Dr Helen O'Sullivan
- 01202 962205
- hosullivan@bournemouth.ac.uk
- Deputy Head of Department in Marketing, Strategy and Innovation
- Dorset House D233, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, BH12 5BB
Biography
Dr Helen O’Sullivan is a Chartered Marketer and Senior Fellow of The Higher Education Academy. She has worked within Higher Education for the past 20 years. Over the past ten years, Helen has held Senior Exec Leadership roles such as Head of Education, Deputy Head of Department for the Department of Marketing, Strategy and Innovation and the Department of Sport & Event Management. She has also held Interim positions as the Head of Department for the Departments of People and Organisations, and Marketing, Strategy and Innovation.
Prior to academia, Helen worked in Journalism, Marketing and Events Management roles within Higher Education and Commercial Radio, in the UK and Australia.
Helen is passionate about both Education and Marketing and committed to giving people from all backgrounds the access to education they deserve.
Research
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Branding in Higher Education 2014 – 2022 Antecedents, consequences and nature of Brand Success in UK Post-92 HEIs.
Dr O'Sullivan's research interests are predominantly focused on the interplay between social psychology and societal marketing in the process of behavioural change and human progress for positive social outcomes.
Her publications sit in the domains of branding for NPOs, Quality education, representing marginalised groups in higher education, the social value of higher education, consumer psychology, cultural studies, freedom of expression, and issues of identity.
Funded research projects Social profiles of Spanish and British Universities: The role of Social Media in online brand management. Funded by the Extremadura Government, Spain. 2015- present
Favourites
- Alshikhy, T., O'Sullivan, H., Polkinghorne, M. and Gennings, E., 2025. The Role and Impact of Sporting Mega-Events in the Context of Soft Power. Encyclopedia, 5 (31), 1-22.
- Liang, Y., Chen, S., Abeyskera, R., O'Sullivan, H., Bray, J. and Keevill-Savage, I., 2024. Examining the adoption of technology-enhanced learning in universities and its effects on student performance, satisfaction, and motivation. Computers and Education Open, 7.
- O'Sullivan, H., Chapleo, C. and Cownie, F., 2024. . Location, Vocation, Education: Place Marketing in the context of English ‘new’ universities. Pannon Management Review.
- Alcaide-Pulido, P., O’Sullivan, H. and Chapleo, C., 2024. The application of an innovative model to measure university brand image. Differences between English, Spanish and Portuguese undergraduate students. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 34 (1), 283-300.
- O'Sullivan, H., Polkinghorne, M. and Taylor, J., 2022. Investigating the Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Undergraduate Business Education: Using Learning Gain as a Measure to Compare Two Cohorts of Marketing Students. Businesses, 2 (2), 214-227.
- O’sullivan, H. and Ngugi, I., 2022. Marketing Mix.
- O’sullivan, H., Alcaide-Pulido, P. and Buhalis, D., 2022. Corporate Reputation.
- O'Sullivan, H., 2022. Antecedents, nature and consequences of brand success in comparable newer universities. PhD Thesis. Bournemouth University Business School.
- O'Sullivan, H. and Zhu, H., 2020. Shhhh! Chinese students are studying quietly in the UK. Innovations in Education and Teaching International.
- Leijerholt, U., Chapleo, C. and O’Sullivan, H., 2019. A brand within a brand: an integrated understanding of internal brand management and brand architecture in the public sector. Journal of Brand Management, 26 (3), 277-290.
- Chapleo, C. and O’Sullivan, H., 2017. Contemporary thought in higher education marketing. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education, 27 (2), 159-161.
- Bolat, E. and O’Sullivan, H., 2017. Radicalising the marketing of higher education: learning from student-generated social media data. Journal of Marketing Management, 33 (9-10), 742-763.
- O'Sullivan, H., Chapleo, C. and Garcia Garcia, M., 2016. The role of social media in university brand strategy; an exploration. In: Contemporary Thought in HE Marketing. Academy of Marketing 27 April 2016 Bournemouth University.
- O'Sullivan, H., Bolat, E. and sreedharan, C., 2016. Listening to students' conversations and stories - how, what and where? In: Contemporary Thought in HE Marketing. The Academy of Marketing. 27 April 2016 Bournemouth Univeristy.
- O'Sullivan, H., 2016. What is Brand Success in Post-92 UK HEIs? In: Academy of Marketing Annual Conference 2016 4-7 July 2016 Newcastle Business School.
- Bolat, E., O'Sullivan, H. and Sreedharan, C., 2016. Radicalising the Marketing of Higher Education: Learning from students - generated social media data. In: Academy of Marketing 4-7 July 2016 Newcastle, UK.
- Bolat, E., O'Sullivan, H. and Sreedharan, C., 2016. Listening to students' conversations and stories - how, what and where? In: Contemporary Thought in HE Marketing Colloquium. 27 April 2016 Bournemouth, UK.
- O'Sullivan, H., 2015. The Impact of consumer culture in higher education. In: 2015 Academy of Marketing Conference 7-9 July 2015 University of Limerick.
- O'Sullivan, H., 2015. Assessing and Understanding the influences on brand effectiveness in different contexts. A study of UK higher education as it moves towards marketisation. In: 2015 Academy of Marketing Conference 6-7 July 2015 University of Limerick.
- OSullivan, H., 2015. How do we measure successful HEI brands? In: Bournemouth University Research Conference 27-28 January 2015 Bournemouth University.
- O'Sullivan, H., 2015. Branding success in post-92 HEIs. In: The 7th Annual Postgraduate Conference 20-21 January 2015 Bournemouth University.
- O'Sullivan, H., 2007. The importance of work-based learning in partnership with the local college. In: Work-Based Learning Conference 21-28 June 2007 Bournemouth University.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person's work contributes towards the following SDGs:
Good health and well-being
"Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages"
Quality education
"Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all"
