Analysis

Hannah Elderfield is Director of Insight at Canvas8. With over a decade of experience in understanding human behavior, she helps global brands and businesses - from Nike and RE/MAX, to Google and Fidelity - uncover and leverage human truths to drive more strategic decisions. She is also an award-winning analyst and author of Canvas8's first inaugural “Science Of” book which translates learnings from academia into real-world actionable insights.

Dr. Tunisha Singleton is the principal consultant and founder of FanX Unlimited, where she works with brands to translate fan identity into measurable impact. She has a PhD in Media Psychology, and her work focuses on how media, technology, and culture shape the way people experience fandom, particularly across sports, entertainment, and digital communities. Dr. Singleton is also the author of research on Fan Free Agency: Reimagining Sports Fandom through the Power of Choice and Identity. This explores how modern fans move fluidly between teams, leagues, and cultural moments rather than committing to a single identity. Her work directly examines how this shift is reshaping fan engagement and creating new opportunities for sponsorship, partnerships, and brand storytelling within sport. Through her consulting, Dr. Singleton works with leagues, clubs, and brands to design fan experiences and sponsorship strategies that resonate with today’s evolving audiences.

Rob Meyerson is the founder of brand strategy and identity agency Heirloom and a specialist in brand naming and nomenclature. He is the author of Brand Naming: The Complete Guide to Creating a Name for Your Company, Product, or Service (2021), co-author of Designing Brand Identity (2024), and has published articles about brand strategy and naming in Harvard Business Review, Business Insider, and more.

Meg Elkins is an associate professor and behavioural economist at RMIT University, with research interests in societal and cultural economics. Her work examines the intersection of economic impact and decision-making processes, with particular expertise in digital payment adoption and cultural event economics. Meg is a member of the Behavioural Business Lab. She is a regular media commentator for TV, radio and print on economics issues, behavioural economics and consumer decision-making.

Dr Daniel Zane is an associate professor of marketing at the Lehigh University College of Business. His research explores the conclusions consumers draw about themselves and companies based on the information they have available in the marketplace and how these conclusions impact their consumption behaviors. His work explores the effects of this consumer inference-making in domains such as advertising, promotions and social media. With an interest in consumer well-being, he has also examined such processes in sustainability, pharmaceutical marketing and public health.

Hannah O'Neill is a strategy and culture consultant, design thinker, mindset coach, and entrepreneur. Operating at the intersection of strategy, culture, and innovation, she helps people, brands, and businesses realise their full potential through research, co-creation, and exceptional communications. With over a decade of experience across the integrated communications landscape, she has worked with some of the world's leading brands to shape and share their stories. A potent blend of energy and empathy, O'Neill is driven to understand people and what moves them. She is the former head of strategy and culture at 360, Finn Partners, and in 2022, she founded Future State Studio.

Dr. Kate Phelps teaches in the Gender and Women's Studies Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has over a decade of teaching experience at the collegiate level and holds a PhD in sociology from the University of Massachusetts-Boston. She builds curriculum and teaches courses on body politics, food politics, feminist theory, and gender and health. Her research and scholarship focus on body politics, girlhood, and digital sociology. Her book Digital Girlhoods from Temple University Press is now available. She's also a regularly sought-after speaker on gender and embodiment, health equity, size-inclusive healthcare, diet and wellness culture, and new media.

Clio Meurer is a semiotician and cultural analyst with 15 years of experience. Clio specialises in the visual language applied to design and branding. She holds an MA and PhD in History and Semiology of Text and Image from the University of Paris VII (2000-2008), and was a postdoctoral researcher in Communication and Semiotics at PUC-SP (2010-2011). She has provided studies for creative consultancies on projects involving brands such as The Coca-Cola Company, PepsiCo, Nestlé, Wickbold, Ferrero Group, Renault, Samsung, Petrobras, Nokia, Netflix, Amazon MGM Studios, Colgate-Palmolive, P&G, Unilever, Johnson & Johnson, Diageo, AB InBev, Heineken, Avon, and Natura &Co.

Dan Cassino is a professor of government and politics at Fairleigh Dickinson University's Department of Social Sciences and History and executive director of the FDU Poll (formerly PublicMind). He studies the cognitive psychology of the survey response and how masculinity shapes the social and political attitudes of men. His books include Fox News and American Politics and Gender Threat.

Philip Anthony is Channel 5’s Playout Director, overseeing complex multi-channel transmissions, including live sports broadcasts such as Boxing and NFL games. He is also a contributing writer to various online and digital publications covering politics, sports, hip hop, and entertainment, offering cultural insight across every platform on which he lends his voice.

Dr. James Oakley is a professor of marketing at Lewis University’s College of Business. His research focuses on marketing strategy and branding and the influence of an organisation’s culture on its marketing activities and customer relationships. Dr. Oakley holds a PhD from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, an MBA from Purdue University, and a BS in psychology from the University of Illinois. In addition to 20 years of experience as a faculty member, he brings the experience from a corporate career prior to obtaining his PhD – an ideal mix of theory and practice.