Mara Einstein

Mara Einstein is a “meta-synthesizer” who weaves together research from the social sciences, business, policy, and media. She grounds her work in the philosophies of transformative consumer research, believing that businesses and consumers can take action to create a more compassionate world.

Professor Mara Einstein has been working in and writing about the media industry for more than 20 years. Her career has taken her from being an executive at NBC and MTV Networks to positions at major advertising agencies, working on such accounts as Miller Lite, Uncle Ben’s, and Dole Foods. Since leaving the business world, her work has been devoted to illuminating the effects of marketing on society and on ourselves. Dr. Einstein’s most recent book, Black Ops Advertising: Native Ads, Content Marketing and the Covert World of the Digital Sell (OR Books, 2016) makes clear the complex workings of digital marketing including the stealth nature of online commerce and the interplay among social media, big data, and our personal relationships. Earlier books include: Compassion, Inc.: How Corporate America blurs the line between what we buy, who we are and those we help (University of California Press, 2012) which examines the growing trend of promoting and selling consumer products as a means to fund social causes and effective social change, and Brands of faith: Marketing religion in a commercial age (Routledge, 2007), an analysis and critique of promoting religion in a consumer-oriented culture. She’s also written for many publications including Newsday, Broadcasting & Cable, Advertising Age, Harvard Business Review, and Fastcoexist. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, and the Wall Street Journal, among others. Mara is a Professor of Media Studies and Marketing at Queens College, CUNY.