My lifeline! The science of influencer connectedness
REPORT
30 Aug 2024
My lifeline! The science of influencer connectedness

Although influencer marketing is widely used by brands, its effectiveness and appeal to people at times of uncertainty are still poorly understood. Canvas8 spoke to Dr Natalya Saldanha and Dr Rajendra Mulye about their research on unique consumer-influencer dynamics during crises.

Natalya Saldanha

Dr Natalya Saldanha is a Lecturer with Victoria University, Melbourne. Natalya has a PhD in Marketing with a research focus on Cancel Culture, Social Media Influencers, Brand Management and Celebrity Endorsements. Natalya has received media attention for her published articles ranging from TV interviews to radio interviews and popular press articles in The Conversation and WARC. Natalya has worked for over nine years in media and advertising as Brand Manager (Marketing) and Account Manager (Advertising) in global Media Companies such as Viacom (Vh1), and one of the world’s best advertising agencies, Mullen Lowe Group. She has published in leading journals such as Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Journal of Strategic Marketing and Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing.

Rajendra Mulye

Rajendra Mulye is a senior lecturer at the College of Business and Law at RMIT University in Australia. Raju’s primary research interest lies in the application of social dilemma theory to resolving marketing and environmental issues. His other research interests include country-of-origin effect, consumer ethnocentrism, and branding.

Tom Novak

Tom Novak is a senior behavioral analyst at Canvas8. After completing his second master's degree in cultural sociology at LSE, he was drawn to cultural insight. Tom has conducted qualitative and ethnographic research from the plazas of Santiago to Coventry's suburbs. In his spare time, he can be seen rowing down the Thames or world-building around feminist science fiction.