Dr Wiebke Finkler, Our people, Department of Marketing, University of Otago, New Zealand

MSc, PhD(Otago)
Senior Lecturer

Wiebke Finkler image Room 4.19, Otago Business School
Tel +64 3 479 8167
Mob +64 21 181 2204
Email wiebke.finkler@otago.ac.nz

Research Lead, Visual Research & Creative Marketing Lab, Department of Marketing
Associate Editor of the Journal of Ecotourism
Divisional Teaching and Learning Committee
Chair, Departmental Teaching and Learning Team, Department of Marketing
Board Member of Alzheimer’s Otago
Board Member of Interpretation Network New Zealand

With a background in both natural and social sciences, and 18 years of industry experience in filmmaking (www.wiebkefinkler.com) my research interests focus on the power of creative communication for behaviour change, and how video, when combined with community based social marketing approaches can be used as a tool for sustainable management, conservation and social impact.

I have worked on a wide range of communication projects covering science, environmental, health and cross-cultural communication, and have a strong interest in developing visual storytelling and visual research as part of academic research methodologies and teaching innovation.

My research on sustainable tourism management focused on responsible whale watching (and other wildlife tourism encounters) using a quantitative-qualitative research approach to evaluate the role of marketing-based science communication for sustainable tourism marketing.

I also run hands-on creative communication workshops for academics, educators, students and non-academic audiences, and teach pocket filmmaking, including camera techniques, video editing, social media and storytelling.

Research interests

I established the Visual Research Lab focused on creative marketing for positive change. Three particular research themes are part of the Visual Research Lab: (1) visual campaigns (video/images and copywriting) for positive social, sustainability and conservation change, (2) storytelling using 360 video and ambisonic sound, and (3) science marketing.

Feel free to contact me about other related cross disciplinary research including the creative arts, behavioural change and visual communication.

Filmmaking and Storytelling
Marketing for positive change
Science Marketing
Community Based Social Marketing
Visual Research and Creative Strategies
Online teaching and student immersion
Responsible Marketing
Immersive 360 VR

Current research

Climate change communication on social media. Funded by Spanish Ministry of Science this project focuses on how to best communicate climate change through social media, with a particular focus on the role of storytelling, images and emotions.
The Power of Visual Media, User Generated Content and Cultural Storytelling for Online Teaching (UORG Project 1)
360° Videos for Immersive Teaching Online and in the Classroom for Secondary and Tertiary Education: the new frontier (UORG Project 2)
Centres for Asia Pacific Excellence (CAPEs) Project. Development of Culture Ready tourism training programme. Developing and evaluating a video-based online training programme focused on cross-cultural communication in collaboration with industry stakeholders.

Teaching responsibilities

MART 333 Creative Marketing Communication
MART 449 Creative Marketing for Behaviour Change, Sustainability and Social Good – distance paper
MART 469 Advertising Planning and Concept Development

Student supervision

Holly Kerehi Bates Williams, PhD, How can literary and visual media be used to alter public attitudes and behaviour toward New Zealand’s native birds?
Carissa Turner, PhD, From Caring to Action: What does it take to spark behavioural change in support of conservation?
Yang Yu, PhD, Making a Solitary Big Cat Social: Evaluating the Use of Social Media to Promote Snow Leopard Conservation in China
Maddison Smith, Master’s, Investigating the effectiveness of Action Spurs in storytelling for evoking efficacy and agency to adopt pro-environmental behaviours
Lily Bryden, Master’s, Fostering Dementia Friendly Communities: A Business Perspective

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Publications

Davis, L. S., Zhu, L., & Finkler, W. (2023). Citizen science: Is it good science? Sustainability, 15, 4577. doi: 10.3390/su15054577

Davis, L. S., León, B., Bourk, M. J., Zhu, L., & Finkler, W. (2022). Infotainment may increase engagement with science but it can decrease perceptions of seriousness. Sustainability, 14, 10659. doi: 10.3390/su141710659

Davis, L. S., Renner, M., Houston, D., Zhu, L., Finkler, W., & Mattern, T. (2022). The breeding biology of erect-crested penguins, Eudyptes sclateri: Hormones, behavior, obligate brood reduction and conservation. PLoS ONE, 17(10), e0275106. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275106

Finkler, W., & Davis, L. S. (2022). Filmmaking, affective communication, and the construction of tourism imaginaries: Putting the wow into sustainable whale watching. Tourism Culture & Communication, 27(2), 205-217. doi: 10.3727/109830421X16296375579651

Walters, T., Hassanli, N., & Finkler, W. (2022). The role of academic conferences in the [re]production of gender inequality in business disciplines: Not just a STEM problem. International Journal of Event & Festival Management, 13(1), 107-123. doi: 10.1108/IJEFM-07-2021-0065

Finkler, W., & Davis, S. (2021). The science of hope: Eye to eye with our world's wildlife hardcover. Exise Publishing, 160p.

Authored Book - Other

Finkler, W., & Aitken, R. (2021). Selling hope: Science marketing for sustainability. In F. Weder, L. Krainer & M. Karmasin (Eds.), The sustainability communication reader: A reflective compendium. (pp. 281-299). Wiesbaden, Germany: Springer VS. doi: 10.1007/978-3-658-31883-3_16

Chapter in Book - Research

Higham, J. E. S., & Hendry, W. F. (2008). Marine wildlife viewing: Insights into the significance of the viewing platform. In J. Higham & M. Lück (Eds.), Marine wildlife and tourism management: Insights from the natural and social sciences. (pp. 347-360). Wallingford, UK: CABI.

Chapter in Book - Research

Davis, L. S., Zhu, L., & Finkler, W. (2023). Citizen science: Is it good science? Sustainability, 15, 4577. doi: 10.3390/su15054577

Journal - Research Article

Albrecht, J. N., Haid, M., Finkler, W., & Heimerl, P. (2022). What's in a name? The meaning of sustainability to destination managers. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 30(1), 32-51. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2020.1868483

Journal - Research Article

Finkler, W., Medvecky, F., & Davis, L. S. (2021). Environmental immersion and mobile filmmaking for science education: A New Zealand pilot study. Interdisciplinary Journal of Environmental & Science Education, 17(1), e2228. doi: 10.29333/ijese/9155

Journal - Research Article

Haid, M., Albrecht, J. N., & Finkler, W. (2021). Sustainability implementation in destination management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 312, 127718. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127718

Journal - Research Article

León, B., Bourk, M., Finkler, W., Boykoff, M., & Davis, L. S. (2021). Strategies for climate change communication through social media: Objectives, approach, and interaction. Media International Australia. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/1329878X211038004

Journal - Research Article

Walters, T., Hassanli, N., & Finkler, W. (2021). Who is seen to be doing business research, and does it really matter? Gender representation at academic conferences. Equality, Diversity & Inclusion, 40(3), 338-354. doi: 10.1108/EDI-08-2019-0220

Journal - Research Article

Davis, L. S., León, B., Bourk, M. J., & Finkler, W. (2020). Transformation of the media landscape: Infotainment versus expository narrations for communicating science in online videos. Public Understanding of Science, 29(7), 688-701. doi: 10.1177/0963662520945136

Journal - Research Article

Finkler, W., & Higham, J. E. S. (2020). Stakeholder perspectives on sustainable whale watching: A science communication approach. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 28(4), 535-549. doi: 10.1080/09669582.2019.1684930

Journal - Research Article

Finkler, W., & Leon, B. (2019). The power of storytelling and video: A visual rhetoric for science communication. Journal of Science Communication, 18(5). doi: 10.22323/2.18050202

Journal - Research Article

Finkler, W., Higham, J. E. S., León, B., & Aitken, R. E. (2019). Bridging the void: Science communication videos for sustainable whale watching. International Journal of Science Education, Part B, 9(4), 312-326. doi: 10.1080/21548455.2019.1671636

Journal - Research Article

Higham, J., Cohen, S. A., Cavaliere, C. T., Reis, A., & Finkler, W. (2016). Climate change, tourist air travel and radical emissions reduction. Journal of Cleaner Production, 11, 336-347. doi: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2014.10.100

Journal - Research Article

Higham, J. E. S., Lusseau, D., & Hendry, W. (2008). Wildlife viewing: The significance of the viewing platforms. Journal of Ecotourism, 7(2&3), 132-141. doi: 10.1080/14724040802140501

Journal - Research Article

Finkler, W., & Higham, J. (2004). The human dimensions of whale watching: An analysis based on viewing platforms. Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 9(2), 103-117.

Journal - Research Article

Finkler, W. (2017). Using scicommercial videos to save the whales: Lessons from science communication for sustainable tourism management. In C. Lee, S. Filep, J. N. Albrecht & W. J. L. Coetzee (Eds.), Proceedings of the 27th Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE) Annual Conference. (pp. 970-974). Dunedin, New Zealand: Department of Tourism, University of Otago. [Full Paper]

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Full paper

Albrecht, J. N., Finkler, W., & Haid, M. (2021). Destination management for sustainability. Proceedings of the 31st Annual Council for Australasian Tourism and Hospitality Education (CAUTHE) Conference: Transformations in Uncertain Times, Future Perfect in Tourism, Hospitality and Events. (pp. 513). Retrieved from https://cauthe.org/