About
Blending communication theory with behavioral and biometric methods, Dr. Steven Holiday studies advertising that targets families. As an associate professor of advertising and public relations at The University of Alabama, his research examines how parents engage with marketplace content and how children recognize, perceive, and process persuasive messages across digital environments. His work focuses particularly on influencer marketing, embedded advertising, and emerging formats that blur the line between entertainment and promotion. By integrating theory-driven inquiry with tools such as facial expression analysis and attention tracking, Holiday advances understanding of how persuasive messages function in real time.
Impact Beyond the University
Holiday’s research contributes to national and international conversations about children’s advertising, digital media literacy, and responsible communication practices. His work examines when and how young audiences recognize persuasive intent, how parental mediation shapes those responses, and how prosocial messages function within kidfluencer content.
He serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Interactive Advertising, is a two-time Best Paper recipient at the European Advertising Academy’s International Conference on Research in Advertising, and has received research support from the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and The Fred Rogers Company & the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
In May 2025, he was awarded a European Union Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Seal of Excellence fellowship, funded by the Research Foundation of Flanders and hosted by Ghent University in Belgium. His 14-month project investigates the presence and character of prosocial messages in kidfluencer content and their engagement and developmental implications for child audiences.
A Passion for Teaching and Public Engagement
Holiday regularly teaches and guest lectures on digital media literacy, persuasion theory, advertising strategy, and campaign management. He engages audiences ranging from university students to community parents and elementary school children. Across these settings, his aim is consistent: to equip individuals with the conceptual tools needed to navigate persuasive environments thoughtfully and ethically, and to help children become more literate, adaptive media consumers.