare for the world of work, from teamwork to decision-making, strategizing and product design to dealing with unexpected events.  Find out more about Beatriz and her research here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/beatriz-rodriguez-garcia

This time, Josi answers the questions, as she discusses her work on markets, how they work and they, and how they might be changed. Josi’s research looks at Scottish salmon farming, how this ties in with sustainability and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and how low-carbon food can be delivered to a growing population while also taking animal welfare into account. This ties into an increasing prominence of sustainable across all marketing practice. And find out how her past experience of working in business-to-business marketing applies to her teaching and to her research. Find out more about Josi and her research here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/josiane-fernandes2

Josi is joined by Dr Mike Ryder, who teaches digital marketing, social media and advertising modules to our students. Mike works on social media production and consumption, looking at what social media is about and what it does; the concept of surveillance capitalism and data harvesting; and how corporations jump on social media trends. His research also touches on science fiction and its relevance to our world, and the impact of Disney on society (including on wars of the past, present and future). Find out more about Mike and his research here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/mike-ryder

Josi is joined by Dr Carolyn Downs, who works on a range of subjects, including adult social care, problem gambling, and access to entrepreneurship for disadvantaged groups in society. An important aspect of Carolyn’s research is speaking to and working with the people on the ground affected by the issues she is researching. She takes this work into her teaching around problematic consumption with consumer behaviour modules. She also discusses Disneyland, Stonehenge and druids, and African safaris in the context of authenticity and tourism; and how you can bring theories learned in the classroom to life. Find out more about Carolyn and her research here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/carolyn-downs Discover more about Carolyn’s work on the links between problem gambling and public health here: https://doc.your-brochure-online.co.uk/Lancaster-University_FiftyFourDegrees_Issue_18/30/

Josi is joined by Dr Helen Bruce, who teaches all our undergraduates about qualitative marketing research. Helen is an expert on consumer marketing and how people interact with the marketplace. Her work looks at people with limited access to marketplaces, including military wives and the marketplace exclusion they can experience; communities around fusion energy technology; young carers and the services available to them; and people going through the menopause. Find out more about Helen and her research here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/helen-bruce

For the first episode, Josi is joined by Dr Leighanne Higgins to talk about her work. Leighanne is a consumer research expert, looking at consumer culture and access barriers for people with disabilities within the marketplace.  On the Marketplace & I project, Leighanne has worked with people with a disability to create individual and group artworks expressing their experiences of the marketplace. She brings these artworks into the classroom and to businesses to help people understand and reflect on marketplace accessibility, exclusion and inclusion.  Find out more about Leighanne and her work here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/people/leighanne-higgins  Discover more about the Marketplace & I here: https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/lums/research/research-initiatives/marketplace-and-i/