Marco Scalvini is a Senior Lecturer in in the Communications and Media Programme at London College of Communication.
His work is centred on comprehending the power dynamics between traditional strategic communication and emerging promotional communication practices, and how these elements relate to ongoing theoretical and professional discussions about ethical challenges in this field.
Marco specifically focuses on advertising and marketing as interrelated disciplines, drawing on emerging theoretical and professional debates around industry issues. He also scrutinises current industry expectations and trends, and considers the crossovers between digital skills, creativity, management, and strategy.
Marco's primary interest lies in investigating the ethical and moral conflicts that creatives and marketers may encounter in practice. These tensions bear implications for both creatives and audiences, raising three essential questions: epistemological (what is the status of knowledge produced through the study of promotional media?); conceptual (what is the relationship between mediation and reception?); and sociological (how are questions of digital representation and power addressed in the representation of the vulnerable other?).
His current project explores the phenomenon of AI technology in digital marketing and advertising. This includes technologies such as AI-generated content and visual predictive systems, among others.
Specifically, Marco has curated a large collection of personal narratives to understand the degree to which people resist AI solutions intended for recommending promotional content. Within this project, he harbours three enduring concerns: (a) theorising the relationship 'between' the social and the technical, (b) technology and its correlation with processes of organising, and (c) the ethical and moral implications of algorithmic promotional communication.
Prior to joining UAL, Marco has held academic posts at Birkbeck, Erasmus University Rotterdam, London School of Economics and New York University. In addition to his career in academia, Marco worked as a professional in the advertising and marketing communications industry, and as digital media consultant for international organisations including UNESCO, UN and G8.