Karen Hughes
Papers
1
Total Citations
61
H-Index
1
About
Dr. Karen Hughes is a leading scholar in digital marketing and consumer culture, whose work illuminates the evolving relationships between humans and non-human entities in online spaces. Her research primarily explores the intersection of social media, influencer marketing, and more-than-human consumption, with a particular focus on how non-human actors—from virtual influencers and robots to animals and inanimate objects—engage audiences and shape brand narratives. In her highly cited 2023 paper, “Not so different after all? A netnographic exploration of user engagement with non-human influencers on social media” (61 citations), Dr. Hughes employs innovative more-than-human netnography to reveal that audiences form surprisingly similar emotional bonds with non-human influencers as they do with human ones, challenging traditional assumptions about authenticity and persuasion in digital marketing. This work has been recognized as a foundational contribution to the emerging field of non-human influencer studies, earning her invitations to speak at international conferences and contributing to a growing body of literature on algorithmic culture and posthuman branding. Her insights offer critical guidance for marketers navigating an increasingly hybrid digital ecosystem.
Research Focus
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Top Papers
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