
Michael Basil
- Faculty
- Dhillon School of Business - Marketing
- Office: M4057
- Phone: (403) 329-2075
- Email:
- Phone: (403) 329-2075
- Director
- Dhillon School of Business - ICSW
- Office: M4057
- Phone: (403) 329-2075
Degrees
A.B. (Psychology); A.M., Ph.D. (Communication Research)Expertise
Advertising, Celebrity effects, Consumer message processing, Social marketing, Marketing of healthy foods, Marketing management and stategyResearch Areas
Farmer's marketsPrevious Research Areas
Advertising, Celebrity effects, Social marketingOffice Hours
by appointment 10:00 AM to 11:00 AMAbout Me
The best way to reach me is by email at: michael.basil@uleth.ca.Biography
Mike grew up in California in the 1970s. While he was earning his bachelor's and master's degrees he worked as a social activist focusing on consumer protection, environmental issues and nuclear disarmament. After receiving his masters degree, Mike worked as a substitute teacher in southern California and as an ESL (English as Second Language) teacher in Tokyo Japan.Mike earned his PhD at Stanford University, studying advertising, how people process persuasive messages, and research methods. He started his academic career at the University of Hawaii (1991-1994), and began to study the effect of celebrities. Mike went to the University of Denver (1994-2000), and began collaborating with Porter Novelli and the US Centers for Disease Control on the application of communication and marketing theory, techniques, and data to enhance public health.
He joined the University of Lethbridge in 2000 where he is currently a professor of marketing. Mike has been a visiting scholar at the University of Wollongong in Australia in 2008-2009 and Grenoble Ecole de Management in France in 2013.
Mike's research has focused on social marketing - using marketing to improve people's lives. Currently he is focused on the role of experiences in enriching people's lives -- this research has examined fine dining, travel, and recreational activities such as long-distance hiking.
Selected Publications
A complete listing of publications can be seen on my full CV. Some area highlights:Celebrity effects
Consumer message processing
Leisure experiences
Marketing of healthy and tasty food
Social marketing
Visual research methods
Research Interests
Originally Mike's research focused on marketing communication -- advertising, celebrity effects, and consumer message processing. He is currently focused on marketing strategy -- how products or services can best meet consumer needs. Mike is especially interested in how food consumption is shaped by factor such as taste, convenience, and nutrition. He is also interested in the role of leisure experiences in people's lives, including fine dining, travel, and recreational activities. Although he is most familiar with quantitative methods, Mike is also interested in the application of qualitative, historical, narrative, and visual methods.His full academic vita is available below.
Current Research and Creative Activity
Title | Location | Grant Information | Principal Investigator | Co Researchers |
---|---|---|---|---|
Farmer’s markets as a distribution and retail channel. (Comparing Lethbridge Farmer’s markets with those in Italy) | Lethbridge, Italy |