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INTEREST CATEGORY: INNOVATION AND TECH
POSTING TYPE: Calls: Conferences

Posted by: Sarah Mitchell

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19th Global Brand Conference: 6-8th May 2026

Call for Papers: Human and AI driven branding

Oxford Brookes Business School is delighted to host the 19th Global Brand Conference at our Oxford Headington campus on 6th-8th May 2026.

Link: (This URL seems to work sometimes and not work other times –CH)

Conference theme

The conference theme explores the role of human and artificial intelligence in brand building and draws upon three strands of literature.

The first strand explores the evolving interaction between human intelligence and artificial intelligence (Huang & Rust, 2022; Einola & Khoreva, 2023; Liu-Thompkins et al., 2022). In their literature review of creativity in marketing and the impact of integrating AI, Ameen et al., (2022) recommend a balanced augmentation approach (combining human and artificial intelligence) rather than an automative approach. This is echoed by Wharton’s Ethan Mollick (2024) who calls for co-intelligence, using AI as a co-worker. Kirby et al., (2025) recently explored the creative collaboration between humans) and AI to co-create brand voice, identifying effective human-AI co-creation as happening at three levels: the individual brand professional, the organisational level of brand management and the societal level, the external environment in which the brand operates. Likewise, Huang and Trust (2022) developed a framework for human marketers and consumers collaborating with AI within the retail sector.

A second popular strand of literature focuses purely on AI in marketing and brand development (Deryl et al., 2023; De Mauro et al., 2022). One cluster of papers concerns specific technologies such as use of chatbots (Cheng & Jiang, 2022), other AI-empowered voice assistants (McLean et al., 2021) and AI influencers (Thomas & Fowler, 2021). Another argues for an enhanced customer experience due to AI through increased efficiency and customer insight (Nguyen et al., 2022). Key issues are identified including Kirkby et al. (2023) discussing whether customers want or need to know the level of AI used within the brand – and Liu-Thompkins et al., (2022) identify the need to bridge the AI-human gap by developing stronger artificial empathy to strengthen the affective and social customer experience. This rapidly evolving focus purely on AI, one end of the spectrum, pushes us to consider the implications for the marketing profession but also the relationship between brands and consumers. Note this focus is not only on generative AI but also causal and predictive AI and other forms of AI including synthetic data, AI agents, and agentic AI.

The third strand of literature places the emphasis on the new roles for humans in developing brands, including contributions from Kotler et al. (2021) calling for a new human to human (H2H) mindset as a way of rebuilding brand trust. Anchored in service dominant logic, the H2H literature argues for iterative and agile design thinking to co-create brand value with customers, particularly to have a positive impact on quality of life and the common good. Employee empathy, verbal communication, emotional intelligence and the ability to handle new and complex situations are identified as core roles of brand managers in an AI world. Populist authors such as Mark Shaefer (2025) call for marketing professionals to apply humanity to disrupt AI dominance, to be ‘audacious’ in disrupting brand narratives. Others focus on ‘humanistic marketing’ which proposes that the human individual is the start point for strategies that move beyond wealth creation to enable human ‘flourishing’ where well-being is derived from satisfying human needs and interests (Rivera-Baiocchi, 2023; Varey & Pirson, 2013). The scholar Bruno Cucinelli argues that humanist capitalism is needed for global sustainability and draws on Immanuel Kant’s famous plea to ‘treat humanity as never merely a means to an end but always at the same time as an end’. This resonates with the body of literature on the need for purposeful and conscientious branding (e.g., Fernandes et al., 2024; Walter et al., 2024; Ind & Iglesias, 2022). Other scholars identify the importance of human insight and creativity for brand purpose, authentic brand expression and creating emotional connections with customers. With luxury brands for example, customers have traditionally placed greater value on emotionally resonant, socially meaningful experiences (Shahid et al., 2022) that meet their needs for symbolic consumption rather than rational and efficient processes. This strand of literature also discusses the implications of AI capacity and capability within brand management (Wei & Pardo, 2022). For example, for smaller organisations such as nonprofits there is a risk they will be left behind in efforts to harness AI for more effective customer-brand relationship building (Stanley, 2024).

Additional topics for consideration within this theme include:

• How is the role and skill set of brand managers changing in the AI age?
• What humanistic values should brands embrace in order to build a profitable but also responsible business capable of addressing some of the pressing problems that humanity is facing, such as climate change or social inequalities?
• What is the role of human emotions in the development of consumer-brand relationships?
• What is the role of human creativity in brand innovation, especially in those innovations aimed at positively impacting society and planet?
• What are the potential ethical dilemmas that the use of AI in branding might raise and how managers should address them?
• What is the role of AI and humans in consumer-brand interactions?
• How can augmented brand intelligence be effectively implemented in strategic and operational brand management and brand control?
• Does augmented brand intelligence lead to an increase or decrease in brand purpose, brand consistency, and creativity?
• What are the possibilities and limitations of augmented brand intelligence in brand science?
• What are the best practice examples of AI currently being used by marketers to drive brands and customer relationships?

We invite original research and in-depth conceptual papers on this conference theme, as well as research in the areas of brand, identity and reputation, including but not limited to:

• B2B Brands
• Big Data Analytics and Brands
• Brand Activism
• Brand Co-Creation
• Brand Equity
• Brand Experience
• Brand Image and Identity
• Brand Love, Hate, and Brand Polarization
• Brand Orientation
• Corporate and Umbrella Brands
• Ethical, Charity, and Green Brands
• Heritage Brands
• Internal Branding
• Multisensory Branding
• Online/Digital Brands
• Place and Event Branding
• Product Branding
• Service Brands
• Corporate Reputation and identity issues

Conference key dates

Submissions open: 22 August 2025
Submissions deadline: 6 November 2025
Announcement of decision: 18 December 2025
Submissions of revised paper summary: 16 February 2026
(250 words to be published in the conference proceeding)
Early bird registration deadline: 6 March 2026
Registration deadline: 14 April 2026

Contact us

For further information about the conference please contact: gbc2026@brookes.ac.uk

Submission Guidelines

Authors wishing to present a competitive paper are invited to submit an extended abstract by 6 November 2025. The submission link will be open on 22 August 2025.

All papers will be double-blind reviewed, so authors should not be identified within the text. If the paper is accepted for the conference, the authors will have the opportunity to revise their paper based on reviewer feedback.

The extended abstract should be between 1,400–1,700 words (and should follow the following structure):

• Title and Keywords (3–5)
• Purpose
• Methodology/Approach
• Findings
• Theoretical Implications
• Practical Implications (if applicable)
• Originality/Value
• List of references

A summary of research (250 words) will also be requested during the submission. If the extended abstract is accepted for a presentation at the conference, this summary will be published in the conference proceeding.

If your submission is a working paper, please indicate this in the relevant section (e.g., Findings) and provide as much detail/discussion as possible for the other sections.

Please respect the following formatting details:

File Naming: The files must contain the last name of the submitting author, the abstract’s title (up to first five words), and the date of submission.

• Example: Author_document_title_day_month_year
• Margins: Normal
• Font Type & Size: Times New Roman, 12 pt
• Line-spacing: 1.5
• File Format: MS Word (i.e. .doc, .docx) or PDF.
• References: Please follow APA system

References

Ameen, N., Sharma, G. D., Tarba, S., Rao, A., & Chopra, R. (2022). Toward advancing theory on creativity in marketing and artificial intelligence. Psychology & Marketing, 39(9), 1802-1825.

Cheng, Y., & Jiang, H. (2022). Customer–brand relationship in the era of artificial intelligence: understanding the role of chatbot marketing efforts. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 31(2), 252-264.

Cucinelli, B. (2025), Our idea of humanistic capitalism and humanistic sustainability, .

De Mauro, A., Sestino, A., & Bacconi, A. (2022). Machine learning and artificial intelligence use in marketing: a general taxonomy. Italian Journal of Marketing, 4, 439-457.

Deryl, M. D., Verma, S., & Srivastava, V. (2023). How does AI drive branding? Towards an integrated theoretical framework for AI-driven branding. International Journal of Information Management Data Insights, 3(2), 100205.

Einola, K., & Khoreva, V. (2023). Best friend or broken tool? Exploring the co‐existence of humans and artificial intelligence in the workplace ecosystem. Human Resource Management, 62(1), 117-135.

Huang, M. H., & Rust, R. T. (2022). A framework for collaborative artificial intelligence in marketing. Journal of Retailing, 98(2), 209-223.

Fernandes, T., Guzman, F., & Mota, M. (2024). Purpose is the new branding: understanding conscientious purpose-driven marketing and its impact on brand outcomes. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 33(6), 761-782.

Ind, N., & Iglesias, O. (2022). In good conscience: Do the right thing while building a profitable business. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

Kirkby, A., Baumgarth, C., & Henseler, J. (2023). To disclose or not disclose, is no longer the question–effect of AI-disclosed brand voice on brand authenticity and attitude. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 32(7), 1108-1122.

Kirkby, A., Baumgarth, C., & Henseler, J. (2025). Welcome, new brand colleague! A conceptual framework for efficient and effective human–AI co-creation for creative brand voice. Journal of Brand Management, 1-15.

Kotler, P., Pfoertsch, W., & Sponholz, U. (2020). The new paradigm: H2H marketing. In H2H Marketing: The Genesis of Human-to-Human Marketing (pp. 29-90). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International

Liu-Thompkins, Y., Okazaki, S., & Li, H. (2022). Artificial empathy in marketing interactions: Bridging the human-AI gap in affective and social customer experience. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 50(6), 1198-1218.

Mollick, E. (2024). Co-intelligence: Living and working with AI. London, UK: Penguin Random House.

Nguyen, T. M., Quach, S., & Thaichon, P. (2022). The effect of AI quality on customer experience and brand relationship. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 21(3), 481-493.

Rivera-Baiocchi, R. (2023). Humanistic marketing and digitalization for quality of life and sustainability: A theoretical approach. Revista Empresa y Humanismo, 26(2),185-210.

Shahid, S., Paul, J., Gilal, F. G., & Ansari, S. (2022). The role of sensory marketing and brand experience in building emotional attachment and brand loyalty in luxury retail stores. Psychology & Marketing, 39(7), 1398-1412.

Stanley, L. (2024). Charity Digital, .

Thomas, V. L., & Fowler, K. (2021). Close encounters of the AI kind: Use of AI influencers as brand endorsers. Journal of Advertising, 50(1), 11-25.

Varey, R., & Pirson, M. (Eds.) (2013). Humanistic Marketing. London, UK: Palgrave MacMillan.

Walter, N., Föhl, U., Sander, F., & Nies, A. (2024). Act as you preach! Authentic brand purpose versus “woke washing’s” impact on brand credibility: The moderating role of cause involvement and consumer skepticism. Journal of Business Research, 184, 114868

Wei, R., & Pardo, C. (2022). Artificial intelligence and SMEs: How can B2B SMEs leverage AI platforms to integrate AI technologies?. Industrial Marketing Management, 107, 466-483.

West, A., Clifford, J., & Atkinson, D. (2018). ” Alexa, build me a brand” An Investigation into the impact of Artificial Intelligence on Branding. The Business & Management Review, 9(3), 321-330.