Dr Brendan Keegan

    School of Business

    Lecturer/Assistant Professor

    (01) 474 7530

    Biography

    Brendan is a lecturer in marketing, specialising in digital and social media marketing, analytics in strategic decision-making and digital placemaking. He has taught at third level for over 12 years across a range of modules, more recently drawing upon his research expertise to deliver modules in the areas of digital marketing analytics and their role in strategy development and strategic decision-making. Brendan is the Principal Investigator for the ongoing digital placemaking research within the GoGreenRoutes Project which involves collaboration with up to 80 academics and Doctoral students across 40 different institutions.  

    Other areas of interest are as follows:
    Digital and Social Media Marketing Analytics in Organisations
    • Search Engine Optimisation Social Media Marketing
    • Social Media Marketing
    • Digital/Online Public Relations
    • Web 2.0 Applications in Marketing
    • User Experience Design & Testing
    • Biometrics in User testing and UX Design
    • Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Marketing
    Strategic Decision Making in Marketing
    • Strategic Marketing Planning
    • Marketing Communications Analytics and Evaluation
    • Co-Creation in Digital and Social Media Marketing
    • Agency-Client Relationships in Business
    • B2B Marketing Relationships
    Digital Placemaking
    • Digital urban management solutions
    • Place management in the digital age
    • Digital innovation in nature based solutions
    • Placemaking analytics
    Brendan is also a National Mendeley Advisor

    Research Interests

    My research comprises of three interrelated strands, bound together through the role of digital analytics in decision making, namely: 
    1. the role of digital analytics in marketing decision-making;
    2. application of artificial intelligence in marketing, and
    3. the interlink between digital placemaking and health and wellbeing. 
    My PhD research examined the influence of social media analytics upon marketing agency-client relationships. My ongoing research has examined how analytics techniques play a role in the development of business intelligence, such as: big data analytics, social media monitoring, quantitative sentiment analysis, tie-strength analysis, semiotic analysis, semantic content analysis, text- based data mining, Twitter trend extrapolation and meme mapping. 

    Research Projects

      Project Role Funding Body / Program Description Start Date End Date Award (€)
    Digital Blue Health Principal Investigator / 01-SEP-21 31-AUG-22 5000
    GoGreenRoutes MMU Transfer PI EU Horizon 2020 / Societal Challenge 5 Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials 21-JUL-21 31-AUG-24 157241.3
    GoGreenRoutes Principal Investigator for the role of Digital Placemaking in Nature Based Solutions / Non Commercial 01-SEP-20 31-AUG-24 219000

    Book Chapters

      Year Publication
    2022 'Social Media Data in Digital Placemaking'
    Keegan, B. J. and Schifanella, R. (2022) 'Social Media Data in Digital Placemaking' In: The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Marketing. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. [Details]
    2021 'Keeping Pace with the Digital Transformation of Place'
    Brendan James Keegan (2021) 'Keeping Pace with the Digital Transformation of Place' In: A Research Agenda for Place Branding. London: Elgar. [DOI] [Details]
    2020 'Ethics and New Media, A Double-Edged Sword: A Case Study of Digital Marketing Adoption in the Charity Sector'
    Brendan James Keegan; Lee Smorthit (2020) 'Ethics and New Media, A Double-Edged Sword: A Case Study of Digital Marketing Adoption in the Charity Sector' In: The SAGE Handbook of Marketing Ethics. UK: SAGE. [Details]

    Peer Reviewed Journals

      Year Publication
    2022 'A mixed-methods exploration of virtual reality as a tool to promote green exercise'
    Calogiuri G.;Keegan B.J.;Birkheim S.L.;Rydgren T.L.;Flaten O.E.;Fröhlich F.;Litleskare S. (2022) 'A mixed-methods exploration of virtual reality as a tool to promote green exercise'. Scientific Reports, 12 (1) [DOI] [Details]
    2022 'Power negotiation on the tango dancefloor: The adoption of AI in B2B marketing'
    Keegan B.J.;Canhoto A.I.;Yen D.A.W. (2022) 'Power negotiation on the tango dancefloor: The adoption of AI in B2B marketing'. Industrial Marketing Management, 100 :36-48 [DOI] [Details]
    2022 'Implementing Artificial Intelligence in Traditional B2B Marketing Practices: An Activity Theory Perspective'
    Brendan James Keegan; Denis Dennehy; Pete Naudé (2022) 'Implementing Artificial Intelligence in Traditional B2B Marketing Practices: An Activity Theory Perspective'. Information Systems Frontiers, [DOI] [Details]
    2022 'Social Media Marketing Strategy in English Football Clubs'
    McCarthy, J; Rowley, J; Keegan, B J (2022) 'Social Media Marketing Strategy in English Football Clubs'. Soccer and Society, [DOI] [Details]
    2021 'Shedding the pounds by quitting the cookies'
    Keegan, Brendan James (2021) 'Shedding the pounds by quitting the cookies'. Applied Marketing Analytics, 7 (1):4-5 [Details]
    2021 'Understanding Sporting Social Media Brand Communities, Place and Social Capital: A Netnography of Football Fans'
    Alex Fenton;Brendan James Keegan;Keith D. Parry; (2021) 'Understanding Sporting Social Media Brand Communities, Place and Social Capital: A Netnography of Football Fans'. Communication & Sport, [DOI] [Details]
    2021 'Place and Destination Branding: A Review and Conceptual Mapping of the Domain'
    Sonya Hanna;Jennifer Rowley;Brendan James Keegan; (2021) 'Place and Destination Branding: A Review and Conceptual Mapping of the Domain'. European Management Review, 18 (2) [DOI] [Details]
    2020 'An overview of systematic literature reviews in social media marketing'
    Jennifer Rowley;Brendan James Keegan; (2020) 'An overview of systematic literature reviews in social media marketing'. Journal of Information Science, [DOI] [full-text] [Details]
    2019 'The use of Facebook in the recruitment of foster carers: A dialogic analysis'
    Rachel Stringfellow;Brendan James Keegan;Jennifer Rowley; (2019) 'The use of Facebook in the recruitment of foster carers: A dialogic analysis'. Journal of Public Affairs, [DOI] [Details]
    2019 'Are You Local (SEO)? Understanding The Challenges Of Local SEO Strategies'
    Brendan James Keegan, James Taylor (2019) 'Are You Local (SEO)? Understanding The Challenges Of Local SEO Strategies'. Journal Of Digital And Social Media Marketing, [Details]
    2017 'Marketing Agency-Client Relationships: Towards A Research Agenda'
    Brendan James Keegan; Jennifer Rowley; Jane Tonge (2017) 'Marketing Agency-Client Relationships: Towards A Research Agenda'. European Journal of Marketing, [DOI] [Details]
    2017 'Evaluation and decision making in social media marketing'
    Brendan James Keegan; Jennifer Rowley (2017) 'Evaluation and decision making in social media marketing'. Management Decision, [DOI] [full-text] [Details]
    2012 'Making digital literacy a success in taught marketing courses'
    Robin Johnson, David Edmundson-Bird, Brendan James Keegan (2012) 'Making digital literacy a success in taught marketing courses'. Enhancing Learning in the Social Sciences, [DOI] [full-text] [Details]

    Conference Publications

      Year Publication
    2022 Digital Blue Health: Examining the role of digital placemaking in community well-being amongst Blue Health (open water swimming) groups
    Brendan James Keegan; Sheila Malone (2022) Digital Blue Health: Examining the role of digital placemaking in community well-being amongst Blue Health (open water swimming) groups Academy of Marketing [Details]
    2022 Consumer and brand value creation and co-creation in cosmetics social media brand communities
    Magda Marchowska-Raza, Jennifer Rowley & Brendan James Keegan (2022) Consumer and brand value creation and co-creation in cosmetics social media brand communities CBR 2022 (7th International Consumer Brand Relationship Conference) [Details]
    2019 Football club social media strategies in a tribal and polarised climate
    Jeff McCarthy; Jennifer Rowley; Brendan James Keegan (2019) Football club social media strategies in a tribal and polarised climate Football Collective 2019 [Details]
    2018 Looking back, Going forward: the role and nature of systematic literature reviews in digital marketing: a meta-analysis
    Jennifer Rowley; Brendan James Keegan (2018) Looking back, Going forward: the role and nature of systematic literature reviews in digital marketing: a meta-analysis Academy of Marketing [Details]
    2018 Slave To The Algorithm: Are Keywords Killing The Creativity Of SMEs?
    Brendan James Keegan; Jayne Rodgers (2018) Slave To The Algorithm: Are Keywords Killing The Creativity Of SMEs? Academy of Marketing [Details]
    2017 Education 2.1? Continuing The Search for Digital Platforms Supporting Learning Technology
    Brendan James Keegan (2017) Education 2.1? Continuing The Search for Digital Platforms Supporting Learning Technology Association for Learning Technology Annual Conference [Details]
    2017 The Ethical Implications of Social Media in Marketing
    Brendan James Keegan (2017) The Ethical Implications of Social Media in Marketing International Marketing Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Symposium, University of Notre Dame [Details]
    2016 Instagrams #fitspiration Trend and Its Effect on Young Womens Self-Esteem
    Dee Goldstraw; Brendan James Keegan (2016) Instagrams #fitspiration Trend and Its Effect on Young Womens Self-Esteem 29th Bled eConference [Details]
    2016 The Use of Twitter in Taught Digital Marketing Modules
    Brendan James Keegan; David Edmundson-Bird; Robin Johnson (2016) The Use of Twitter in Taught Digital Marketing Modules Use of Twitter Data for Research. National University of Ireland Galway [Details]
    2016 Social Media As A Media Relations Tool?
    Dee Goldstraw; Brendan James Keegan (2016) Social Media As A Media Relations Tool? EUPRERA Congress [Details]
    2016 Improving the customer experience in retail locations: The Game of Towns
    Cathy Parker, Simon Quin, Nikos Ntounis, Steve Millington, Dominic Medway, Cathy Urquhart, Ed Dargan, Brendan James Keegan (2016) Improving the customer experience in retail locations: The Game of Towns AR and VR Conference: Perspectives on Business Realities of AR and VR, Dublin Institute of Technology [Details]
    2016 The evaluation of social media use: A longitudinal study
    Brendan James Keegan (2016) The evaluation of social media use: A longitudinal study Academy of Marketing [Details]
    2014 Co-creation in Social Media Marketing Strategy: Re-evaluating the Agency-Client Relationship, An Extended Abstract
    Brendan James Keegan (2014) Co-creation in Social Media Marketing Strategy: Re-evaluating the Agency-Client Relationship, An Extended Abstract Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science [DOI] [Details]
    2014 The Red Thread: An exploration of The Silo Effect in Digital Marketing
    Brendan James Keegan; David Edmundson-Bird; Rachel McLean (2014) The Red Thread: An exploration of The Silo Effect in Digital Marketing Academy of Marketing e-Marketing SIG Conference [Details]
    2011 Exploring The Impact of Agency Client Relationships in Digital Marketing
    Keegan, Brendan James; (2011) Exploring The Impact of Agency Client Relationships in Digital Marketing Academy of Marketing, Southampton [Details]
    2011 Counting Comments: A critical appraisal of the evaluation of social media campaigns by UK digital marketing practitioners
    Keegan, Brendan James; (2011) Counting Comments: A critical appraisal of the evaluation of social media campaigns by UK digital marketing practitioners Doctoral Symposium [Details]

    Conference Contributions

      Year Publication
    2022 Virtual nature to promote visitation of actual natural environments – An exploratory mixed-methods study.
    Giovanna Calogiuri; Brendan James Keegan; Sigbjørn Litleskare; Siv Lena Birkheim; Tore Litlere Rydgren; Ole Einar Flaten; Fred Fröhlich (2022) Virtual nature to promote visitation of actual natural environments – An exploratory mixed-methods study. [Invited Oral Presentation], 17th European Congress of Psychology, Ljubljana, Slovenia , 05-JUL-22 - 07-JUL-22 [Details]
    2022 Can digital placemaking improve mental health through nature?.
    Maria Fernandez de Osso Fuentes, Brendan James Keegan, Marc Jones, Tadhg MacIntyre (2022) Can digital placemaking improve mental health through nature?. [Oral Presentation], The Nature of Cities, Online [Details]

    Published Reports

      Year Publication
    2022 GoGreenRoutes: Terms of reference for urban well-being labs and associated local task forces in each of the Cultivating Cities.
    Brendan James Keegan (2022) GoGreenRoutes: Terms of reference for urban well-being labs and associated local task forces in each of the Cultivating Cities. Horizon 2020 European Commission, GoGreenRoutes. [Details]

    Magazine Article

      Year Publication
    2021 Are You Social Media Savvy?.
    Brendan James Keegan (2021) Are You Social Media Savvy?. Retail News: Magazine Article [Details]

    Magazine Article

      Year Publication
    2013 Disgruntled customers waging a social media war.
    Brendan JAmes Keegan (2013) Disgruntled customers waging a social media war. The Conversation: Magazine Article [Details]
    2013 Twitter app stops you Breaking Bad news to good people.
    Brendan James Keegan (2013) Twitter app stops you Breaking Bad news to good people. The Conversation: Magazine Article [Details]
    2013 Twitter data puts music moguls back in the game.
    Brendan James Keegan (2013) Twitter data puts music moguls back in the game. The Conversation: Magazine Article [Details]

    Professional Associations

      Association Function From / To
    Academy of Marketing (UK) Academic Member 01-JUN-10 /
    Digital Analytics Association Full Member 01-JAN-14 /
    Manchester Digital Development Association Academic Member 01-AUG-08 /
    Higher Education Academy (UK) Fellow 01-JAN-17 /
    Greater Manchester AI Foundry Advisory Board Member 04-JAN-21 /
    Academy of Marketing Science Academic Member 01-JUN-15 /

    Employment

      Employer Position From / To
    Manchester Metropolitan University Senior Lecturer in Digital Marketing 04-SEP-06 / 30-JUN-21
    w00tmedia Digital Marketing Executive 02-JUN-08 / 05-JAN-09

    Education

      Year Institution Qualification Subject
    2007 Manchester Metropolitan University Master of Science in Digital Marketing Communications Digital Marketing Communications
    2018 Manchester Metropolitan University Business School PhD Social Media Analytics and the Agency-Client Relationship

    Consultancy

      Client Description
    Pinecone Ltd.
    Developed a digital marketing strategy in the promotion of an online system for managing school tours.

    Outreach Activities

      Description

    I serve as a judge for a number of digital industry awards in the UK.

    Reviews

      Journal Role
    European Journal Of Marketing Reviewer
    Journal Of Place Management And Development Member of the Editorial Board
    Journal Of Digital And Social Media Marketing Member of the Editorial Board
    Management Decision Reviewer

    Other Activities

      Description

    Examiner of PhD Thesis for Technical University Dublin

    Examiner of DBA Thesis for University of Liverpool

    External Examiner of M.Phil Thesis for University of Manchester Business School

    External Examiner for D.BA Viva at University of Liverpool

    External Examiner at Ulster University for their BA in Marketing Management

    External Advisor at University of Middlesex. External advisor for validation event (BA in Digital Marketing MSc in Digital Marketing)

    External Examiner for Technical University Dublin - MSc Digital Marketing and Analytics

    External Examiner for Salford University - Business Information Technology Department (Undergraduate and Postgraduate)

    Teaching Interests

    I have been an educator of marketing at third level for over eleven years. Due to my specialism in digital marketing analytics, it requires me to use strong communication skills to conveying complex technical subject matter and analytical techniques into digestible course material. Given the fast pace and dynamic nature of the digital marketing environment, I am highly motivated to continually develop and adapt module content to ensure it is contemporary and aligns with industry trends.

    My teaching philosophy is research informed, an approach that provides a clear link between theory and practice. In doing so, I strive to underpin my teaching with both marketing theory and with up to date industry skillsets, which contribute greatly to graduate employability. 

    Internal Collaborators

      Name Institute Country
    María José Fernández De Ossó Fuentes
    Tadhg MacIntyre IRELAND