Nancy Brinson

Associate professor

Dr. Nancy Brinson is an associate professor of advertising and public relations and an expert in consumer data privacy, personalized advertising, AI-mediated communication, youth online safety, media strategy, and emerging technology policy. Her research examines how companies collect and use consumer data, how personalized and AI-driven messages influence consumer perceptions and behavior, and how these practices affect privacy, trust, autonomy, and informed choice.

Her work has addressed online behavioral advertising, the AdChoices icon, ad blocking, wearables, addressable television, voice assistants, and advertising directed to children and parents. Her current research focuses on emerging forms of AI-mediated communication, including chatbots and virtual influencers, and the implications of these technologies for consumers, children, and public policy. She recently presented her research on “Children’s Digital Privacy in the Age of AI: From Cookies to Conversations” to the Alabama Commission on AI and Children’s Internet Safety.

Before entering academia, Brinson spent 25 years in the advertising industry managing media departments for DDB, TracyLocke, and Ogilvy & Mather. She earned her doctorate in advertising from The University of Texas at Austin and teaches courses in channel planning and media strategy.