Research Talk by Els Breugelmans, KU Leuven (BE)

As part of the Marketing Research Seminar Series, Els Breugelmans presented her research on a unique and rarely observable market situation: brand performance in a world without price promotions. Using a temporary COVID-19-related promotion ban in Belgium, the study revealed that promotions primary shifted market shares between brands rather than boosting overall demand. Brands that usually rely on strong discounts performed worse, while private labels and brands with broader product lines benefited the most from the absence of promotions. The accompanying PhD seminar provided valuable insights into the review process at top-tier marketing journals, drawing on experiences as a reviewer, assistant editor, and editor.

What made both sessions particularly valuable for PhD students was the open discussion with topics that are often not very visible to early-stage researchers. The research talk showed how an unusual real-world setting can be used to address questions that are otherwise difficult to observe empirically. The PhD seminar was equally interesting, as it provided a transparent, honest, and experience-based discussion of the publication process. This gave a much more realistic understanding of how reviewing and editorial decisions happen in practice.