How consumers are swayed by logos, brand loyalty or a package of perfectly clean maxipads are the topics of Friday's "Office Hours" session.

Gavan Fitzsimons, R. David Thomas Professor of Marketing and Psychology at Duke's Fuqua School of Business, will take viewer questions about subtle influences of retail brands during a live webcast interview February 12, beginning at noon Eastern Time on the Duke University Ustream channel.

Anyone may submit a question for Fitzsimons, in advance or during the webcast by sending an email to live@duke.edu, tweeting with the tag #dukelive or posting to the Duke University Facebook page.

"My research combines examinations of unintended effects of marketing actions with an assertion that much consumer decision-making occurs outside conscious awareness," Fitzsimons says on his webpage.

In recent years, Fitzsimons has found that: secular people are more inclined to find self-expression through brands than people of other faiths; the logo of computer-maker Apple is more apt to inspire creativity than IBM's; and products such as feminine napkins can evoke feelings of disgust that reduce the appeal of other products they touch in shoppers' grocery carts.

Fitzsimons is a principal faculty member in the Duke Motivation and Social Cognition Lab and is part of the newly created Duke/Synovate Shopper Insights Center for Leadership and Innovation.

Office hours at a university are times when professors leave their doors open for individuals to stop by and discuss issues such as current events and developments in their fields. Duke's "Office Hours" series aims to bring the expansiveness and sparkle of these conversations to anyone with an Internet connection and an interest in the ideas bubbling up at Duke. This semester, topics have ranged from national security reporting to the preaching of Martin Luther King Jr. to the legacy of writer Pauli Murray.