Researcher biography

Dr Cassandra France has a PhD in brand strategy and is a Lecturer at UQ in the Marketing Discipline.

After gaining industry experience working in brand strategy, advertising and marketing, Cassandra's research approach bridges theory and practice to better understand how contemporary branding phenomenon can be executed by brand managers.

Cassandra is interested in customer-brand relationships and has an increasing interest in the role of brands in contributing to society. Upcoming work is focused on brand purpose and non-profit brand vulnerability.

Her leading research explores how customer perceptions of value can be influenced by their own active behaviour. Specifically, how the act of co-creating the brand (by development, feedback, advocacy and helping) may impact the co-creators perceptions of value for the brand. Evidence of the value for the firm is clear, but consideration of how contributions may shift value perceptions for the co-creator is less well considered, although vital for long term engagement. Her work appears in the Journal of Brand Management, Journal of Marketing Management, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, among others.

Cassandra is also a dedicated educator, previously Program Leading the Master of Business at University of Queensland and receiving numerous awards for excellence in teaching, including the 2023 UQ Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, the 2022 BEL Award for Excellence in Student Learning and the 2021 UQ Business School Excellence Award for Student Engagement.

Cassandra has completed training in Supervising Doctoral Studies, Contemporary Expectations in HDR Supervision, Supervising Indigenous HDR candidates, Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Core Cultural Learning and Mental Health First Aid.