Dr Annmarie Hanlon

Background

Dr Hanlon is an academic and practitioner in strategic digital marketing and the application of social media for business.

Her PhD investigated benefits and outcomes of social media marketing within organisations for which she was awarded the Mais Scholarship. Originally a graduate in French and Linguistics from University of London, Annmarie studied for the Chartered Institute of Marketing Diploma and won the Worshipful Company of Marketors’ award for the best results worldwide. She gained a Master’s in Business Administration, focusing on marketing planning and achieved a distinction for the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s E-Marketing Award.

Prior to joining Cranfield Dr Hanlon was Programme Director for the University of Derby’s BSc (Hons) Marketing (Digital) and Course Leader for Social Media Management on the International Executive MBA programme at the University of St Gallen. She is the past Senior Examiner for Digital Strategy for the Chartered Institute of Marketing, where she contributed to the initial module development, module specification, assignment creation and managing a team of examiners.

Dr Hanlon has expertise in the strategic application of social media for business and the move from digitization, to digitalization and digital transformation for business. Her expertise spans consumer touch points, online customer service, the use of reviews, the role of influencers, online engagement and digital content. She has run her own consultancy for over twenty years and is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing, a Member of the Marketing Institute Ireland and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Marketors. 

Research opportunities

I am exploring: digital transformation within organisations, the role of MarTech; how influencer content impacts engagement; unethical behaviour in social media, deceptive marketing and the role of digital in B2B markets.

Current activities

My passion is the application of digital marketing in a business context. For more than 25 years I have worked as a practitioner across many sectors, from IT to pharmaceutical, manufacturing to financial services, enabling organisations to adopt digital marketing and business practices.

The combination of digital marketing practice and academic knowledge has led to the publication of several texts, including Digital Marketing, Strategic Planning & Integration, as well as two reference books: The SAGE Handbook of Digital Marketing and The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Marketing.

I teach on the MSc Strategic Marketing and the Exec MSc in Marketing and Leadership (Level 7 Apprenticeship). I am module leader for Digital and Social Media Marketing and Understanding Markets and Competitors and also co-supervise DBA and PhD candidates. 

I have advised other universities on digital marketing issues; Ulster University, as External Examiner for the BSc Customer Contact Management, and deliver social media in practice sessions for Aston University, Oxford University and UCL.

Outside my teaching in Cranfield, I am involved with the Worshipful Company of Marketors, a modern city livery company for marketing professionals and a judge for the Financial Services Forum Marketing Effectiveness Awards.

Clients

Over the last twenty years Dr Hanlon has worked on marketing consultancy projects in the UK, Europe, Hong Kong and the United States, in sectors including construction, legal and tax services, software, financial services, pharmaceuticals, communications, health, leisure, media and IT. In addition to practical consultancy, she has delivered executive training in Digital Strategy and social media for companies including:

Aston University

Discovery Channel

Disney

Eurotunnel

Haymarket Publishing

Small Luxury Hotels of the World

Publications

• Conference papers
• Books