Center for Persuasive Communication

Liselot Hudders

Liselot

Biography

Liselot is a full professor at Ghent University and director of the Center for Persuasive Communication. Her research explores how digital media shape children’s consumer behaviour. She is a leading expert on influencer marketing and investigates the effects of kidfluencing on young audiences. In 2024, she received a prestigious ERC consolidator grant to deepen this work. Her studies have been widely published and recognized in top communication journals. 

Research Tracks

Liselot obtained her PhD from Ghent University in 2011, focusing on the relationship between luxury consumption and subjective well-being. Her current research explores how digital media shape children’s consumer behavior, with three main research tracks:

  • Children and Digital Advertising: Investigating how children and adolescents understand, process, and respond to digital advertising formats.
  • Dark Side of Consumption: Examining problematic consumption choices, including gambling, alcohol, and unhealthy food marketing.
  • Social Media Influencers: Studying the impact of influencers—especially kidfluencers—on young audiences and their consumer socialization.

In September 2025, Liselot will begin work on the ERC Consolidator Grant project Kidfluencer, which explores the educational role of kidfluencers and their influence on children’s development as consumers.

She is also active in science communication and launched the website ‘Mag dit online?’ to inform influencer parents about the risks of sharing images of their children on social media. As part of the Horizon Europe project SUNRISE, Liselot is developing two interventions to empower adolescents against unhealthy food messaging:

  • Foodswamp Tycoon: A serious game designed to build resistance to unhealthy food marketing.
  • Snack or Scam: An influencer campaign aimed at helping adolescents identify and challenge misinformation on social media.
    These interventions are being rolled out in eight European countries and will be tested in schools over the coming years.

Contact

+32 9 264 91 89

Technicum, T1, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 41, 9000 Ghent

Publications