Gale research a consuming interest
By Gabrielle Devenish

Assistant Professor Kendra Gale

Advertising students can expect to embark on an adventure this spring, one that's led by Assistant Professor Kendra Gale, who joined the School of Journalism and Mass Communication faculty this fall.

Gale, who taught at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn., before coming to CU, sees her new job as a challenge, adding that she rarely backs down from an inviting opportunity.

"I'll try anything once," she said. "I have a strong sense of adventure."

Her inquisitive nature is what Gale said led her into advertising, where she has more than 15 years of professional experience in consumer research and account planning. She said she stumbled into it while doing a favor for a friend who wanted her to attend an informational interview at an advertising agency. Gale, who at the time said she was planning to pursue a master's degree in business, didn't intend to take the job.

"The first question they asked was, �What category are you best at in Trivial Pursuit?' " Gale said. "The next two hours were filled with nonconventional conversation. It was interesting and fun.

"I was hooked; I found myself agreeing to start in three weeks."

She said such a creatively oriented program is exciting for anyone who works in it, not just the copywriters and art directors.

Gale relished the challenge and particularly liked talking to consumers and "figuring out what made them tick."

"One of my main interests is how people create meaning in their lives," Gale said. "I want to learn how the values and ideas consumers hold affect their choices and how that plays out in their lives."

She said she focused her professional experience and, later, her research on that question by examining sociocultural aspects of consumer decision making. After working in account planning, Gale earned master's and a doctoral degrees from the University of Minnesota's school of journalism. Her graduate coursework emphasized visual communication, along with anthropology, sociology and cultural studies. After graduate school, Gale said, she did consulting and was research director for a marketing workshop called the Loring Partnership – where she did projects for Pillsbury, AARP and MasterCard – before accepting a teaching position at St. Thomas.

Gale said she tries to teach students to be nonjudgmental about how other people see the world or structure their lives.

"I want to connect students with issues of diversity, cultural norms and ethnocentrism," she said. "Even if they don't agree with the consumer, students should be able to understand where the consumer is coming from. I really want to get students to think outside their own frame of reference."

Gale said she is developing a "consumer insights" course that will facilitate development of those values. This fall she taught advertising research and advertising campaigns.

"I get bored really easily; that's part of the appeal of advertising," she said. "It's never the same – one week I'll learn about what products people buy for their dogs, and the next week I'll be studying how people use flour in baking."

She said her next interest is in exploring multicultural cooking.

"It's another adventure, another new thing to learn," she said. "Imagine looking at other cultures through the lens of food."

She said her need for excitement and change drives many of her decisions, including the decision to move to Colorado. She said it was not just the job but the "fabulous lifestyle" that Boulder offered. She now lives in north Boulder with her husband, Tom, who is a writer, and their 4- and 10-year-old daughters. From there she bikes to work every chance she gets. Gale, who also hikes and has rowed competitively, said the great outdoor activities drew her here.

"I was excited about the potential for this program, but the location helped seal the deal," she said. She was also persuaded by the opportunity to pursue research, something she said she found lacking at St. Thomas. "I really like working with students, but I need to have the opportunity to look at my research interests," Gale said.

Gale was awarded Top Faculty Paper in the Radio-TV Journalism Division for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication in August. Her paper is titled "News Diffusion and Emotional Response to the Sept. 11 Attacks."