Kimberley is an Assistant Professor in Marketing at Newcastle Business School (AACSB), Northumbria University, leading one of the largest Business & Marketing degree programmes in the North of England. Prior to entering academia, she has worked in various marketing and business management roles in the F & B service sector. She has a PhD in Marketing and is a researcher, writer, speaker & advisor in branding, sustainable consumer behaviour, AI, algorithms & platforms. In particular, she is keen to understand how brands can use successfully proven influential buyer strategies to help consumers create good sustainable habits, her research also extends to examining the societal implications of emerging technologies. Her work has been published at several international conferences and in peer reviewed journals. Whilst working at the Newcastle Business School (AACSB), Kimberley has directly supported and trained many SMEs through European Regional Development Funding. As part of her leadership roles, Kimberley is Programme Leader for BA (Hons) Business and Marketing and leads on the Branding module on the MSc Marketing Programme & the Digital Campaign Management & Media module on the MSc Digital Marketing. Kimberley is an external examiner at Bournemouth University for Programmes MSc Marketing Management & MSc Marketing and User Experience. She is also a reviewer for the Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Journal of Marketing Management and the Academy of Marketing Science. Kimberley has been awarded Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and has been a nominated finalist for the Student Led Teaching Awards numerous times. Kimberley is on the judging panel for the prestigious Effie Awards UK, The Prolific North Marketing Awards & The North East Marketing Awards. Her current projects include The Responsible Development of AI and the societal implications of this in the North East. Kimberley is working with North East partners to understand how we can adopt a citizen well-being approach to safeguarding and upskilling the region to ensure the NE is not left behind with emerging technology. Kimberley initiated such discussions after organising and delivering the first 'The North East AI Safety Summit' October 2023, which aimed to articulate a regional voice on the opportunities & threats of AI, & the responsible development of AI for NE industries, businesses & individuals with the intention of informing policy and the first Global Summit. Kimberley's business and marketing expertise resonate beyond academia as she is also a contributor at the World Advertising Research Centre (WARC).
Research Interests: Branding, Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms/Platforms, Societal Implications of Emerging Technology, Consumer Habits.
Publications
Forthcoming Book:
‘Strategic Marketing for People, Planet and Profit’ - Riad Shams, David Brown, Kimberley Hardcastle – Accepted and in preparation. Publisher: Springer (December 2024).
Conference Papers:
Hardcastle, K., Vorster, L., & Brown, D., (2024) How is AI Shaping Brand Engagement & Autonomy in the Customer Decision Making Process? Academy of Marketing Conference, Cardiff, 2024.
Hardcastle, K., & Vorster, L., (2023) ‘Is AI Killing Branding? Understanding Consumers Perceptions Of AI Influence On Brand Decision Making’. Academy of Marketing Science 48th Annual Conference. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
Hardcastle, K, (2018) ‘How much does the university sport brand impact students journey and identity construction in English higher education?’ 26th European Association of Sport Management Conference. Malmo, Sweden. 5th-8th of September 2018.
Hardcastle, K., Cook, P., Sutherland, M., (2016) ‘The co-production of interpretive communities within the English higher education context, as defined by sport consumers’. 24th European Association of Sport Management Conference. Warsaw, Poland.
Hardcastle, K., Sutherland, M., (2016) ‘Engaging the consumer: A Netnography of the student journey within the English HE sector’. 49th Academy of Marketing Conference. Northumbria University, Newcastle.
Journal Articles:
Hardcastle, K., Edirisingha, P., Cook, P., & Sutherland, M. (2025). The co-existence of brand value co-creation and co-destruction across the customer journey in a complex higher education brand. Journal of Business Research, 186, 114979.
Hardcastle, K., Edirisingha, P., & Cook, P. (2022). Identifying sources of noise within the networked interplay of marketing messages in social media communication. International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising.
Hardcastle, K., Cook, P., & Sutherland, M. (2019). Improving Student Transition and Retention; a Netnographic Insight into Information Exchange and Conversation Topics for Pre-arrival Students. Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice, 7(1), 47-56.
Industry Publications:
Hardcastle., K Mastering artificial intelligence tool selection and implementation. World Advertising Research Centre, September 2024:
Hardcastle., K, How Generative AI Is Changing The Game for Marketers & What Can They Do About It? World Advertising Research Centre, November 2023:
Hardcastle., K, We're Talking About AI A Lot Right Now & It's Not A Moment Too Soon. The Conversation, August 2023:
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