Prof. Dr. Ana Adi

Vice President | Professor of PR and Corporate Communications
Quadriga Hochschule Berlin

Prof Dr Adi obtained her PhD from the University of the West of Scotland, UK having investigated from a framing perspective the discourses about China, the Olympics and human rights during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games of activist groups, Olympic organizers, international media and online public. Prior to her post at Quadriga University of Applied Sciences, Dr Adi has worked, lived and studied in the USA (with a Fulbright scholarship), Belgium, Bahrain, Thailand and the UK (and traveled far beyond).  She is the Chair of the Digital Communication Awards in Berlin since 2015 and a member of the Institute for Public Relations Measurement Commission since 2018.

At Quadriga University of Applied Sciences, she has been elected as Vice President in 2022 and is therefore responsible for teaching and (international) cooperation.

Prof. Dr. Ana Adi

Professorship

Prof Dr Ana Adi is Professor of Public Relations/Corporate Communications at Quadriga University of Applied Sciences. When not teaching topics covering international and cross-cultural communication, social responsibility, history of public relations and theories of communication, Dr Adi splits her time between research, public speaking, consultancy, chairing the Digital Communication Awards (and occasionally painting and baking). Her most popular topics include storytelling, (corporate) activism and public relations measurement and evaluation. She defines herself as a digital humanist and a word citizen, something that her research and public speaking profile reflects all too well. Her most recent research projects include Protest PR (editor, Taylor & Francis, 2018), Romanianprotests.info and a toolkit for organizations aiming to use digital storytelling to evaluate CSR. She is currently working on PR2025 identifying competences for communication practitioners for the near future, volunteeringhistories.info (and associated book) and a podcast focusing on Women in PR. She is also a member of the Institute for Public Relations’ Measurement Commission and part of the organizing committee of MediAsia.

Research

Prof Dr Adi’s research has a digital focus, and an inter-disciplinary and international approach exploring applications and perceptions of PR/communications, and implications for the profession, the future. Below are listed her top three research topics, but her writings (both academic and professional) cover a much wider range including social responsibility, public relations evaluation and measurement, and digital footprints among others. Equally, Dr Adi’s research has been published in prestigious journals such as PR Review, featured at the ICA and ECREA conferences and was featured at the European Communication Summit, Kommunikations Kongress and the IABC World Conference.

(Digital) Storytelling

Storytelling is considered to be central to public relations/communications. However, too often, public relations practitioners tell the other’s stories instead of enabling them to tell them. Dr Adi’s research and approach to storytelling is of first-person narrative. In doing so, her research investigates personal narratives of empowerment and transformation. Whether volunteers, women in leadership positions or employees, my research looks at the value of story in building identify and long-term relationships, harnessing memory, enhancing organizational connection and legitimacy. Check out her toolkit for digital storytelling toolkit, one of her talks about successful storytelling for PR and stay tuned for her new podcast.

Public Relations

Dr Adi’s interest into public relations has multiple facets: it assesses current practices including social media applications (see the Asia-Pacific Communication Monitor), looks at PR’s mid-term progression and competences (PR2025, PR and VUCA, PR and AI), investigates grass-roots practices (see www.romanianprotests.info and Protest PR) and, at times, challenges mainstream theories.

Political science/Political communication

My research into political science and communication also looks at digital media and the ways in which the Internet and social media are used as an engagement platform or as an area for activism. My most recent papers investigate the use of Instagram for civic mobilization (see Adi, Gerodimos, and Lilleker, 2018) and communicating dissent on social media (Adi, Lilleker, and Pekalski, 2018)

Publications

Prof Dr Adi’s research is interdisciplinary and international, many of her publications featuring collaborations with international scholars and institutions (Bournemouth University, UK; University of Leipzig, DE; Nanyang Technological University, Singapore). Below is a list of her publications, based on publication type.

Books & Reports

  • Adi, A. (Ed.). (2018). Protest Public Relations: Communicating dissent and activism. Routledge.
  • Macnamara, J., Lwin, M. O., Adi, A., & Zerfass, A. (2017). Asia-Pacific Communication Monitor 2017/18. Strategic challenges, social media and professional capabilties – Results of a survey in 22 countries. Hong Kong: APACD
  • Adi, A. and Lilleker, D. G.  (2017, eds.) #rezist – Romania’s 2017 anti-corruption protests: causes, development and implications. www.romanianprotests.info. Quadriga Media/Quadriga University of Applied Sciences.
  • Macnamara, J., Lwin, M. O., Adi, A., & Zerfass, A. (2015). Asia-Pacific Communication Monitor 2015/16. The state of strategic communication and public relations in a region of rapid growth. Survey results from 23 countries. Hong Kong: APACD.
  • Adi, A., Grigore, G. and Crowther, D.  (2015) Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Age. Development on Governance and Responsibility series. Emerald.
  • Adi, A. & Lilleker, D. (2012) Getting the message out: Social media daily activity plan.
  • Adi, A. (2012) The Best Games Ever. Arete: IOAPA Newsletter.
  • Adi, A. (2012) Beijing: when humanitarian issues and Olympic values collide. Sportanddev.org.
  • Adi, A. (2009) Olympic Humanitarianism. IOAPA Newsletter.
  • Miah, A., & Adi, A. (2009) Centre of the Online Universe ‘Liverpool08′ European Capital of Culture.

Journal articles

Book chapters

  • Adi, A. (2018). Protest public relations: Communicating dissent and activism–an introduction. In Protest Public Relations (pp. 1-11). Routledge.
  • Adi, A. (2018). # Sustainability on Twitter: Loose Ties and Green-Washing CSR. In Grigore, G., Stancu, A. and McQueen, D. (eds). Corporate Responsibility and Digital Communities (pp. 99-122). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
  • Adi, A. (2017) #CSR on Twitter: a hashtag oversimplifying a complex practice IN: Lindgreen, Adam, Joëlle Vanhamme, François Maon, and Rebecca D. Watkins (eds.) Communicating Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Era. Routledge.
  • Lilleker, D. and Adi, A. (2017) #rezist: Lessons from the Romanian Protesters. IN Adi, A. and Lilleker, D. (eds.) #rezist – Romania’s 2017 anti-corruption protests: causes, development and implications. www.romanianprotests.info. Quadriga Media/Quadriga University of Applied Sciences.
  • Adi, A. (2017) Protester profiles IN Adi, A. and Lilleker, D. (eds.) #rezist – Romania’s 2017 anti-corruption protests: causes, development and implications. www.romanianprotests.info. Quadriga Media/Quadriga University of Applied Sciences.
  • Adi, A. (2017) Here, there and everywhere: How space and images shaped the Romanian resist protests IN Adi, A. and Lilleker, D. (eds.) #rezist – Romania’s 2017 anti-corruption protests: causes, development and implications. www.romanianprotests.info. Quadriga Media/Quadriga University of Applied Sciences.
  • Crisan, C., & Adi, A. (2017). A New Paradigm: How Social Movements Shape Corporate Social Responsibility After the Financial Crisis. In Grigore, G., Stancu, A. & Theofilou, A. (eds.) Corporate Social Responsibility in the Post-Financial Crisis Era (pp. 63-82). Springer International Publishing.
  • Adi, A., Grigore G. and Crowther, C. (2015) Introduction to CSR in the Digital Age. IN: Adi, A., Grigore, G. and Crowther, D., eds. Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Age. Emerald.
  • Adi, A. and Grigore, G., (2015). Communicating CSR on social media – the case of Pfizer’s social media communications in Europe. IN: Adi, A., Grigore, G. and Crowther, D., eds. Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Age. Emerald.
  • Grigore, G., Adi, A. and Theofilou, A., (2015). Digital reflections of pharmaceutical companies and their CSR communication strategies. IN: Adi, A., Grigore, G. and Crowther, D., eds. Corporate Social Responsibility in the Digital Age. Emerald.
  • Adi, A. (2013) Social Media Audit and Analytics: Exercises for Marketing and Public Relations Courses IN Patrut, B., Patrut, M., & Cmeciu, C. (Eds). Social Media and the New Academic Environment: Pedagogical Challenges (pp. 1-349). doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-2851-9
  • Adi, A. and Gasser-Scotte, C. (2013) Barriers to emerging technology in higher education: Three case studies IN Patrut, M., Patrut, B. (Eds).  Social Media in Higher Education: Teaching in Web 2.0, IGI Press.
  • Adi, A. & Miah, A (2011) Open Source Protest: Human Rights, Online Activism and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games., in Cottle, S. and Lester, L. (Eds.) Transnational Protest and the Media, Peter Lang Publishers
  • Adi, A. (2011) Streaming live: Teaching new media with new media, in Wankel, Charles & Law, J.S. (Eds.) Streaming Media in Higher Education, IGI Press
  • Adi, A. & Miah, A. (2011) Yahoo!, in Barnett, G. Encyclopedia of Social Networks, SAGE.

Conference talks

Teaching

Prof Dr Adi’s teaching is student-centered. Powered by Quadriga University of Applied Sciences #keepquestioning, Dr Adi’s teaching mixes mediums and formats inviting students to challenge themselves and their current knowledge, and to explore new perspectives (both professionally but also when learning). Her courses thus regularly feature podcasts and videos alongside academic publications, include webinars, museum visits and international guests when possible. Dr Adi’s research makes a cameo in her courses, where and when appropriate.