Dr. Olivia S.C. Bravo is a Lecturer at the Caribbean School of Media and Communication (CARIMAC), where she serves as Graduate Studies and Research Coordinator. Her research examines stakeholder responses to value-laden brand messaging and behaviour in the English-speaking Caribbean, focusing on how message characteristics and the psychological, social, and cultural mechanisms of communication influence these reactions within the region's postcolonial context. Building from foundational work on brand advocacy and consumer activism, she explores how Caribbean stakeholders process and respond to brands engaging with moral, social, or political issues. Her secondary research stream addresses communication pedagogy, examining innovative teaching and learning practices in media and communication education.
Dr. Bravo’s research has been published in leading international journals including the Journal of Consumer Marketing, Journal of Marketing Communications, Communication Research Reports, Applied Environmental Education & Communication, and Media Practice and Education. Her work on pro-environmental messaging received the Best Faculty Paper award in the Environmental Communication Division at the International Communication Association Conference (2021).
At CARIMAC, Dr. Bravo teaches courses in advertising, brand management, integrated marketing communication, and qualitative research methods. She actively supervises MPhil and PhD students in communication studies and supervises MA research in communication for social and behaviour change. She serves on the editorial board of Environmental Communication and is a member of the American Academy of Advertising and the International Association for Media and Communication Research.
Prior to joining academia full-time, Dr. Bravo worked in marketing within Jamaica’s tourism and tertiary education sectors, where she developed and implemented national and regional promotional campaigns. She holds a PhD in Communication and a Graduate Certificate in Multicultural Marketing from Florida State University, a Postgraduate Certificate in University Teaching and Learning from The University of the West Indies, an MA in Marketing Communications from Bournemouth University, and a BA in Mass Communication from The University of the West Indies.