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AMA and the Foundation Celebrate Marketing Scholars and Professionals Innovating Marketing’s Future

AMA and the Foundation Celebrate Marketing Scholars and Professionals Innovating Marketing’s Future

Awardees honored at the 2025 AMA Summer Academic Conference in Chicago, IL

Chicago, IL—The American Marketing Association (AMA) and the AMA Foundation are pleased to recognize this year’s marketing award winners who were celebrated at the 2025 AMA Summer Academic Conference held in Chicago, Illinois, August 22-24, 2025.

“The transformative marketing research being done has the potential to drive positive economic change on a global scale. Our scholars are harnessing data in ways that will define new methods, theories and collaborations across diverse disciplines,” said AMA CEO, Bennie F. Johnson. “It was an honor to congratulate and celebrate all of this year’s awardees for their research and scholarship in the marketing profession. The future of marketing is dynamic thanks to the incredible and impactful work of the AMA community.”

Thanks to our 2025 conference Co-Chairs: Colleen Harmeling, Florida State University; Tonya Bradford, University of California, Irvine; and Adithya B Pattabhiramaiah, Georgia Tech University.

This year’s winners are:

  • Best Paper in Conference | “Navigating Brand Relationships with Bereaved Consumers: The Intensified Case of Mothers Experiencing Baby Loss” by Carissa Colligan, Elizabeth Minton, Cindy Wang, and Alexa Fox
  • Valuing Diversity PhD Scholarship |
    • Vannesia Darby, Digital Marketing Director at Shondaland and is a Ph.D. candidate pursuing a degree in Business Administration with a marketing concentration at Kennesaw State University
    • Donovan Gordan, 4th Year Marketing Ph.D. Candidate at The University of Mississippi
  • Robert J. Lavidge Global Marketing Research Award | Eric Schwartz, Associate Professor of Marketing at University of Michigan Ross School of Business
  • Williams-Qualls-Spratlen Multicultural Mentoring Award of Excellence | Kevin D. Bradford, Professor of Teaching at the Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine
  • AMA-EBSCO-RRBM Annual Award for Responsible Research in Marketing | 

Distinguished Winners

Winners

Finalists

Learn more about the winners and awards:

  • Valuing PhD Scholarship: In partnership with the PhD Project and the AMA Academic Council, the Valuing Diversity PhD Scholarship seeks to widen opportunities for underrepresented populations to attend marketing doctoral programs.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
  • Robert J. Lavidge Global Marketing Research Award: The Robert J. Lavidge Global Marketing Research Award recognizes a marketing practitioner or educator who has devised and successfully implemented a research/insight procedure that has practical implications for use by others.
  • Williams-Qualls-Spratlen Multicultural Mentoring Award of Excellence: This award recognizes world class marketing scholars and mentors of people of color while carrying on the legacy of Jerome Williams, Bill Qualls, and Thaddeus Spratlen.
  • AMA-EBSCO-RRBM Annual Award for Responsible Research in Marketing: The purpose of this award is to recognize already-published responsible research in marketing where responsible research is defined as work that produces both useful and credible knowledge. 
  • Charles Coolidge Parlin Marketing Research Award: The Charles Coolidge Parlin Marketing Research Award is the oldest and most distinguished award in the field.  This award is given to leading scholars and practitioners in honor of Charles Coolidge Parlin who is considered the pioneer of marketing research.
  • Thomas C. Kinnear/Journal of Public Policy & Marketing Award: Named after Journal of Public Policy & Marketing’s founding editor, Thomas C. Kinnear, the award honors articles that make the most significant contribution to the understanding of marketing and public policy issues within a three-year time period.  
  • S. Tamer Cavusgil Award: Each year, the Editorial Board of Journal of International Marketing honors the article published in the calendar year that has the most significant contribution to the advancement and practice of international marketing management.
  • Hans B. Thorelli Award: This award honors an article that has made the most significant and long-term contribution to international marketing theory or practice.
  • Paul E. Green Award: This award honors the best Journal of Marketing Research article published within the last calendar year.
  • Weitz-Winer-O’Dell Award: This award recognizes Journal of Marketing Research articles that have made the most significant long-term contribution to marketing theory, methodology, and/or practice.
  • Journal of Interactive Marketing Best Paper Award: This award honors the best Journal of Interactive Marketing article published in a given calendar year.
  • Shelby D. Hunt / Harold H. Maynard Award: Established in 1974 under the leadership of Journal of Marketing editor in chief Edward W. Cundiff, the Harold H. Maynard Award was established to honor the best Journal of Marketing article on marketing theory. The award was renamed the Shelby D. Hunt/Harold H. Maynard Award in 2015 to honor three-time award recipient Shelby D. Hunt, who led the establishment of an endowment to secure the award in perpetuity. This annual award continues to recognize articles published in the Journal of Marketing that make the most significant contributions to marketing theory in a given calendar year.
  • AMA / Marketing Science Institute / H. Paul Root Award: This annual award is given to the Journal of Marketing article that has made the most significant contribution to the advancement of the practice of marketing in a calendar year.  
  • Louis W. Stern Award: This award recognizes outstanding articles in widely recognized and highly respected refereed journals that have made a significant contribution to the literature on marketing and channels of distribution.

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About the American Marketing Association (AMA)

As the leading global professional marketing association, the AMA is the essential community for marketers. From students and practitioners to executives and academics, we aim to elevate the profession, deepen knowledge, and make a lasting impact. The AMA is home to five premiere scholarly journals including: Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of International Marketing, and Journal of Interactive Marketing. Our industry-leading training events and conferences define future forward practices, while our professional development and PCM® professional certification advance knowledge. With 70 chapters and a presence on 350 college campuses across North America, the AMA fosters a vibrant community of marketers. The association’s philanthropic arm, the AMA’s Foundation, is inspiring a more diverse industry and ensuring marketing research impacts public good. 

AMA views marketing as the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. You can learn more about AMA’s learning programs and certifications, conferences and events, and scholarly journals at AMA.org. 

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