dr. SC (Sophie) Boerman

dr. SC (Sophie) Boerman

Associate Professor

Sophie C. Boerman (PhD, University of Amsterdam, 2014) is Associate Professor of Persuasive Communication in the Strategic Communication Group.

Her work focuses on how (digital) persuasive communication influences people’s beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. Communication on social media – such as messages by social media influencers, interactions between users, and advertisements – play an important role in what people know, think, and do. By studying what is being communicated and how this influences people, she aims to examine potential effective persuasive communication and ultimately contribute to the empowerment of people to make sustainable and healthy decisions.

Her work received awards from ICA, EAA, ASCoR, and SWOCC. Sophie was a top 5 finalist of the Women in AI Researcher Award 2023, and received a Best Reviewer Award of the International Journal of Advertising in 2022. She published in leading journals such as Communication Research, Journal of Communication, Computers in Human Behavior, Journal of Advertising, and Journal of Interactive Marketing.

Sophie is board member of the European Advertising Academy, SWOCC and GvR and chair of the Environmental Communication TWG of NeFCA. She is member of Wageningen Young Academy, ECoLab and expert groups Cosmetic Procedures and Better Personalized Ads 2022.

She is associate editor for International Journal of Advertising, and was associate editor for Journal of Interactive Advertising (2020-2022) and special issue editor for Media and Communication and Journal of Advertising. Sophie also serves/d in the editorial review board of Journal of Communication, Journal of Advertising, and International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Advertising Research and Tijdschrift voor Communicatiewetenschap.

Thesis How are healthy and sustainable decisions influenced by (digital) communication? and Investigating influencer content using the Influencer Monitor