Differences in consumers’ response to online marketing content

The College of Business and Law at the University of the West of England in Bristol invites applications for a fully funded PhD studentship with the Applied Marketing Research Group (AMRG).

Ref: 2526-JAN-CBL01

The expected start date of this studentship is 1 January 2026.

The closing date for applications is 12 October 2025.

The College of Business and Law is a host to lively and challenging PhD programme. Students benefit from its modern facilities and a welcoming research environment comprising diverse research groups and centres. 

The studentship reflect ongoing commitment of the College of Business and Law at UWE to the development of its doctoral programmes. 

Doctoral students at the College benefit from comprehensive support and guidance from UWE Doctoral Academy, including extensive professional development programme, research skills training and careers advice. Find out more about the Doctoral Academy.

Applied Marketing Research Group (AMRG) is inviting expressions of interest for PhD topics focused on the utilisation of psychology theory to engage online consumers.

Whilst there is a large body of literature outlining ways of designing psychologically-engaging marketing content, we are interested in how these effects differ between people. We therefore encourage proposals that seek to segment consumers. Projects should consider differences between consumers according to their psychological profile, and how this might alter responses to marketing materials.

This work contributes to UWE Bristol’s harnessing creativity and technology research beacon. Topics should therefore consider contemporary marketing methods, such as consumers’ use of technology and marketers’ use of artificial intelligence (AI). For example, one potential avenue offering a variety of research angles is the use of AI prompts to design psychologically engaging social media content for different audiences.

Specific angles for research include (but are not restricted to) the following, potentially in combination:

• How responses to marketing content differ according to psychology-based individual differences (eg. personality traits)
• How differences in the language used by marketers (eg. concrete or abstract language) affect consumer responses
• Whether responses to marketing content also depend on product type (eg. hedonic or utilitarian)
• Whether responses to marketing content differ between online platforms (eg. Twitter, Blue Sky, or Threads).

For an informal discussion about the project proposal please contact Dr Tom Bowden-Green at tom.bowden-green@uwe.ac.uk.

The studentship is available from 1 January 2026 for a period of three years, subject to satisfactory progress, and includes a tax-exempt stipend of £20,780 per annum, and full-time home/international fees.

Applicants must have at least 2.1 degree in marketing or a cognate discipline, and preferably Masters degree (with average programme mark of no less than 65%, UK grading scale or international equivalent).

A recognised English language qualification is required. IELTS score of 7.0 overall, or equivalent.

 Please submit your application online. When prompted use the reference number 2526-JAN-CBL01.

Supporting documentation: Prepare your research proposal - no more than five pages all-inclusive; font size 11, 1.5-spacing, 2-inch margins. Indicative contents: research context and rationale, brief literature review, research focus (objectives/research questions), proposed methodology and expected contribution of the project. Development of research proposal should happen in consultation with the potential supervisor. You should contact the potential supervisor with an advanced draft of the proposal to confirm they are willing to support your application.

You will need to upload your research proposal, all your degree certificates and transcripts and your proof of English language proficiency as attachments to your application so please have these available when you complete the form.

References: You will need to provide details of two referees as part of your application. At least one referee must be an academic referee from the institution that conferred your highest degree. Your referee will be asked for a reference at the time you submit your application, so please ensure that your nominated referees are willing and able to provide references within 14 days of your application being submitted.

The closing date for applications is 12 October 2025 at 18:00 (GMT).

It is expected that interviews will take place online in November. If you have not heard from us by 30 November 2025, we thank you for your application but on this occasion you have not been successful.