KTP50 2025: Innovate & Elevate: Marketing Disrupters

Innovate & Elevate: University Insights for Business Transformation

A public presentation for academics & businesses - all are welcome

Any questions, please contact: ktp@port.ac.uk

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Knowledge Transfer Partnership programme, we are hosting an online forum event each month to showcase how our academic experts can support your business.

Innovation drives the growth of organisations, whether they are industrial enterprises, service providers, social enterprises, charities or public sector organisations. In our Innovate & Elevate forum series, we will explore how companies utilise expert knowledge from the university to advance business performance and de-risk investment for research and development.

Join us for this series of short, valuable online forums designed to harness the dynamic ecosystem of academia and industry collaborations. Learn how the latest technological advancements or management practices can meet your business needs and support your company’s growth.

Marketing Disrupters

The final instalment of the Innovate & Elevate forum will explore the powerful role of marketing in driving social impact through ethical and sustainable business practices.

The presenters will delve into how responsible marketing can not only promote products but also foster positive change, addressing critical issues such as EDI (Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion) and gender equality.

Learn how businesses can integrate these values into their strategies while effectively tackling complex "wicked" problems; those persistent, multi-faceted challenges that require thoughtful, long-term solutions.

Join us to discover how businesses can lead in creating a more equitable and sustainable future through their marketing efforts.

During the registration process, you will be able to submit questions. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions after the presentation.

Presenters

Professor Sarah Turnbull

Sarah is a global marketing expert with over 30 years’ experience of working in industry and knowledge transfer. She has held senior management roles in global advertising agencies, both in Europe and the Middle East and her client experience includes; BP, Glaxo, Dubai Air, London City Airport, Emirates Holidays, Jebel Ali Free Zone and Dubai Ports Authority. She spent eight years as the Director on the Emirates Airline Passenger account based in Dubai and was responsible for Emirates Sky Cargo, Emirates Holidays and Emirates Recruitment worldwide.

Sarah has extensive business-to-business marketing experience working with businesses such as ICI, Nokia and British Glass. She has managed the marketing account of Dubai World Trade Centre, which included key international trade and consumer exhibitions such as GITEX and the Dubai Boat Show. Sarah’s commercial experience includes working with retailers such as Toys R Us, Ryman and Tesco.

Sarah is an internationally renowned speaker and writer on marketing communications. She has published over 70 papers and articles on marketing and authored four books on marketing communications and advertising. Her 2019 book, Marketing Communications, which includes social media planning and digital marketing, is a recommended text on the Chartered Institute of Marketing professional courses.

Sarah is a Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Marketing and a Freeman of The Worshipful Company of Marketors. Sarah is a Governor at Portsmouth High School (GDST), a fellow of the HEA and a member of the IAB Research Advisory Group. Sarah is a role model on the Aurora Women's Leadership Programme.

Sarah is recognised nationally and internationally for her work. She has won a number of international awards, including Emerald Best International Symposium (2014, Academy of Management, Philadelphia) and Emerald Literati Awards (2017 and 2018).

Dr Karen Middleton

Karen is a Senior Lecturer in Marketing at the University of Portsmouth. Karen’s expertise, gained over 20 years, lies in the domains of diversity in advertising, socially responsible advertising practices, and the intersection of advertising, corporate communications, and social media.

Karen supervises a number of PhD students in these areas. Her dedication to fostering an inclusive and diverse academic environment is evident in her leadership as the Chair of the Faculty Athena SWAN Team. Athena SWAN is an equality charter mark and accreditation scheme that recognises and celebrates good practices in HE towards the advancement of gender equality.

Karen obtained her PhD in gender stereotyping in advertising in 2022, earning recognition for her pioneering research into the institutional role of advertising in a dynamic market system, and for which she was awarded the Worshipful Company of Marketors thesis award for exceptional contributions to marketing.

Her work has been published in internationally-excellent journals such as Psychology & Marketing, Marketing Theory, and the International Journal of Advertising. Her contributions extend beyond research and teaching. She has actively engaged with the industry, policymakers and civil society, partnering with organisations like the Conscious Advertising Network, to advocate for advertising to defund hate speech and content, and contributing her expertise to policy discussions on violence against women and girls.

Karen’s research largely covers gender and inclusion issues in advertising. In considering the social impact of marketing and advertising, her work includes research questions such as:

• What are the socio-cultural impacts on the portrayal of women and marginalised groups in advertising?
• What are the broad market system-level influences towards socially equitable advertising portrayals?
• How might stereotypes be hidden in advertising meaning?

If you have any questions about this event, please contact ktp@port.ac.uk.

Learn more about KTPs at the University of Portsmouth here.

Future events in this series can be found here.

The Zoom link with full joining instructions will be sent to you by email after you register. Please check your inbox and keep the joining instructions safe.

Accessibility and special requirements - We will endeavour to provide particular access requirements on request. If you have any access requirements, e.g hearing loops or specific neurodiversity requirements, please get in touch in advance of the event.