Owen Eagan is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies and specializes in measuring and assessing strategic communications in business and political environments. This includes utilizing traditional and evolving theoretical and analytical approaches to gauge the efficacy of various forms of communication from interpersonal to mass media communication.
His commentary and research have appeared in leading industry and academic publications including Campaigns & Elections magazine, International Journal of Interdisciplinary Research and International Business Times. His most recent book published by Palgrave Macmillan, Oscar Buzz and the Influence of Word of Mouth on Movie Success, is the result of several years of research that he conducted at Emerson College. As a recognized expert in the industry, he has also served for several years as a judge for the American Association of Political Consultants’ prestigious Pollie Awards, which honor excellence in the practice of political communication.
In addition to serving as a faculty member at Emerson, Owen is a Senior Vice President for Consensus Strategies, a management consulting firm that specializes in strategic advocacy for major corporate and institutional clients. He has worked on more than a hundred political campaigns, including the successful ballot initiatives for the $5 billion rail transit proposal in Honolulu, Hawaii, and the $2.6 billion Wynn Resorts proposal in Everett, Massachusetts, which received record support of 86.5%. He is the author of So What?: Measuring and Assessing Strategic Communications in Land Use Politics, which describes a management consulting firm’s approach to winning political campaigns and has been hailed as one of the best business books on politics by industry, political, communications and academic leaders.
He received a BA from Clark University, an MA from Emerson College and an MBA from Pepperdine University. He also attended the MIT-Harvard Public Disputes Program and the University of California-Berkeley CEQA CLE program, and is certified in Social & Behavioral Research by the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative.
About
- Department Communication Studies
- Since 2011
Education
M.A., Emerson College
B.A., Clark University
Areas of Expertise
- Communication Studies
- Political Communication
- Strategic Communication
Publications
Baseball, Apple Pie and English: Lessons from a Losing Campaign against an 'English Only' Ballot Measure
2003Getting Out the Vote for Rail Transit Initiatives
2009This article sheds light on the importance of GOTV efforts in issue campaigns using the $5 billion rail transit ballot initiative in Honolulu as a model.
So What?: Measuring and Assessing Strategic Communications in Land Use Politics
2013Available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
The Viral Gap
2015This article uses Super Bowl ads to explore the gap that exists between viral content and its intended return on investment.
Movie Buzz & Information Cascades
2016This article analyzes the influence of word of mouth on movie success.
Twitter Shows Influence of Buzz on Movies
2017This article discusses the relationship of tweet sentiment and tweet rate with movie revenue.
The Influence of Film Critics on Movie Outcomes
2018This article explores the degree to which film critics influence audiences and the box office performance of movies.
Oscar Buzz and the Influence of Word of Mouth on Movie Success
2020This book sheds light on various influences on film outcomes and explores why word of mouth is the most important determinant of a movie's success.