Grant Packard
consumer
language
enthusiast
Hello, I'm Grant.
I'm an associate professor of marketing at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto, Canada.
I study the production and consumption of language in the marketplace. My research examines topics from how and why consumers talk about products in online reviews and social media, to the words customer service and salespeople use when speaking to customers, to how language is consumed in cultural products (e.g., song lyrics, article writing).
My work has been covered by media including CBC, The Globe and Mail, Harvard Business Review, National Geographic, NPR, and The Wall Street Journal. My original research has appeared at top peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Marketing Science, Psychological Science, and MIT Sloan Management Review, and is frequently presented at major conferences.
My managerial background includes leadership roles in cultural product retailing and e-commerce (Indigo Books & Music Inc.), online media (Excite, Kanetix, Lavalife), and developing advertising and online marketing for consumer products, retailers, and financial services (e.g., Burger King, Gillette, Kraft Foods, Scotiabank).
Curious? Check out some press coverage below, access the original research papers, read my bio and CV, or contact me!
Discover Magazine, "People Like Songs About 'You'"
MIT Sloan Management Review, "Speaking to Customers in Uncertain Times"
Harvard Business Review, "The Words and Phrases to Use When Talking to Customers"
Wall Street Journal, "Why Customer Service Reps Should Say 'I,' Not 'We'"
Globe and Mail, "Why Saying 'I' and not 'We' Matters When Engaging Customers"
Nature, "Replication Failures in Psychology Not Due to Study Populations"
The Atlantic, "Psychology's Replication Crisis is Running Out of Excuses"
Psychology Today, "Why Do Some Songs Become Popular?"
Globe and Mail, "Attention Online Shoppers: Beware the Know-it-All Reviewers"
