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Gillian Brooks

Dr Gillian Brooks

Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Strategic Marketing

Research interests

  • Marketing

Biography

Dr Gillian Brooks is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) of Marketing at King’s Business School. She is a leading expert in the fields of influencer marketing, consumer culture and social media.

Trained as a sociologist, Gillian investigates core topics in consumer behaviour, social media and digital marketing strategy primarily through qualitative research methods (e.g., ethnography, participant observation, interviews and content analysis). Gillian’s research has been published the Journal of Advertising, Forbes, The Guardian, the Journal of Marketing, Newsweek, The Telegraph, The Times, and The Washington Post.

She won the American Marketing Association Marketing Research SIG Don Lehmann Award and is the recipient of a Marketing Science Institute research grant. Gillian is part of an interdisciplinary research team (along with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London) examining youth mental health research via social media influencer marketing; the team was awarded a £1.1 million grant from U.K. Research and Innovation to pursue this research.

Gillian is a Programme Director for professional and executive education within the Business School, designing and delivering programmes relating to personal branding, social media strategy, persuasion and influence, and communication.

Gillian has taught various marketing and communication courses to audiences ranging from undergraduate students to executives. Prior to joining King’s, she was a Lecturer in Management at the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford; a Teaching Fellow in the Department of Media and Communications at the London School of Economics; and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University.

Gillian is a recipient of the Social Sciences Teaching Excellence Award from the University of Oxford, a finalist for the “Most Acclaimed Lecturer” Teaching Award from the Oxford University Student Union and a finalist for the King’s College London Teaching Award for “Inclusive Education”. She has given invited academic and industry talks in Canada, Europe, India, the United States and United Kingdom.

Gillian completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Marketing at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School and earned a PhD in Sociology at the University of Cambridge. She holds a Master of Arts in Communication and Technology (Summa cum laude) from Georgetown University (USA) and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Communications from McMaster University (Canada).

Prior to entering academia, Gillian worked as a publicist at a global media relations firm in Toronto, Canada.

Selected Publications

Hughes, C., Swaminathan, V., & Brooks, G. (2019). Driving brand engagement through online social influencers: An empirical investigation of sponsored blogging campaigns. Journal of Marketing, 83(5), 78-96. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0022242919854374

Barwise, Patrick and Gillian Brooks. (2016). “The Impact of C4 Privatization on UK Independent Production”. In Mair, John, Richard Tait, David Lloyd and Fiona Chesterton (eds.) What Price Channel 4?: A ‘Privatisation Too Far?’, Abramis Publishing

    Research

    London landscape
    Ageing Research at King's (ARK)

    Cross faculty consortium addressing ageing and healthy longevity.

    trousers / clothes on rack
    New Forms of Status via Curation in the Sharing Economy: Unravelling the Seams of Peer-to-Peer Fashion Rentals

    Our study examines the relationship between the fashion industry and the sharing economy, specifically peer-to-peer fashion rentals styled by influencers.

    Project status: Ongoing

    News

    King's Business School partners with ACC to offer Mini MBA for lawyers

    Research by the Association of Corporate Counsel highlights the need for broad business knowledge

    Group of black women in a meeting

    Events

    06Mardigital law

    Mini-MBA for In-House Lawyers - Panel Session and Q&A

    Find out more about our Mini-MBA for In-House Lawyers

    Please note: this event has passed.

    02MayFutureOfCircularFashionEvent

    The Future of Circular Fashion

    King's Business School invites you to a roundtable discussion on the latest approaches to circular fashion with key players in the industry

    Please note: this event has passed.

    19MayWebinar picture

    Professional Development for Executives: How to Create a Powerful Personal Brand

    Discover how to create a powerful personal brand at our virtual taster event.

    Please note: this event has passed.

    24JanLaptop and a person holding a lighbulb

    The Future of Legal Practice: Developing a Powerful Personal Brand

    The last five years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the competition for attention. This session will provide participants with the necessary tools to...

    Please note: this event has passed.

    24May780 KES Digital Nomads

    King's Experts Series: Digital Nomads

    Join us for the latest event in our King's Expert Series.

    Please note: this event has passed.

    30NovAlumniBreakfastGillianBrooks

    Virtual Alumni Breakfast with Dr Gillian Brooks

    Join our guest speaker Dr Gillian Brooks, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Strategic Marketing at the Business School delivering an exclusive session on...

    Please note: this event has passed.

      Research

      London landscape
      Ageing Research at King's (ARK)

      Cross faculty consortium addressing ageing and healthy longevity.

      trousers / clothes on rack
      New Forms of Status via Curation in the Sharing Economy: Unravelling the Seams of Peer-to-Peer Fashion Rentals

      Our study examines the relationship between the fashion industry and the sharing economy, specifically peer-to-peer fashion rentals styled by influencers.

      Project status: Ongoing

      News

      King's Business School partners with ACC to offer Mini MBA for lawyers

      Research by the Association of Corporate Counsel highlights the need for broad business knowledge

      Group of black women in a meeting

      Events

      06Mardigital law

      Mini-MBA for In-House Lawyers - Panel Session and Q&A

      Find out more about our Mini-MBA for In-House Lawyers

      Please note: this event has passed.

      02MayFutureOfCircularFashionEvent

      The Future of Circular Fashion

      King's Business School invites you to a roundtable discussion on the latest approaches to circular fashion with key players in the industry

      Please note: this event has passed.

      19MayWebinar picture

      Professional Development for Executives: How to Create a Powerful Personal Brand

      Discover how to create a powerful personal brand at our virtual taster event.

      Please note: this event has passed.

      24JanLaptop and a person holding a lighbulb

      The Future of Legal Practice: Developing a Powerful Personal Brand

      The last five years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the competition for attention. This session will provide participants with the necessary tools to...

      Please note: this event has passed.

      24May780 KES Digital Nomads

      King's Experts Series: Digital Nomads

      Join us for the latest event in our King's Expert Series.

      Please note: this event has passed.

      30NovAlumniBreakfastGillianBrooks

      Virtual Alumni Breakfast with Dr Gillian Brooks

      Join our guest speaker Dr Gillian Brooks, Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Strategic Marketing at the Business School delivering an exclusive session on...

      Please note: this event has passed.