Nancy Gray
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Mail code: 4106Campus: Tempe
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Nancy J. Gray teaches in the Department of Marketing, W. P. Carey School of Business. Gray received her doctorate in design, environment, and the arts and master's in design from Arizona State University and a bachelor's from Valparaiso University.
Gray's professional background in marketing communications, branding, and design complement her teaching and research initiatives. Working for large organizations before establishing her own firm gives Gray a perspective of what is necessary to succeed in both established and entrepreneurial environments. Her client base includes firms in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and information technology fields as well as many consumer product and service brands. Gray views design and marketing is a strategic profession – blending business knowledge, technology, aesthetics, and creativity into product and service experiences that benefit people, society, the planet, as well as the brand and their stakeholders.
- Ph.D. Design, Environment and the Arts, Arizona State University
- M.S. Design, Arizona State University
- B.A. Valparaiso University
Gray's research is a mixed method investigation of the phenomenon of people who are disequilibrating the command economy through their creative and co-creative actions. To examine what factors motivate and enable the efforts of these individuals she developed and empirically tested a conceptual framework that integrates the work of Russell Belk on the extended self, Eric von Hippel on lead users, and Darren Dahl and C. Page Moreau on constrained consumer creativity. Her research supports the view that an individual’s Creative Propensity Factor (CPF) is the sum of a multiple of internal and external factors that must be considered as a whole. Gray hypothesizes that, beyond utilitarian goals, people are motivated by the sense of meaning and happiness their creative activities provide them. Gray encourages designers and organizations to apply this understanding in building equitable relationships with creating-customers. This effort is warranted considering the potential for creating-customers to contribute to new product innovation, firm profitability, and to simply making the world a better and more interesting place.
This research stream extends Gray's research into how “brands become us.” This data suggests that the bond between a brand and a consumer forms as a result of collaborative, co-creation activities by all stakeholders. Stakeholders include the designer, manufacturer, marketer, and consumers; and the elements most effective for cementing a strong bond are those of history, design and participation/co-creation. For all brand stakeholders (and designers in particular) this conceptualization underscores the benefit in moving from a process of designing for a consumer to co-creating with consumers (and others) who are now endogenous to brand value.
Courses
2025 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 442 | Services Marketing Strategy |
MKT 355 | Designing Brand Identity |
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 355 | Designing Brand Identity |
2024 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 395 | Essen Advertising & Mktng Comm |
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 442 | Services Marketing Strategy |
MKT 472 | Immersive Brand Experience I |
2024 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 494 | Special Topics |
MKT 494 | Special Topics |
2024 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 395 | Essen Advertising & Mktng Comm |
MKT 355 | Designing Brand Identity |
MKT 355 | Designing Brand Identity |
2023 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 395 | Essen Advertising & Mktng Comm |
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 472 | Immersive Brand Experience I |
2023 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 494 | Special Topics |
MKT 494 | Special Topics |
2023 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 420 | Retail Management |
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 395 | Essen Advertising & Mktng Comm |
MKT 420 | Retail Management |
MKT 355 | Designing Brand Identity |
MKT 472 | Immersive Brand Experience I |
2022 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 395 | Essen Advertising & Mktng Comm |
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 472 | Immersive Brand Experience I |
2022 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 494 | Special Topics |
2022 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 420 | Retail Management |
MKT 355 | Designing Brand Identity |
MKT 473 | Immersive Brand Experience II |
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 395 | Essen Advertising & Mktng Comm |
MKT 420 | Retail Management |
2021 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 395 | Essen Advertising & Mktng Comm |
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 472 | Immersive Brand Experience I |
DSC 590 | Reading and Conference |
2021 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 494 | Special Topics |
MKT 494 | Special Topics |
2021 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 535 | Global Marketing Strategy |
MKT 355 | Designing Brand Identity |
MKT 473 | Immersive Brand Experience II |
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 395 | Essen Advertising & Mktng Comm |
DSC 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2020 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 395 | Essen Advertising & Mktng Comm |
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 472 | Immersive Brand Experience I |
DSC 590 | Reading and Conference |
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
2020 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 494 | Special Topics |
MKT 494 | Special Topics |
2020 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 395 | Essen Advertising & Mktng Comm |
MKT 355 | Designing Brand Identity |
MKT 473 | Immersive Brand Experience II |
2019 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 395 | Essen Advertising & Mktng Comm |
MKT 365 | Advertising & Beyond |
MKT 472 | Immersive Brand Experience I |
- Faculty Emeriti Association Fellowship. Awarded spring 2014
- Outstanding Achievement and Contributions Award, Honeywell International Inc.