Marketing and Society Special Interest Group Emerging Scholar and Lifetime Achievement Award Presented
Chicago, IL—The American Marketing Association (AMA) Marketing and Society Special Interest Group (MASSIG) honored an emerging scholar and recognized the winner of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award for their scholarship. The awards were presented at the 2025 AMA Marketing and Public Policy Conference in Washington, DC.
This year, AMA presented the following awards at the public policy conference:
- Brenda M. Derby Memorial Award for Best Doctoral Student Paper Award
- Best Paper Award
- 2025 Thomas C. Kinnear/Journal of Public Policy & Marketing Award
- Marketing and Society Special Interest Group Emerging Scholar Award
- Marketing and Society Special Interest Group Lifetime Achievement Award
Brenda M. Derby Memorial Award for Best Doctoral Student Paper Award
This award recognizes an outstanding doctoral student who demonstrates excellence as an emerging policy researcher. The award honors a strong advocate of the public policy and marketing sub-discipline.
The paper: “Businesses Taking a Stance on Immigration – Types of Message, Public Perception, and Voter Support for Anti-immigration Policies”
Congratulations to the authors:
- Ms. Elina Sanchez Garcia, Doctoral Student, Goethe University Frankfurt
- Professor Torsten Bornemann, Professor of Marketing, Goethe University Frankfurt
Honorable mention:
- “Revisiting a Dark Side of the Marketing System: When Consumers Believe It Is an Instrument for Symbolic Violence” by Mr. Ignacio Vargas and Dr. Francisco Guzmán.
Best Paper Award
The recipient of this award is selected by the conference co-chairs as the best overall competitive paper that was accepted to the conference. The winners of this award are recognized as an outstanding researcher and advocate of the public police and marketing sub-discipline.
The paper: “Do Food Assistance Programs Improve Young Mothers’ Nutritious Consumption?”
Congratulations to the authors:
- Mr. Ankit Singh, Texas A&M University
- Professor Vedha Ponnappan, Indian Institute of Management Udaipur
- Professor Prakash Satyavageeswaran, Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Management Udaipur
- Professor Sundar Bharadwaj, Professor of Marketing, University of Georgia
Honorable mentions:
- “How Fatal School Shootings Impact a Community’s Consumption” by Dr. Muzeeb Shaik, Dr. John Costello, Dr. Mike Palazzolo, Dr. Adithya Pattabhiramiah, and Dr. Shrihari Sridhar
- “Political Ideology Influences Imposed Effort to Attain Government Food Aid, Yet Messaging Can Intervene” by Dr. Nea North and Dr. Connie Pechmann
- “Transforming Homelessness: A Strength-Based Framework for Marketing” by Dr. Mark Buschgens, Dr. Marian Makkar, Prof. Bernardo Figueiredo, and Mr. Jonas Lim
2025 Thomas C. Kinnear/Journal of Public Policy & Marketing Award
Named after the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing’s founding editor, Thomas C. Kinnear, the award honors articles that make the most significant contribution to the understanding of marketing and public policy issues within a three-year time period. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing Editors Jeremy Kees and Beth Vallen oversaw the selection process.
The paper: “Disinformation and Echo Chambers: How Disinformation Circulates on Social Media Through Identity-Driven Controversies”
Congratulations to the authors:
- Carlos Diaz Ruiz, Assistant Professor, Kedge Business School
- Tomas Nilsson, Senior Lecturer, Department of Marketing, Linnaeus University
Marketing and Society Special Interest Group Emerging Scholar Award
The Marketing and Society Special Interest Group of the AMA is pleased to announce this year’s Emerging Scholar Award winner: Tracy N. Rank-Christman, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Dr. Tracy Rank-Christman is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM). Her research primarily centers around consumer identities with a particular focus on exploring the intersection between how consumers see themselves and how they are portrayed or addressed in the marketplace. A second area of Tracy’s work explores social change. Tracy has taught several courses including Consumer Behavior and Events and Entertainment Marketing (Marketing Seminar). In 2021, she was recognized with a Teaching Excellence Award from the Lubar College of Business.
Marketing and Society Special Interest Group Lifetime Achievement Award
The Marketing and Society Special Interest Group of the AMA is pleased to announce this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner: Sonya A. Grier, Kogod Eminent Scholar Chair in Marketing, Kogod School of Business, American University.
A member of the American University faculty, Sonya Grier’s research examines marketplace topics related to race, with a focus on enhancing consumer well-being. She has published her research in leading marketing, psychology, public health and policy journals. Professor Grier’s experience extends outside of academe include two years with the Federal Trade Commission, and also has practical industry experience in Market Research, Brand Management and Marketing consulting. She is a co-founder of the Race in the Marketplace (RIM) Research Network which works to collaboratively advance our understanding of the role of race across diverse market domains. Her scholarly work have received numerous accolades including being honored a record of five Thomas C. Kinnear/Journal of Public Policy & Marketing Awards from the American Marketing Association.
AMA’s Journal of Public Policy & Marketing is a forum for understanding the nexus of marketing and public policy, with each issue featuring a wide-range of topics, including, but not limited to, ecology, ethics and social responsibility, nutrition and health, regulation and deregulation, security and privacy. Learn more at AMA’s Journal of Public Policy and Marketing.
For additional information about AMA’s Marketing and Public Policy Conference, visit AMA.org.
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About the American Marketing Association (AMA)
As the leading global professional marketing association, the AMA is the essential community for marketers. From students and practitioners to executives and academics, we aim to elevate the profession, deepen knowledge, and make a lasting impact. The AMA is home to five premier scholarly journals including: Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of International Marketing, and Journal of Interactive Marketing. Our industry-leading training events and conferences define future forward practices, while our professional development and PCM® professional certification advance knowledge. With almost 70 chapters and a presence on 350 college campuses across North America, the AMA fosters a vibrant community of marketers. The association’s philanthropic arm, the AMA’s Foundation, is inspiring a more diverse industry and ensuring marketing research impacts public good.
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