Brandi Watkins

Brandi Watkins, Associate Professor

_{School of Communication

101 Shanks Hall

181 Turner Street, NW

Blacksburg, VA 24061

brandi1@vt.edu}

Brandi Watkins is an associate professor in the School of Communication. Her research looks at how organizations use social media to create, maintain, and enhance relationships with their publics. Most of her research is conducted in the context of professional sports.

Principal Areas of Research Focus

Public Relations in Sports
Social Media
Corporate Communication
Branding
Gender

Education

PhD, University of Alabama, 2013
MA, University of Alabama, 2008
BA, Mississippi University for Women, 2006

Professional Roles

Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication
International Communication Association
American Academy of Advertising

Awards and Honors

Graduate Teaching Assistantship, College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama, 2011-2013
Travel Fund Award, Graduate School at the University of Alabama, 2013
Top Paper Award, BEA Proposals in Progress Competition, April 2012

Publications

Select Journal Articles

Watkins, B. (2014). An integrated approach to Sports Branding: Examining the Influence of Social Media on Brand Outcomes. The International Journal of Strategic Communication (6)2, 20-30.

Watkins, B., & Lewis, R. (2014). Winning with apps: A case study of the current branding strategies employed on professional sport team mobile apps. International Journal of Sport Communication 7, 399-416. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/IJSC.2014-0009

Watkins, B., & Lewis, R. (2014). Initiating dialogue on social media: An investigation of athletes’ use of dialogic principles and structural features of Twitter. Public Relations Review 40 (853-855).