Mehrunisa Zafar

Dr. Mehrunisa Zafar is an Assistant Professor in Digital Marketing Analytics with over a decade of academic experience in the UK. She completed her education at the London College of Fashion and Brunel University London, and holds an MSc in Marketing with Distinction. Dr. Mehrunisa pioneers innovative approaches to student engagement, equipping students to work with complex digital marketing analytics tools to address real-world business challenges and preparing them for strategic roles, including Chief Marketing Operations positions. She also supervises postgraduate research projects, supporting the development of critical thinking, analytical rigour, and independent research skills.

Dr. Mehrunisa Zafar's research lies at the intersection of organizational behaviour, creativity, and digital marketing, exploring how emotional dynamics shape individual and team creativity within contemporary organizations. She has presented her work at leading international conferences, with papers accepted to the EGOS Colloquium over three consecutive years (Vienna, Cagliari, and Milan), supported by a Vice-Chancellor’s Conference Prize (£2,000). Drawing on prior industry experience as a Retail Head at Selfridges and roles with premium brands such as Sandro and Zadig & Voltaire, as well as founding her own womenswear brand M/7, she brings a unique perspective that bridges creative practice, consumer behaviour, and digital marketing. Her work focuses on developing frameworks that help organizations manage emotions to enhance creativity, innovation, and sustainable performance.

Dr. Mehrunisa Zafar’s research is driven by a deep interest in creativity, emotions, and organizational dynamics, exploring how individual and team creativity are shaped by emotional processes within organizations. Complementing this human-centred perspective, she also engages with the analytical dimensions of contemporary practice, applying digital marketing analytics to understand consumer behaviour, optimise decision-making, and develop data-driven strategies in rapidly evolving digital environments.

Her research expertise spans several key areas:

• Creativity, Emotions & Organizational Dynamics
  Examining how emotional processes shape creativity within teams and organizations, with particular attention to how emotional intensity, detachment, and workplace conditions influence creative performance and collaboration within sectors such as fashion and creative industries, where storytelling, identity, and emotional engagement are central.
• Digital Marketing Analytics & Data-Driven Strategy
  Exploring how analytical tools, including GA4, can be leveraged to understand consumer journeys, optimise digital performance, and inform strategic decision-making. This includes engagement with the latest trends in SEO and PPC to design effective, data-driven marketing frameworks.
• Digital Consumer Behaviour & Engagement
  Investigating the motivations and behaviours of digital-native consumers, with a focus on social engagement, social listening, influencer dynamics, and brand advocacy. Her work examines how always-on consumers interact with brands in real time and how these interactions shape trust, loyalty, and purchasing behaviour.
• Digital Marketing Practice & Simulation-Based Learning
  Applying digital marketing and social media simulations to support business understanding and decision-making, enabling organizations and students to experiment with real-world scenarios and enhance strategic capability in digital environments.

Dr. Zafar’s work is underpinned by a strong customer-first philosophy, emphasising the importance of building meaningful relationships before applying digital technologies. Ultimately, she aims to develop frameworks that support organizations in managing emotions, strengthening customer engagement, and fostering creativity, innovation, and long-term strategic value.

• Team Creativity 
• Emotional Numbness
• Emotional Labour
• Organizational Behaviour
• Digital Marketing Analytics
• Sociological Perspectives
• Fashion Industry
• Precarity

Academic Leadership & Program Management

• Assistant Professor in Digital Marketing Analytics within the Marketing and Operations department at Heriot-Watt University, Dubai Campus.
• Local Course Leader for C11DA – Digital Marketing Analytics, working collaboratively with the Global Course Leader in Edinburgh to ensure the course maintains high quality and consistency across campuses.
• Committed to fostering a responsive and supportive culture within the School, reflecting the University’s values through professional conduct, collaboration, and engagement with students and colleagues.

Teaching & Supervision

• Undergraduate and Postgraduate Teaching – Leading Marketing and Management Modules.
• Dissertation Supervision – Mentoring MSc students in dissertation research, specializing in Digital Marketing, International Business Management (IBM), and Consumer Behavior.

Service & Community Engagement

• University Open Days & Student Engagement – Leading student recruitment efforts, showcasing academic programs to prospective students.