From June 5 to 8, the 2026 Asia-Pacific Marketing Academy Annual Conference (APMA 2026) was held in Macao, China, and the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin. Co-hosted by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao University Alliance, the Macau University of Science and Technology Foundation, and several other organizations, the conference focused on cutting-edge topics such as AI-driven marketing transformation and cross-regional market collaboration, facilitating in-depth scholarly exchange.
Professor He Zeya from the Department of Culture and Tourism, School of Management, Shandong University, and Chen Ran, a postgraduate student of the 2025 intake, were invited to attend the conference. Chen Ran delivered a presentation titled “Cross-Modal Correspondence in Food Choice: Leveraging Multi-sensory Congruence to Nudge Healthy Eating”, sharing the team’s latest findings in consumer behavior, sensory marketing, and healthy eating nudging. Addressing the growing concern of rising obesity rates, Professor He’s research team conducted systematic research into how sensory cues shape consumers’ food choices based on the affective mediation theory. The team proposes a novel and testable mechanism of cross-modal correspondence, enriching the theoretical frameworks of multi-sensory marketing and cross-modal cognition. It also offers management-led insights for national weight management and the Healthy China initiative.
This international engagement showcased the faculty and students’ forward-looking research vision, solid methodological skills, and commitment to bridging theory with practice. Shandong University’s School of Management has long encouraged active participation in top-tier international conferences, strengthened global academic collaborations, and pursued original research addressing real-world societal challenges. The School remains dedicated to advancing disciplinary frontiers, translating research outcomes into practical applications, and producing work that combines academic rigor, industrial relevance, and social impact, thereby supporting high-quality disciplinary development.
