Description

This thematic section focuses on the applications, advances and future challenges of interactive and immersive communication, encompassing interdisciplinary research that addresses the complete life cycle of the creation of these innovative products, the analysis of the use of these products in different spheres of application, the impact of the consumption of these products on audiences and on the different dimensions of digital communication, as well as other emerging forms of immersive communication and new related initiatives.

The development and evolution of interactive technologies, and their application in all areas of digital communication, allow the generation of innovative products and services that encourage public participation, immersion and co-creation.

Technological novelty gives rise to multiple forms of interaction between subjects and virtual content that, however, seek to establish a naturalised and immersive relationship with synthetic realities. This allows us to create, recreate and simulate environments applicable to various fields, domains and sectors, favouring the development of effective communication strategies that leverage the interactive tradition of products such as news, fiction, video games or gamification, applying different techniques of Extended Reality, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality or animation.

These are communicative products that require the active intervention of subjects, and their consumption is consolidated, reaching broad sectors of the population, and favouring forms of interpersonal communication in the digital ecosystem.

Its central axis is user interaction with the digital product as object of study.

Topics of Interest

• Creation of interactive and immersive digital communication products and services.
• Production of serious video games and gamified digital content for communication.
• Gamified digital content and learning.
• Reuse of information and open data for interactive and immersive communication.
• Video-play strategies applied to scientific communication, journalism, advertising or marketing.
• Analysis of forms of consumption of products and services for interactive and immersive communication: uses and applications, and detection of needs.
• Analysis of multiplayer digital environments.
• Impact of the consumption of interactive and immersive products in different areas of communication.
• Applications of artificial and computational intelligence for interactive and immersive communication.
• Analysis of the applications of Virtual/Augmented/Mixed/Alternative Reality technologies for the creation of innovative communication products and services.
• Future perspectives, other applications and new initiatives in the field of interactive and immersive communication.
• Interactive multimedia products as a form of research: navigable data visualisations, interactive narratives, scrollytelling products with a research component (IMDPC format).

Will not be accepted:

• Studies or analyses not related to the digital field and the topic of the section.
• Descriptive studies, not accompanied by analysis processes, and with a precise methodological definition.
• Studies that do not make an innovative contribution to the field of study and that only collect or present existing knowledge.
• Proposals for educational intervention without explicit connection to interactive and immersive communication.
• Studies on advertising, branded content or corporate communication in interactive and immersive environments (→ submit to ST5).
• Analysis of linear audiovisual content (film, TV, video) without a user interaction component (→ submit to ST2).

Research Questions

• What is the process and needs for creating products and services for interactive and immersive digital communication?
• Can information be reused to create innovative interactive and immersive products?
• Are serious video games and gamified digital content an effective tool for interactive and immersive communication?
• Are gamified digital content an effective tool for learning?
• Can video-play strategies be applied to other areas of scientific communication, journalism, advertising, fiction or marketing?
• What characterises the forms of consumption of interactive and immersive communication products?
• What impact does the consumption of innovative products and services, based on interactive and immersive technologies, have in the various areas of communication?
• Which applications of interactive and immersive technologies prove effective for the creation of innovative communication products?

Checklist for Authors

Before submitting your article to this section, please verify that it meets the following criteria:

• ☐ My research has as its object of study a product or experience that requires active user interaction (video game, gamified product, XR environment, interactive multimedia product, multiplayer environment).
• ☐ My research addresses an aspect of digital communication (it is not a purely technical, pedagogical or design study without a connection to communication).
• ☐ My article does not focus on brand or advertising communication (if so, consider ST5).
• ☐ My article does not analyse linear audiovisual content (film, TV, series, radio) without an interaction component (if so, consider ST2).
• ☐ My research makes an innovative contribution to the field: it is not merely descriptive nor limited to compiling existing knowledge.
• ☐ My article fits one or more of the topics of interest and/or research questions of this section.

Section Editors

María-del-Carmen Gertrudis-Casado. Rey Juan Carlos University (Spain) carmen.gertrudis@icono14.net [0000-0001-6770-203X]

Doctor in Research applied to Communication (Rey Juan Carlos University, URJC). Extraordinary Doctorate Award 2015-16. Graduate in History (Complutense University of Madrid, UCM) and Graduate in Documentation (Carlos III University of Madrid, UC3M). Expert in Information Management and Processing in Public and Private Institutions (UCM) and Master's Degree in Cinema, Television and Interactive Media (URJC). Lecturer with a PhD from the Faculty of Communication Sciences (URJC). Professor of the Master's Degree in Digital Journalism and New Professional Profiles, of the Official Master's Degree in Digital Competence and Computational Thinking (URJC) and of the Master's Degree in Permanent Training in Narrative Design and Video Game Studies (URJC). Expert Evaluator at the State Investigation Agency. Member of the Communication and Digital Culture Research Group Ciberimaginario and the Teaching Innovation Group in Communication, Digital Technologies and Education COMTEDEA.

Maximiliano Bron. National University of La Rioja (Argentina) maxi.bron@icono14.net [0000-0002-7596-4598]

Senior Professor of Multimedia Communication at the National University of La Rioja (Argentina), Assistant Professor in the Graphic Production Workshop at the National University of Córdoba (Argentina), coordinator of the Libro-E publishing project (UNLaR). Doctor in Social and Legal Sciences (URJC), Master in Educational Processes Mediated by Technologies (UNC), Bachelor in Social Communication (UNC), and editorial coordinator of the journals InIure and Oikonomos. Postgraduate coordinator: "Specialisation in Language and Digital Communication" at the National University of Córdoba. He has participated in several research projects as researcher and executive director. He works as a consultant in Digital Communication in public and private institutions.

Collaborating Entity

Interactive and Immersive Communication Laboratory

Red Extended Reality Laboratory (XR Unit) – Rey Juan Carlos University
Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising – Faculty of Communication Sciences
http://xrlab.ciberimaginario.es

Description

This section investigates audiovisual content —film, television, video, radio, animation, photography— both as an object of study and as a medium of research. Its central axis is narrative, production and audiovisual analysis, and how emerging technologies (generative AI, computational tools, digital workflows) enable new forms of narrating, producing, analysing and preserving these contents.

To thoroughly investigate these transformations, from the field of emerging communication technologies, is the main objective of this section. To this end, the definition of new concepts is proposed, the development of relevant classifications, the development of effective methodologies, the analysis of processes and discourses, the evaluation of results and the opening of spaces for debate and discussion.

We invite you to share studies, experiences, cases and conclusions that allow you to approach media that, through heterogeneity, hybridisation, and permanent updating, stand out daily for reinventing the future of audiovisual arts. In this sense, innovation in this field stands out for its value in transferring knowledge to society. The contributions of this academic research can be applied in different areas of the professional world of the media and these, in turn, can contribute innovations in the practice of their professions to the field of scientific knowledge.

The section accepts both textual research articles and audiovisual articles (video essays, videographic essays) that articulate a research contribution through editing (image/sound/text), following the IMDPC model.

Preferential Line: Spanish Cinema

In collaboration with the FlixOlé-URJC Research Chair of Spanish Cinema, this section prioritises research that takes Spanish cinema and audiovisual production as its object or corpus. The Chair facilitates access to a catalogue of over 8,000 titles as a research corpus and coordinates specific calls for this line. This prioritisation does not exclude the reception of research on other audiovisual areas.

Topics of Interest

• Contemporary audiovisual narratives: evolution of languages and narrative forms in film, series, animation and digital formats.
• AI applied to audiovisual production: script generation, storyboards, visual effects, automated post-production, AI-assisted dubbing and subtitling.
• New production workflows: virtual production (LED volumes), motion capture, previsualization tools, platform distribution.
• Film and television analysis with digital tools: computational analysis of image, sound and audiovisual text; distant viewing; digital methods applied to the study of films and series.
• Restoration and preservation of audiovisual heritage in the digital age: digitisation, computational cataloguing, access and reuse of film archives.
• Audiovisual scientific communication: video as a tool for science dissemination and communication, video articles, academic audiovisual formats.
• Research through audiovisual practice: video essay, videographic essay and audiovisual formats that articulate argument, evidence and method through editing (IMDPC format).
• Innovative audiovisual analysis methodologies: new procedures and tools for the study of audiovisual content.

Will not be accepted:

• Essays on the history or theory of audiovisual media without a connection to emerging technologies or innovation in narrative/production processes.
• Market research and audiovisual industry studies without reference to technological or innovative aspects.
• Systematic Literature Reviews (SLR) that do not carry out an original and novel analysis of the state of the art.
• Studies or analyses not related to the digital field and the topic of the section.
• Descriptive studies, not accompanied by analysis processes, and with a precise methodological definition.
• Studies that do not make an innovative contribution to the field of study and that only collect or present existing knowledge.
• Proposals for educational intervention without explicit connection to audiovisual research.
• Studies on products that require active user interaction: video games, XR, gamification (→ submit to ST1).
• Studies on audiovisual brand or organisational communication with commercial/corporate purposes (→ submit to ST5).

Research Questions

• What technologies are changing the production, distribution and consumption of audiovisual content?
• What transformations are occurring in the processes, channels, formats, techniques and languages in audiovisual media?
• What methods allow us to better address the phenomena occurring in the audiovisual field?
• How can science be communicated through audiovisual content?
• How can audiovisual practice (video essay, videographic essay) articulate a research contribution through editing?
• What digital tools and artificial intelligence are transforming the analysis, preservation and restoration of audiovisual heritage?

Checklist for Authors

Before submitting your article to this section, please verify that it meets the following criteria:

• ☐ My research has as its object of study audiovisual content (film, television, video, radio, animation, photography) or uses the audiovisual format as a medium of research (video essay).
• ☐ My research addresses narrative, production, analysis or preservation of audiovisual content in relation to emerging technologies or innovation.
• ☐ My article does not focus on a product that requires active user interaction (if so, consider ST1).
• ☐ My article does not focus on commercial or corporate brand communication (if so, consider ST5).
• ☐ My research makes an innovative contribution to the field: it is not merely descriptive nor limited to a historical or theoretical essay without a technological connection.
• ☐ My article fits one or more of the topics of interest and/or research questions of this section.
• ☐ If my article is a video essay, I have consulted the IMDPC format requirements on the Article types page.

Section Editors

Mario Rajas. Rey Juan Carlos University (Spain) mario.rajas@icono14.net [0000-0002-3807-8327]

Professor of the Department of Audiovisual Communication and Advertising of the Faculty of Communication Sciences of the Rey Juan Carlos University. His research field is the narrative, aesthetics and technology of emerging audiovisual media in educational and scientific communication. Director of the FlixOlé-URJC Research Chair of Spanish Cinema (cinespanol.es). Co-Coordinator of the High Performance Research Group Ciberimaginario of the URJC (http://ciberimaginario.es). He has been vice dean of Technological Infrastructures and Professional Sectors of the Faculty of Communication Sciences (2018-2022) and coordinator of the Academic Content Production Unit of the Centre for Innovation in Digital Education (CIED) of the URJC (2014-2017). He has published research articles, monographs and popular texts, as well as participated in national and international research projects and carried out research stays in centres such as the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico), the University of California Los Angeles (United States), the International School of Film and Television of San Antonio de los Baños (Cuba) or the Universidade Católica Portuguesa de Porto (Portugal).

Pedro Alves. Portuguese Catholic University (Portugal) pedro.alves@icono14.net [0000-0003-3774-2019]

Doctor in Audiovisual Communication from the Faculty of Information Sciences of the Complutense University of Madrid. Visiting Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Letters of the Portuguese Catholic University (Porto). Researcher at CITAR-UCP and collaborator at CITCEM-FLUP. Member of the Scientific Association ICONO14 (Spain) and AIM (Portugal). Since 2015 he has been a trainer of the National Film Plan in the north of Portugal. He has several publications and participation in national and international scientific events and projects on topics such as audiovisual narrative, cinematographic fiction, cinematic pragmatics, cinema and education or scriptwriting. He was co-coordinator of the books "Learning from cinema: narrative and didactics" (2014), "Cinema trades: manual for cinematographic practices" (2017) and "Fusões no cinema: educação, didática e tecnologia" (2018). He was coordinator of the 5th International Congress of Creative Cities (Porto, 2017), as well as invited to participate in the 11th Annual Meeting of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (Enghien-les-Bains, 2017). He has collaborated with UNESCO since 2017 as an external consultant on activities and projects of the Creative Cities Network. He has been working in cinema since 2007, mainly in the Production area and with authors such as Manoel de Oliveira ("O Velho do Restelo", 2014) or Salomé Lamas ("Ubi Sunt", 2016). He is frequently invited to give lectures in schools in northern Portugal in the areas of teaching, research and film practice.

Collaborating Entities

FlixOlé-URJC Research Chair of Spanish Cinema
https://cinespanol.es

Research Centre for Science and Technology of the Arts – CITAR
https://m.porto.ucp.pt/en/citar

Description

Media and information literacy is an indispensable and enormous need in the current social context. Access to information through multiple means, through a diversity of digital devices and systems, builds an entire network of great complexity. Technology is fundamental in all dimensions of the communication field, either through devices or from applications, and adequate consumption of the content they transmit to us requires sufficient skills and a critical sense.

This thematic section focuses on the needs of media and information literacy processes, the ways to bring reality closer to citizens with rigour, awareness and from multiple and inclusive learning. The structure of the media system and the different formulas for generating information and sharing it demand training processes and especially initiatives that allow anyone to be able to choose, select and create truthful and understandable content. At the same time, it is very necessary to extend the need to educate in the consumption and analysis of information not only with technological skills, but always showing a diverse perspective and a reflective intentionality divergent with the different currents of opinion.

Technology per se is not new, but it is progressive and evolutionary. Its applications to information consumption undergo constant changes, which deconstruct prior knowledge and also generate different profiles and groups of interest. Beyond literacy and literacity itself, the consolidation of media competence and the capacity to transform the perception of citizens appears.

In the same context, the section addresses disinformation processes and their ability to foster polarization and denialist discourse in social media, as a direct consequence of a lack or absence of media and information literacy among a portion of the population.

Topics of Interest

• Consumption of digital information media in the educational system: uses and applications.
• Media literacy as a tool in the face of misinformation focused on digital content.
• Analysis and impact of teacher training processes in the technological field aimed at promoting media and informational competence.
• Application of digital technologies to media and information literacy processes.
• Strategies and impact of media literacy processes on society through open digital training (MOOC, …).
• Creation of critical and disruptive content on social networks for media and information literacy.
• Analysis of forms of consumption of digital information in the media from a generational point of view, and detection of needs.
• Analysis and impact of government and political initiatives to encourage the process of media and information literacy in the digital sphere.
• Analysis of disinformation processes in social media.
• Analysis and impact of polarisation strategies in social networks.
• Future perspectives and new initiatives in improving media and information literacy processes in the digital field.
• Impact of media and information literacy initiatives based on the consumption or production of content based on open data (open data).

Will not be accepted:

• Studies or analyses not related to the digital field.
• Descriptive studies, not accompanied by analysis processes.
• Proposals for educational intervention isolated from the thematic topic.
• Studies focused on educational digital competence globally and not specifically on media and information competence.

Research Questions

• What is the current consumption of digital media in the educational system and what needs are detected for this consumption to be critical?
• Is media and information literacy a key tool in controlling disinformation processes?
• Do teachers at different educational levels have sufficient competencies to train their students in competent use of the information that reaches them through different technological devices and tools?
• Are there enough government initiatives dedicated to encouraging media and information literacy processes in the digital sphere?
• Does the consumption of information on social networks require prior and specific media literacy in younger generations?
• What are the effects of poor media and information literacy on "digital immigrants"?
• Is polarisation in social networks associated with a lack of critical thinking and the absence of media consumption strategies?
• What impact do content creation trends on social networks have on improving citizens' media and informational competence?

Checklist for Authors

Before submitting your article to this section, please verify that it meets the following criteria:

• ☐ My research has as its object of study media and information literacy, media competence, disinformation or digital critical thinking.
• ☐ My research is conducted within the digital sphere (it is not a study on literacy in analogue media).
• ☐ My article does not focus on educational digital competence in a generic sense (it must specifically address media and information competence).
• ☐ My article is not an isolated educational intervention proposal unrelated to the section's topic.
• ☐ My research includes a rigorous analytical process: it is not merely descriptive.
• ☐ My article fits one or more of the topics of interest and/or research questions of this section.

Section Editors

María-del-Carmen Gálvez-de-la-Cuesta. Rey Juan Carlos University (Spain) carmen.galvez@icono14.net [0000-0002-0208-4311]

Doctor in Information Sciences from the Complutense University. Extraordinary Doctorate Award 2015-16. DEA (Diploma of Advanced Studies) in Audiovisual Communication and Advertising (Complutense University). Graduate in Geography and History (Complutense University). Lecturer, Doctor and Academic Coordinator of the Degree in Digital Communication at the Rey Juan Carlos University. Expert Evaluator at the State Investigation Agency. She has been Academic Innovation Coordinator at the Centre for Teaching Innovation and Digital Education; Researcher at the Spanish Centre for Subtitling and Audio Description of the Carlos III University, Project Coordinator of the National Centre for Educational Information and Communication of the Ministry of Education and Science (currently INTEF) and Professor of Continuing Training in the area of Communication Media and Documentation. She is a member of the CIBERIMAGINARIO research group and the COMTEDEA Teaching Innovation Group.

Enrico Bocciolesi. Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo (Italy) enrico.bocciolesi@icono14.net [0000-0002-9282-5899]

Assistant Professor of General and Social Pedagogy at the University of Urbino Carlo Bo. Director of IELIT. National Academic Qualification as Associate Professor in Pedagogy. Educational researcher on topics related to critical and complex thinking, literacy pedagogy, learning styles and continuing education. Author of numerous scientific articles in EspressivAmente (ESCI-Thomson Reuters/Clarivate Analytics), and collaboration with Utah Valley University, ANAYA, UNED, Pearson, IGI-USA, Editorial Sintesis, Marcial Pons, Universitas, Editorial Universitaria Guadalajara University, Giuffrè Editore, Armando Editore, FrancoAngeli, Aracne Roma, Anicia. Altmetric Ambassador. European journalist 21-01-10490 8 IPC-EU. He negotiated and promoted alliances between transnational universities and academic networks of excellence in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. President of the "Rovigliano School Committee - AliceHallgraten Franchetti", President of the international publishing house CIELIT that promotes team solutions and cooperation in education.

Invited expert speaker at the University of Barcelona (Spain), University of Salamanca (Spain), University of Almería (Spain), University of Córdoba (Spain), University of Extremadura (Spain), Complutense University of Madrid (Spain), University of Jaén (Spain), UEM-Madrid (Spain), University of Latvia (Republic of Latvia), Federal University of Grande Dourados (Brazil), UNED (Spain), University of Guadalajara (Mexico), University of Florence (Italy), University of Perugia (Italy), University of Parma (Italy), University eCampus (Italy), Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (Peru), University of Maryland (Australia), SUNY Empire State College (USA).

Description

This section seeks research articles that exploit advanced computational techniques to understand and analyse communicative phenomena. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, automated recovery of large volumes of data; statistical modelling and predictive analysis of structured data, such as surveys, using machine learning; text mining, including entity recognition, sentiment analysis and supervised classification; social network analysis; automated analysis of media such as audio, image and video; agent-based models; advanced data visualisation; and approaches to large-scale distributed computing problems.

This section seeks contributions that not only apply these techniques, but also reflect on their methodological and practical implications in the field of communication.

Topics of Interest

Empirical investigations and/or methodological evaluation with the use of computational techniques in communication such as:

• Automated recovery of large amounts of data
• Statistical modelling and predictive analysis of structured data (e.g. surveys) with machine learning
• Text mining (NER, sentiment analysis, supervised classification, topic modelling, etc.)
• Social Network Analysis (SNA)
• Automated audio, image and/or video analysis
• Agent-based models
• Advanced data visualisation
• Distributed computing and large-scale problems

Will not be accepted:

• Studies or analyses not related to the digital field and the topic of the section.
• Descriptive studies, not accompanied by analysis processes, and with a precise methodological definition.
• Studies that do not make an innovative contribution to the field of study and that only collect or present existing knowledge.
• Studies that use computational methods and Big Data but do not have communication as their object of study and are outside the focus of the journal.

Research Questions

• How to use computational methods and big data analysis to answer social questions in the field of communication?

Checklist for Authors

Before submitting your article to this section, please verify that it meets the following criteria:

• ☐ My research applies advanced computational techniques (machine learning, NLP, SNA, automated media analysis, big data, advanced visualisation) to the analysis of communicative phenomena.
• ☐ The object of study of my research is a communication phenomenon (not a purely computational, statistical or other-discipline problem).
• ☐ My article does not merely apply a tool mechanically, but reflects on the methodological implications of the techniques employed.
• ☐ My research makes an innovative contribution to the field: it is not merely descriptive nor limited to compiling existing knowledge.
• ☐ My article fits one or more of the topics of interest and/or research questions of this section.

Section Editors

Carlos Arcila Calderón. University of Salamanca (Spain) carlos.arcila@icono14.net [0000-0002-2636-2849]

Senior Professor and Academic Secretary of the Department of Sociology and Communication of the University of Salamanca (Spain). Member of the Audiovisual Content Observatory (OCA) and professor of the Ph.D. in Training in the Knowledge Society. Editor of the journal Disertaciones and responsible for the Working Group "Computational Methods and Big Data Analysis in Communication" from the AE-IC.

Patricia Sánchez-Holgado. University of Salamanca (Spain) patricia.sanchez@icono14.net [0000-0002-6253-7087]

Professor in the Department of Sociology and Communication at the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Salamanca (Spain). European PhD in Communication from the University of Salamanca. Bachelor's degree in Advertising and Public Relations from the Complutense University of Madrid, Master's in Scientific Culture from the University of Oviedo (2019), Master's in Secondary Education, Baccalaureate, and Vocational Training Teaching (2020), and Master's in Big Data (2017) from the Pontifical University of Salamanca. Member of the Audiovisual Content Observatory (OCA), Research Excellence Group, and Consolidated Research Unit of the Regional Government of Castilla y León (www.ocausal.es). Her research focuses on: Social perception of Artificial Intelligence and data science; Communication, dissemination, and scientific culture; Hate speech; Political communication; Adoption and use of communication technologies; gender and equality studies.

Collaborating Entity

Working Group "Computational Methods and Big Data Analysis in Communication" of the AE-IC.

Communication and Digital Culture Section. Spanish Association for Research in Communication (AE-IC)
Web

Description

The digital transformation has revolutionised advertising, corporate communications, public relations and the management of intangible assets, fostering novel strategies and generating new communicative formats that harness emerging technologies to engage with audiences. The proliferation of social networks, the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), marketing automation, the evolution of branded content, big data analysis, the development of programmatic buying, the opportunities afforded by extended reality (XR) and the comprehension of emotions through neurocommunication, among many other innovations, have reconfigured traditional advertising and corporate communication models, giving rise to alternative processes and new dynamics within the sector.

This thematic section offers a platform for research that examines the impact of emerging technologies on the strategies and communicative content of brands or organisations. Innovative approaches are sought that can address the transformations affecting both advertisers and their various stakeholders. In particular, this section is interested in the methodologies, techniques, strategies and tools that are redefining advertising, corporate communications, public relations and the management of intangibles in audiovisual environments, social networks, interactive platforms, video games and other experiences mediated by digitalisation and technological advances. Consequently, within this framework, a call is issued for studies that explore the challenges and opportunities that emerging technologies present for the diverse forms of communication employed by brands and organisations.

Interdisciplinary approaches, case studies from competitive projects, comparative analyses across different geographical areas and research offering application models in the professional realms of advertising, corporate communications, public relations and the management of intangibles will be particularly valued.

Topics of Interest

• Artificial intelligence (AI) and advertising creativity: AI-assisted and/or automated generation of advertising content and corporate visual identity (CVI) designs using artificial intelligence (AI) tools.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and advertising: Integration of advertising content and formats into artificial intelligence (AI) platforms.
• Artificial intelligence (AI) and consumer decision-making: Use of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in purchasing, contracting, and consumption decision processes.
• Advertising and branded content in transmedia, gamified, and eSports environments: Advertising narratives on digital platforms and integration models for branded content and creative pieces in social media, video games, and other interactive spaces.
• Advertising in streaming and entertainment platforms: Advertising strategies and formats integrated into the products offered by streaming and entertainment platforms.
• Big data strategies and advertising personalisation models: Advanced segmentation and prediction of consumer behaviour.
• Brand communication strategies and sustainability in digital environments: Environmental and social impact of digital marketing, and communication approaches oriented toward brands' sustainable engagement within cyberspace.
• Conversational marketing and chatbots: Implementation of direct brand-consumer interaction campaigns through virtual assistants supported by artificial intelligence (AI).
• Ethical and legal limitations of digital advertising: Data privacy regulations in the development of digital campaigns and ethical considerations in the use of certain emerging technologies (AI) for the generation of advertising content.
• Extended reality (XR), advertising, and branded content in immersive environments: Augmented, virtual, or mixed reality for the development of branded content strategies, advertising formats, and brand experiences in immersive ecosystems (metaverse and other virtual worlds).
• Influencer marketing, digital public relations strategies, and engagement drivers: New strategies for engagement and trust-building in digital environments and interactive platforms.
• Intangible asset management in brands' digital strategies: Use of social media and digital spaces in branding strategies for the generation of corporate identity, image, and reputation.
• Measurement and analytics in digital advertising: New metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) for the evaluation of advertising effectiveness in digital media.
• Neuroscience applied to digital advertising: Neurocommunication techniques for measuring emotional intensity, attention, and user response to digital advertising stimuli.
• Programmatic advertising and automation in ad placement: Impact of machine learning and AI on the purchase of digital advertising space and the optimisation of its effectiveness.

Will not be accepted:

• Market studies that do not address technological or innovative aspects of brand or organisational communication.
• Analyses of advertising campaigns, corporate communication strategies or the management of intangibles that are not linked to emerging technologies.
• Exclusively descriptive research lacking a robust methodological foundation.
• Theoretical essays without application in the fields of digital advertising, corporate communications related to technologies, or the management of intangibles in online environments.
• Case studies whose excessive specificity does not contribute to the sectors of advertising, corporate communications, public relations or the management of intangibles.
• Educational intervention proposals not related to the digital and technological transformation of advertising, corporate communications, public relations or the management of intangibles.

Research Questions

• How are artificial intelligence (AI) and big data transforming the strategies, processes and dynamics in advertising, corporate communications, public relations and the management of intangibles in digital environments?
• In what manner does automation in content generation affect advertising creativity with regard to the development of pieces and formats?
• What impact do extended reality (XR), the metaverse and transmedia and gamified environments have on advertising communications, branding strategies and the management of intangibles?
• What possibilities does neuroscience offer for studying the cognitive response of users to the digital content of brands?
• What changes have occurred in public relations strategies to stimulate engagement on social networks and online media?
• How are advertising models evolving with programmatic buying of spaces and the decentralisation of contracting with media outlets?
• What repercussions does digital marketing have in terms of environmental impact and what possibilities does digitalisation offer for developing socially sustainable corporate strategies?
• What methodologies, techniques and KPIs are most effective for measuring the efficacy of advertising campaigns developed in digital environments?
• What ethical and regulatory limits does digital advertising have in a context of artificial intelligence and extreme personalisation?

Checklist for Authors

Before submitting your article to this section, please verify that it meets the following criteria:

• ☐ My research has as its object of study the communication of brands and/or organisations (advertising, branded content, public relations, corporate communication, management of intangibles).
• ☐ My research addresses the connection with emerging technologies (AI, XR, big data, automation, applied neuroscience, etc.) in the advertising or corporate domain.
• ☐ My article does not focus on the interactive or immersive product itself (if the focus is the product rather than the brand, consider ST1).
• ☐ My article does not focus on audiovisual narrative or production without commercial/corporate purpose (if so, consider ST2).
• ☐ My research is not a descriptive analysis of campaigns without a solid methodological base or reflection on technological impact.
• ☐ My article fits one or more of the topics of interest and/or research questions of this section.

Section Editors

Carmen Llorente-Barroso. Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) carmen.llorente@icono14.net [0000-0001-7710-0956]

Senior Lecturer at the Department of Applied Communication Sciences (CAP) at UCM. Her research has focused on two main areas: (1) advertising creativity, corporate design and brand management in the current digital context; and (2) communication aimed at the inclusion of vulnerable adults, within the framework of responsible societies. She has participated in several competitive projects and privately funded contracts, coordinated five monographic works, published numerous articles in indexed journals and led five teaching innovation projects awarded by the UCM Vice-Rectorate for Quality. She has served as Deputy Coordinator of the Doctoral Programme in Audiovisual Communication, Advertising and Public Relations at UCM (21/02/2023–27/11/2024), is a member of the Editorial Board of New Media & Society, and is part of the UCM Brand Lab research group (Ref. 970964). She has undertaken several research visits, most notably at the Haas School of Business (UC Berkeley, 01/06/2014–31/08/2014), funded by a José Castillejo scholarship (CAS14/00052). She holds two six-year research periods (2009–2014; 2015–2020) and an excellence period within the Docentia-UCM programme.

Luis Mañas-Viniegra. Complutense University of Madrid (Spain) luis.manas@icono14.net [0000-0001-9129-5673]

PhD in Audiovisual Communication and Advertising from UCM with an Extraordinary Award; he holds degrees in Advertising and Public Relations and in Journalism. He is currently a Senior Lecturer (accredited as a University Professor) and Director of the UCM Brand Lab research group (Ref. 970964), having previously served as Deputy Director and Secretary of the Department of Applied Communication Sciences at UCM. He has taught at four public universities (UCM, URJC, UC3M and UVA), and holds an active six-year research period and an ongoing six-year excellence period within Docentia. In the publishing realm, he has been a review editor in the Organizational Psychology section of Frontiers in Psychology (2018–2022; JCR Q1/Q2) and a member of the scientific committee of Revista Latina de Comunicación Social (2021–present; SJR Q1). Prior to his academic career, his professional experience was developed in advertising agencies and in the marketing and communications departments of various companies.

Collaborating Entity

Research Group "UCM Brand Lab: Innovation in the Neurocommunication of Brand for the Management of Organisational Intangibles" (Ref.: 970964).

Scientific Production