Dr Hayley Cocker

Senior Lecturer

Research Overview

Hayley's research covers various aspects of consumer culture, with a particular emphasis on influencers, influencer marketing, and the creator economy.

Hayley is the deputy director for the Centre for Consumption Insights. Her research has appeared in international peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Consumer Research, European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Business Research, Marketing Theory and Journal of Marketing Management.

Hayley's research and expertise on influencers has featured in media outlets such as The Guardian, The Observer, Business Insider, and The Daily Express.

Current Teaching

Hayley was awarded Lancaster University's 'Pilkington Teaching Award 2023' and the 'Early Career Teacher of the Year Award 2017' at Lancaster University Management School's Dean Awards.

She has recently designed and developed two new courses on influencer marketing. Hayley teaches these modules at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Current teaching includes:

Undergraduate Teaching

MKTG6009 Influencer Marketing (Module Leader, delivered on our BSc Advertising & Digital Marketing programme)

MKTG5010 Creative Advertising

Postgraduate Teaching

MKTG7202 Influencer Marketing (Module Leader, delivered on our MSc Digital & Social Media Marketing programme)

Professional Role

I am currently the director of the BSc Advertising and Digital Marketing Programme. Prior to this, I was the Programme Director for the MSc Marketing for 3 years from September 2018 to August 2021.

PhD Supervisions Completed

Charlotte John (2025) "Esports and the spatial legitimation of a market"

Anuja Pradhan (2020) "‘Strategies from below’: Middle-class British Indian consumers’ navigations of ethnic identification and intergenerational cultural transmission."

Virginia Mwangi (2018) "Social representations of marketplace immorality: The case of the Kenyan illicit alcohol market."

PhD Supervision Interests

I am interested in supervising PhD students in the broad area of Consumer Culture Theory (CCT), and in particular topics related to Celebrity Culture and Influencer Marketing.