The Advertising Division of the German Association for Advertising and Communication Sciences (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Publizistik und Kommunikationswissenschaft) is organising the international conference Under the Influence: A Comprehensive Look at Social Media Influencers in Cluj-Napoca, on October 6-8, 2022, together with the Faculty of Political, Administrative and Communication Sciences of Babeș-Bolyai University. Invited speakers are from Austria (University of Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, University of Klagenfurt), Belgium (Catholic University of Leuven, University of Ghent), Germany (Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, University of Tübingen, University of Würzburg), USA (University of Georgia Athens, Temple University, YouTube company) and Romania (SNSPA Bucharest and UBB).

Following the peer review process, the studies of UBB PhD students Mihai Chirică, Sonia Maloș and Cinzia Pocol were selected to be presented at the conference.

The conference focuses on the topic of digital celebrities, online social media influencers and their advertising relevance. Presentations will deal with issues such as the effects of brand advertising in influencer marketing campaigns, the phenomenon of cyberbullying among digital celebrities, the social responsibility of these online opinion leaders, the fight against disinformation campaigns, green advertising, etc. The keynote speakers are researchers who enjoy international prestige thanks to their work on phenomenon of social media influencers and native advertising: Assoc. Prof. Liselot Hudders Ph.D. from Ghent University, Belgium and Assoc. Prof. Nathaniel J. Evans, Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, Athens, USA. The event is sponsored by Banca Transilvania, which will award prizes to the best papers presented during the conference.