50 Years On: The Untold Story Behind EMAC’s Rise and Reinvention

Carolina Cuervo-Robert
Jun 18
6 min read

Written by Carolina Cuervo-Robert and Ceyda Sinag

To mark EMAC’s 50th birthday, we had the chance to talk to Professor Peter Leeflang, one of the founders of EMAC, and Professor Elif Karaosmanoğlu, its current president. They shared with us stories about the beginning of EMAC, as well as future directions. Keep reading to learn all about it.

The origins and legacy of EMAC

Fun fact: did you know that technically, EMAC is not 50 but 53? It just had a different name at its founding!

The roots of the European Marketing Academy go back to a small group of pioneering researchers: the late Susan Douglas, Philippe Naert, Peter Doyle, Lars-Gunnar Mattsson, and Peter Leeflang. Coming from different areas of marketing, including international, strategic, and marketing modelling, they saw the need for a dedicated European research community.

At the time, academic marketing research in Europe was in its early stages and as Peter recalls, it all began when Susan asked him, “Why don’t we set up a European community for marketing researchers?” Having in mind that the EIASM (European Institute for Advanced Studies in Management) showcased an interest in supporting novel initiatives, Susan’s spark led to the creation of the European Academy for Advanced Research in Marketing (EAARM). The goal was to connect Europe’s diverse marketing traditions, but it wasn’t easy. Funding was limited, and there was pushback, especially from ESOMAR (European Society for Marketing and Opinion Research; a parctitioner-oriented initiative), which didn’t appreciate the emphasis on “advanced research.” So in 1975, the group officially renamed itself the European Marketing Academy (EMAC), a name that has stood ever since.

Supporting the young academic community: the glue that holds everything together

Despite EMAC being 50 years old, its members remain youthful by design, not by chance. The EMAC community places a strong emphasis on nurturing and championing young researchers through diverse initiatives promoting research and career growth. Within EMAC, a collaborative environment thrives as senior academics generously share insights, foster new ideas alongside young scholars, and make room for collaborations on research projects.

“EMAC is a very young community itself. It really supports the younger generation. It is definitely aiming for that. So, any kind of activity we try to think of as an additional activity or a new initiation of activities, we always think about how it is going to serve the PhDs and the early career researchers first.”

Elif Karaosmanoğlu

Attending your first conference will undoubtedly remain stressful for many PhD students and young researchers. Now an emeritus professor, Peter still recalls late nights practicing his conference presentation in his thesis advisor’s room. However, EMAC has many initiatives to lighten young researchers’ burdens and enrich their experiences. First, EMAC’s renowned doctoral colloquium – a 3-day pre-conference event pooling 60 PhDs and 18 professors. During this multi-day event, doctoral students from across the globe receive no less than 70 minutes to present their work and get detailed feedback from leading faculty in beginner and advanced tracks across consumer behavior, marketing strategy, and quantitative marketing.

In Elif's words:

“Our doctoral colloquium is one of the best in the world. I'm not going to be humble about it. We do an excellent job. The faculty members from renowned universities, very established in their fields, commit a lot of their time, effort, and expertise to review all these applications by the doctoral students and choose the excellent work among them. We will certainly continue doing this for the next 50 years of EMAC, at the very least.”

Elif Karaosmanoğlu

What about scholars fresh out of doctoral programmes, eager to embark on their academic careers? EMAC provides a remarkable opportunity via its Job Market Simulation, guiding young graduates to navigate job searches, ace interviews, and position themselves in academia. Finally, young researchers who have completed their PhDs can attend both the EMAC Climber Community meetings during the Spring conference, as well as the Early Researcher Symposium during the Fall conference to receive enriching insights to help them move forward in their early careers.

Why EMAC still matters, 50 years on

Back in 1973, the EAARM conference welcomed about 25 participants. Today, EMAC brings together over a thousand members and recently set a record for submissions to its annual conference. But as marketing teaches us, staying relevant means evolving. For a community this large, that means embracing the change brought forth by new scientific trends and global issues. This has spurred a variety of initiatives.

“EMAC is a very large community. We have members from almost 50 different countries, which means that we have researchers from different parts of the world. So, we are trying to keep up with all the advances in different areas, in different parts of the world.”

Elif Karaosmanoğlu

Over the years, EMAC has grown branches, developing special interest groups (SIGs). Throughout the year, SIGs communicate with their members via webinars that keep them updated and informed. To stay abreast of the rise of digital creators, EMAC recently added a creator economy SIG to its structure. Elif predicts that new EMAC SIGs will be added in the future. To advance scientific knowledge EMAC will grow to accommodate changes in the marketing world and provide an environment for successful collaborations.

Elif also shared the exciting news of the EMAC Insights Book Series launch, the first of which will be published on the 50th anniversary of EMAC. The book series will have two types of publications. The first type will include the best papers from EMAC annual and regional conferences. A new book will be published each year. The second publication type welcomes EMAC members to propose diverse ideas for practitioner-oriented books and textbooks. Another new EMAC initiative is the launch of a code of conduct. According to Elif, diversity and inclusivity are at the heart of EMAC; and any research ideas that have the potential to advance marketing research will always be welcomed.

The stories behind the conference

As most academics learn, conferences are not just places to work; they provide opportunities to learn, network, discover new places, and overall, have some fun.

“It was always a combination of fun and doing work, working hard”

Peter Leeflang

One beautiful thing Elif mentions about EMAC is that; once you attend an EMAC conference, you will make friends from all over the world! Peter shared with us that he met his lifelong friend the late Dick Wittink (Yale) at the Marketing Science conference that Wittink founded. Their bond grew so strong that they had rooms in one another’s homes. Over the years, they didn’t just become great friends, they also collaborated on numerous research projects and wrote several books.

Beyond making new friends and connections, conferences often provide us with fun anecdotes. We asked Peter and Elif to share some of these memories.

Picture this, it was the 1980s and Toronto hosted the EMAC conference. As Peter recalls, the conference was much smaller then. And to make things easy for everyone, all the attendees including professors and students, were staying at the same hotel. One cold night, the fire alarm went off (fortunately, it was a false alarm) and everyone rushed out in their pyjamas! Peter recalls his surprise (and relief) to see everyone in their pyjamas, making everyone look much more approachable. Tip for young conference attendees: remember to pack your pretty PJs.

Another unexpectedly funny moment popped into Elif’s memory. As a PhD student attending her first EMAC conference in Porto, she recalls the EMAC gala evening. The venue was stunning. But what stuck with her most? Watching respected, senior marketing professors dancing their hearts out. Pure joy. Total surprise.

Meet Peter Leeflang and Elif Karaosmanoğlu

We asked them both; if EMAC had a theme song, what would it be and why?

For Peter, the song that best represents EMAC is “We are the world” performed by U.S.A for Africa, a group of 44 American artists, led by Harry Belafonte, Jenny Rogers, Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. He clarified that for him, this choice doesn’t mean that EMAC is the world. Rather, this song highlights the theme that we are working for a better world, not only in science and marketing but also outside academia.

Elif kindly gave us two options, each allowing for different interpretations of the EMAC experience. The song that came first to her when we asked this question was “We Are the Champions” by Queen. A true classic. But she wanted to give us a recent song that speaks to the younger newer generation attending the EMAC conference. So, she also mentioned the song “Unstoppable” by The Score. To her, both songs transparently represent her view of the conferences and the EMAC community.