Research Interests

I study conversations, how we use them, how we interpret them, and how they impact us and our relationships.

Whether, it’s interpersonal communication, brand-consumer interactions, conversations with virtual assistants, or even the little voice inside our heads - I believe there’s a lot to be learned from a closer reading of our everyday conversations.

Research

Published Work

Oba, Demi, Holly Howe, Gavan J. Fitzsimons, “Just Teasing! Can Brands Build Strong Relationships by Making Fun of Their Consumers?” Journal of Consumer Research https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucae051

Oba, Demi, Jonah Berger, “How Communication Mediums Shape the Message”Journal of Consumer Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcpy.1372

Under Review

Oba, Demi, Jonah Berger, “The Persuasive Impact of Different Types of Hedges” (Conditionally Accepted) Journal of Consumer Psychology

Work In Progress

Oba, Demi, Lingrui Zhou, Holly Howe, Keisha Cutright, “The Dark Side of Consumer Engagement”
Invited talk by PepsiCo: Presented to PepsiCo CMO; VP, Creative and Production; Senior Marketing Director; Senior Director, In-House Content Studio

Oba, Demi, “From Corporation to Companion: A Conceptualization of Anthropomorphic Brand Voice”

Oba, Demi, Jonah Berger, “Thinking, Talking, and Writing: How Processing Modalities Affect Consumer Behavior” Data Collection in Progress

Howe, Holly, Demi Oba, Thomas Young, Marcelo Vinhal Nepomuceno, Consistency in Brand Communication Across Time and Platform Data Collection in Progress

Jacqueline Pan, Demi Oba, Gavan J. Fitzsimons, “The Double-Edged Sword of Observing Social Media Activism: The Impact of Relevance on Subsequent Prosocial Behavior” Working Paper

Oba, Demi, Shiri Melumad, “How Modality Affects Satisfaction with Virtual Assistants”

Sticks and stones may break my bones
but words, well they define me…