Open Competition Paper Award
This award goes to the top three papers submitted to the Open Research category. The top three papers will receive awards of $300, $200, and $100, respectively. Authors are honored with a certificate and monetary award during the annual AEJMC conference.
Past winners:
2025
First Place: The Effects of Social Media Involvement and Engagement Metrics on Consumer’s Cognition, Affection, and Conation in Social Media Advertising
Jinhee Lee, Central Michigan University
Second Place: How Does “This Advert is FDA Approved” Shape Consumers’ Pain Medicine Decision Making? An Examination of Unintended Effects of Regulator Ad Endorsement
Paul Koomson, University of Oregon
Francis Marion, University of Oregon
Sylvester Senyo Ofori-Parku, University of Oregon
Kwaku Botwe, University of Ghana
Third Place: The Backfire Effects of Storytelling in Social Media Influencer Advertising: The Impact of Perceived Manipulative Intent and Sponsorship Disclosure
Jingren Li, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Yanni Ma, Oregon State University
Erich Sommerfeldt, Oregon State University
2024
First Place: Inspired by “Greenfluencers”: Young Peoples’ Exposure to Greenfluencers, Compensatory Green Beliefs, and Consumption Behavior
Ariadne Neureiter & Joerg Matthes, University of Vienna
Second Place: Informational and Experiential Antecedents and Trust Outcome of Dataveillance and Data Profiling Perceptions
Ming Wang, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Third Place: Influencer Endorser Response to Negative Publicity: Safeguarding Positive Evaluation amid Brand Transgressions in Live-streaming e-Commerce
Shuai Guo & Mengtian Jiang, University of Kentucky
2023
First Place: When Influencers Compare Brands: Defensive Processing of Sponsored Comparative Messages and Effects on Consumer Responses
Guolan Yang, Oakland University & Lewen Wei, University of New South Wales
Second Place: When Social Media Gets Political: How Message-Platform Match Affects Consumer Responses to Brand Activism Advertising
Xuan Zhou, Chen Lou, Xun (Irene) Huang, Nanyang Technological University
Third Place: Exploring the Relationship between Relevant Multitasking and Persuasion: The Role of Inattentional Screen Blindness, Elaboration, and Flow
Yuhmiin Chang, National Chengchi University
Student Paper Award
This award goes to the top three papers submitted to the Graduate and Undergraduate Student Research category. The top three student papers in this category will receive awards of $200, $100, and $50, respectively. Authors are honored with a certificate and monetary award during the annual AEJMC conference.
Past winners:
2025
First Place: “Sad to say I have a problem”: How Online Support Communities Navigate and Counteract Gambling Advertisements
Teodora Tavares, University of South Florida
Second Place: Beyond Surveys: A Systematic Literature Review of Biometric Tools in Advertising Effectiveness Research
Carrie Xiao, University of South Carolina
Third Place: Keeping the Crown: How Advertising, PR, and Marketing Leaders Can Remain Ahead of AI
Alexandra Kendall, Quinnipiac University
2024
First Place: Reclaiming Premium Brand Equity: Establishing A Post-Pandemic Framework for Theatrical Film Advertising on Social Media
Chris DeFelice, University of Florida
Second Place: I Bet You Think About Me: Determining Factors that Influence Social Media Influencers Engagement
Nichole Santee & Kyle Stanley, Louisiana State University
Third Place: Empowering Ads, Empowered Responses: Unveiling the Emotional and Behavioral Impact of Femvertising in China on Social Media
Wenwen Cao, The University of Melbourne
2023
First Place: Does Eye Contact Matter: Emotional Responses to Candidate’s Direct and Indirect Address in Political
Jocelyn McKinnon-Crowley, Syracuse University & Di Mu, Washington State University
Second Place: Match-up Hypothesis in Advertisement: Gender Stereotype of Male Endorser and Advertising Attitude
Xinran Sheng, Jingyu Wu, & Siyang Tan, Macau University of Science and Technology
Third Place: “One Size Fits All” or “All Fit in One Size”? An Analysis of the Branding and Advertising Strategies of Brandy Melville
Huahua Dong, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Special Topics Paper Award
This award goes to the top paper submitted to the Special Topics category. The top paper in this category will receive an award of $100. Authors are honored with a certificate and monetary award during the annual AEJMC conference.
Past winners:
2025
Deepfake Humans in Advertising: Effects of Product Type and Message Appeal on Perceived Fit, Message Credibility, and Ad Attitude
Bismark Owusu-Yeboah, University of Oregon
Jing Yang, Boston University
2024
From Toddler to Teen: The bit to byte growing-up narrative effect of a virtual influencer on consumer perceptions and brand choice
Jeongmin Ham, Sitan Li, Hyunji Kim, & Matthew Eastin, The University of Texas Austin
2023
Does Consumer Environmental Concern Matter in Green Advertising? The Importance of Cause Proximity in China
Cen Wang, Jaejin Lee, & Kyeongwon Kwon, Florida State University
Professional Freedom & Responsibility Paper Award
This award goes to the top paper submitted to the Professional Freedom & Responsibility (PF&R) category. The top paper in this category will receive an award of $100. Authors are honored with a certificate and monetary award during the annual AEJMC conference.
Past winners:
2025
Can a Virtual Influencer Help Save the Planet? The Interplay of VI Age, Race, and the Stereotype Content Model in AI-Powered Pro-Environmental Campaigns
Hui Shi, Xinyu Zhao, Zhengyan Li, Sophia Mueller-Bryson, Regina Ahn & Chen (Crystal) Chen, University of Miami
2024
Racialized Environmental Injustice and Green Advertising: Investigating How Color-Conscious and Colorblind Strategies Influence Majority and Minority Americans’ Cognition
Minjie Li, University of Tennessee
2023
Application of Virtual Reality for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Training in Advertising and Public Relations
Vaibhav Diwanji, Hyunjin Seo, & Jeff Conlin, University of Kansas
Teaching Paper Award
This award goes to the top paper submitted to the Teaching and Pedagogy category. The top paper in this category will receive an award of $100. Winners are honored with a certificate and monetary award during the annual AEJMC conference.
Past winners:
2025
Enhancement or Replacement: Impact of Experiential Teaching Interventions of Generative AI on Students’ Literacy and Critical Thinking
Jiun-Yi Tsai, Janice Sweeter, Amy Hitt, Martine Follestad Jutilla & Claire Ewert, Northern Arizona University
2024
Going to the other side of the world: Teaching social justice campaigns to make a difference
Pam Morris, Loyola University Chicago
2023
New Approaches for Teaching Advertising: Looking through Lens of Social Justice to Affect Career Behaviors
Pamela Morris & Minjin Rheu, Loyola Chicago