NWO teacher grant for PhD research Bianca Harms: The effectiveness of online branded content

Bianca Harms combines being a teacher (at Stenden University of Applied Sciences) with being a part time PhD student at the University of Groningen. The senior lecturer in Media & Entertainment Management now received a special grant by NWO: the Doctoral Grant for Teachers. With this grant she will start her PhD research about the effectiveness of online branded content at the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB).

Companies are shifting their advertising budgets towards (online) branded content, because this mixture between advertising and editorial content has potentially an enormous reach and creates strong online consumer engagement. The PhD research of Bianca Harms will contribute to theory and practice by providing insights into the factors that make this type of advertising effective. Furthermore, Harms contributes to the ethical discussion by investigating the relation between branded content and consumer trust. Three research projects in collaboration with a large media company and advertising brands will be conducted under supervision of FEB professor Tammo Bijmolt.

Lecturer ánd student

Bianca Harms completed her MSc in Marketing at FEB in 2012, while she had a full time position at Stenden University of Applied Sciences. She is currently a senior lecturer at the bachelor course Media & Entertainment Management. In 2013 she started with the part time PhD programme at FEB’s SOM graduate school. She completed the course-based phase of this programme with an approved research proposal in the fall of 2014. This proposal has been rewarded with an NWO doctoral grant.

NWO Doctoral Grant for Teachers

NWO provides teachers from primary, secondary, further professional, higher professional and special education the opportunity to receive a grant for a PhD study. The aim is to directly apply the knowledge and research experience acquired for the benefit of educational practice. A higher number of practising teachers with a PhD also increases the quality of education and strengthens the connections between universities and schools.