Student research blends marketing and finance to explore how variables like age, geography and interests influence the effectiveness of mobile banking campaigns.
The Stonehill Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program brings together student scholars and faculty mentors to pursue in-depth, faculty-led research across disciplines. The program provides students the unique opportunity to contribute meaningfully to active research and reflects the college’s commitment to experiential learning. This story explores a recent project.
In an age when a single scroll can change consumer behavior, understanding how social media influences decision-making is more relevant than ever.
Over the summer, business majors Ellin Prophett ’26 and Julia Wedge ’26 teamed up with Oltiana Muharremi Ph.D, an associate professor of accounting in the Department of Accounting & Taxation, to investigate how targeted social media strategies impact user engagement across demographics. Their project – Targeted Trends: Unlocking the Power of Social Media Marketing on Mobile Banking Apps. Evidence from the Field – blends marketing and finance to explore how variables like age, geography and interests influence the effectiveness of mobile banking campaigns.
“We’re looking at what types of social media ads actually work — and for whom,” says Wedge. “We want to see what people respond to and what platforms are most effective for different groups.”
Research opportunities like this are fairly common in the sciences, but much less so in business. That’s why this program is so valuable, giving business students the chance to dig into real questions, generate original insights and see how their ideas can make an impact.
The team is using a two-pronged research method: reviewing academic literature and conducting a survey — under Institutional Review Board protocols — to collect original data. By analyzing industry trends and consumer responses, the team aims to identify patterns that can guide more effective, demographically tailored advertising. For example, they’re exploring how interests such as fitness might make a user more responsive to certain types of mobile banking campaigns.
This applied approach reflects the interdisciplinary spirit of SURE — and Stonehill’s emphasis on preparing students for real-world leadership. Muharremi, whose own research focuses on fintech and mobile banking, encouraged the students to find a topic that merged their interests with her expertise. “This project is their own idea, built from scratch,” she says. “I guided them, but they chose the direction.”
For Prophett, who is pursuing a master’s in digital marketing through the Skyhawk Accelerated Dual Degree program, the experience offers valuable insight into industry trends. For Wedge, a management information systems major, it’s a chance to test whether data analysis could shape her future career path. Both emphasized the exceptional mentorship they’ve received as key to their growth.
“Professor Muharremi expects a lot from us, but in a good way,” Wedge notes. “She feels comfortable pushing us to be our best — and it makes the work feel more authentic.”
“It feels less like a class and more like a collaboration,” adds Prophett. “We’re colleagues working on something meaningful.”
The team will present findings at Stonehill’s Summer Research Symposium in the fall and plans to submit their paper to an academic journal, with the goal of presenting at a professional conference in 2026.
“Research opportunities like this are fairly common in the sciences, but much less so in business,” says Muharremi. “That’s why this program is so valuable, giving business students the chance to dig into real questions, generate original insights and see how their ideas can make an impact.”
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