3rd Asia-Pacific Marketing Academy Annual Conference held
On May 24, the 3rd Asia-Pacific Marketing Academy Annual Conference (APMA) was held at the Lihu Campus of Shenzhen University. Under the theme “Marketing Innovation Driven by New Technologies”, APMA 2025 seeks to foster academic dialogue on how emerging technologies can reshape marketing strategies and practices in the Asia-Pacific context. Over400 scholars from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Australia, the United States, Japan, Norway, and other regions world wide participated in the event, presenting papers and engaging in vibrant academic exchanges centeredon opportunities and challenges brought by new technologies to the marketing field.
Group Photo at the Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony was chaired by Prof. Zhimin Zhou, Chair of APMA 2025 and Professor at the College of Management, Shenzhen University. The keynote speech session was co-chaired by Prof. Yacheng Sun from Tsinghua University and Prof. Shixiong Liu from Shenzhen University.
In his address, Haizhong Wang, Chairman of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Alliance for Marketing (referred to as “the Alliance for Marketing”)and and professor at the School of Business, Sun Yat-sen University, expressed his hope to uphold APMA’s four principles–Global reach, Cutting-edge scholarship, Academic excellence and Vibrant dynamism – and to collaborate with attending scholars through exchange and cooperation to create a bright future for the marketing discipline.
Professor Haizhong Wang, Chairman of the Alliance for Marketing, delivers a speech.
The keynote sessions featured seven distinguished experts delivering insights across cutting-edge topics. Prof. Juan Li from the City University of Hong Kong shared insights on “Fostering Innovation for Resilience and Sustainable Transformation.” Professor Andrew Ching of Johns Hopkins University dissected the question “Are Exposure Bucks Worth It?” through a data-driven analysis of Instagram. Qiyuan Yao, Co-founder and CMO of Engin AI Robotics, discussed “Innovative Thinking on Sustainable Development of Commercial Models in the Era of Embodied Artificial Intelligence – ENGINEAI ROBOTICS,” complemented by a live demonstration of the company’s humanoid robot prototype. Prof. Xinyue Zhou from Zhejiang University addressed “Artificial Social Intelligence: Distinctive Ethical Challenges in Human-AI Interaction.” Prof. Leonard Lee of the National University of Singapore shared insights on “Promoting Pro-Environmental Attitudes and Behavior in Urban Mobility: The Role of Incentivized Personal Carbon Scores.” Prof. Shen Hao from the Chinese University of Hong Kong presented on “Effect-Driven Consumer Research.” Prof. Xingyu Chen of Shenzhen University concluded with an analysis of “Social Media Marketing Strategies for the Digital Economy.”
The High-Quality Paper Workshop, a well-received feature from previous conferences, brought together papers with similar themes and methodologies for presentation and expert feedback. This year’s workshops were organized into three tracks: Doctoral Forum, Consumer Behavior, and Marketing Strategy & Modeling, with expert commentary provided by scholars from institutions such as the National University of Singapore, HEC Paris, and The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
The conference also included sessions on grant application experiences for NSFC and NSSFC Major Project, dialogues with journal editors from the Journal of Marketing, Management Science, Journal of Consumer Psychology, and Journal of Product Innovation Management, alongside over 30 parallel forums for Ph.D. papers and regular papers.
Notably, the Marketing Academic Job Market Forum featured outstanding Ph.D. candidates and young scholars, garnering significant interest from numerous universities. At the Asia-Pacific Marketing Case Forum, domestic marketing scholars conducted in-depth analyses on case teaching, development, and research. Specialized forums on Neuromarketing as well as Tourism and Leisure Marketing also drew substantial attention.
Seminars
The closing ceremony on the following day featured keynote speeches by distinguished scholars on topics including digital product ownership, pricing strategies, and medical decision-making. The ceremony also included a paper awards segment for the Outstanding Conference Paper Awards and Outstanding Ph.D. Student Paper Awards. During the flag handover ceremony, Prof. Haizhong Wang passed the APMA flag to Macau University of Science and Technology, the host of the next annual conference, symbolizing a joint commitment to advancing marketing discipline.
APMA Flag Handover Ceremony
Established by collaborative peer institutions in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao region under the principles of the Greater Bay Area Development Plan, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Alliance for Marketing (referred to as “the Alliance for Marketing”) aims to promote the marketing discipline through innovative academic contributions and to enhance the quality of marketing education and talent development. Based at Sun Yat-sen University's Business School, the Alliance launched the Asia-Pacific Marketing Academy (APMA) with core values of integrity, progressiveness, innovation, and openness. APMA's inaugural conference was held at Sun Yat-sen University in 2023, followed by the 2024 conference at City University of Hong Kong, solidifying its role as a leading platform for academic exchange in marketing across the Asia-Pacific.