The Erwin Center for Brand Communications Research Spotlight l Dr. Jennifer Siemens, Marketing

March 28, 2019

The Erwin Center for Brand Communications is proud to support various research initiatives across Clemson’s campus that impact the brand communications industry.

Dr. Jennifer Christie Siemens, Associate Professor of Marketing at Clemson University, is setting out to to understand the role that food and food brands play in consumer life transitions, helping inform food brand managers about how to connect with and provide increased value to transitioning consumers. While consumers’ relationship with food is well-documented, no empirical studies have examined the role that food or food-related brands play during consumers’ life transitions. Specifically, consumers may utilize their relationship with a food brand as a resource during a life transition, such as college students transitioning from home to college.

The research, Understanding the Role of Food in Consumer Life Transitions, proposes a multi-method approach to explore these research questions and predicts that this relationship is linked to the value that the brand community provides regarding social, financial and time resources. For example, especially during a life transition, a food establishment may provide a place of refuge or social gathering, the brand may provide valuable time and financial savings or may provide other important connections. These connections will be explored by analyzing social media usage by consumers of a popular food brand and conducting follow-up interviews and focus groups.

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More about Dr. Jennifer Siemens: As an Associate Professor of Marketing, Dr. Siemens teaches consumer behavior and advertising at the undergraduate and masters levels. She received a B.A. in Psychology, M.B.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas. Prior to joining Clemson University, she was Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Dayton, where she taught advertising and global branding. Dr. Siemens’s research focuses on consumer behavior, specifically how consumers cope with major life transitions, how consumers respond to advertising and brand strategy and how they react within interactive marketing spaces. Her research has been published in journals such as Journal of Business Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Interactive Marketing, AMS Review and Journal of Consumer Marketing.