ACU Researcher

Dr Murooj Yousef

Lecturer
Peter Faber Business School

Areas of expertise: marketing; social marketing; advertising; communication; behaviour change; digital marketing; social media marketing; emotional appeals; message framing; emotions; social issues; health issues; environmental issues; consumer behaviour; advertising effectiveness; intervention evaluation

Phone: 0294659274

Email: Murooj.yousef@acu.edu.au

Location: ACU North Sydney Campus

HDR Supervisor accreditation status: HDR Supervisor (Provisional)

ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8215-2627

Dr Murooj Yousef (she/her) is a renowned expert in behaviour change, specialising in community engagement through effective communication and persuasive messaging techniques. Published in high-ranking journals, she has presented at industry and research conferences globally, earning accolades such as a finalist for the AMI Marketing Excellence Awards 2023, the Best Paper Award at ISMC 2022, and recognition as the most cited author at the Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing.

Dr Yousef has secured over $5 million in research funding across diverse projects, including empowering teachers to tackle youth vaping, encouraging recycling, reducing food waste in tourism, examining the efficacy of vaccination campaigns, and reducing drink driving. Her research findings have been integrated into government and non-government initiatives, enhancing the effectiveness of communication campaigns. She has collaborated with organisations such as Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency, Sunshine Coast Council, Positive Adolescent Sexual Health, and the NSW Environment Protection Authority.

Her research explores the role of emotions and communication in driving positive health, social, and environmental behaviour change. Passionate about empowering communities, Dr Yousef equips them with the knowledge and resources to make informed decisions. Her commitment to education and effective communication underpins her examination of intervention effectiveness, providing actionable insights for researchers and practitioners.

Select publications

• Yousef, M., Rundle-Thiele, S., Dietrich, T., (2021) Advertising Appeals Effectiveness: A Systematic Literature Review, Health Promotion International. §

• Yousef, M., Dietrich, T., Rundle-Thiele, S., Alhabash, S (2022), Emotional appeals effectiveness in enhancing charity digital advertisements, Journal of Philanthropy and Marketing 27 (4), e1763.

• Yousef, M., Dietrich, T., Rundle-Thiele, S. (2021) Social Advertising Effectiveness in Driving Action: A Study of Positive, Negative and Coactive Appeals on Social Media. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, (11), 5954.

• Duffy, S.; Van Esch, P.; Yousef, M., (2020) Increasing parental leave uptake: A systems social marketing approach. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ) 2020, 28, (2), 110-118.

• A Sewak, M Yousef, S Deshpande, T Seydel, N Hashemi. (2023) The effectiveness of digital sexual health interventions for young adults: a systematic literature review (2010-2020) Health Promotion International 38 (1), daac104.

• M Yousef, T Dietrich, S Rundle-Thiele (2022) Actions Speak Louder Than Words: Sentiment and Topic Analysis of COVID-19 Vaccination on Twitter and Vaccine Uptake JMIR Formative Research 6 (9), e37775.

• B Pang, A Zhang, T Seydel, P David, M Yousef, S Rundle-Thiele (2023) Reducing koala roadkill: a social marketing formative study. Wildlife Research.

Projects

• Blurred Minds Academy: Department of Education and Training - $5000000 - 2023-2029

• PASH - $20000 - Northern NSW Local Health District (2021)

• Co-designing solutions to reduce the effects of light on turtle population - 2023-2024 (consultancy)

• Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency Campaign development and evaluation for anti-drink-driving campaign - 2023-2024 (consultancy)

• O-It campaign for reducing clothes waste - National Association of Charitable Recycling Organisations (NACRO) (2020)

Awards

• Finalist - AMI Marketing Excellence Award (2023)

• Highly Commended Paper International Social Marketing Conference (ISMC) 2022

• Nudgethon National Award - QUT BEST Centre (2021)

• Griffith Business School innovation award - 2022.

Appointments and Affiliations

• CPM - Australian Marketing Institute

• Lecturer - ACU

• Research Fellow - Griffith University

Public engagement

• O-it campaign to reduce clothes landfill waste (see report)

• Turtle Conservation - Sunshine Coast Council (see report)

• Positive Adolescent Sexual Health Education - Northern NSW Local Health District (evaluation underway)

• Blurred Minds Academy - alcohol, drug and vaping education (Website)

• Waka Kotahi Would You Rather Campaign Evaluation (link)