Researching the complex, hybrid, and liminal nature of contemporary promotional cultures

This thematic issue invited submissions that address the challenges of researching the complex, hybrid, and liminal nature of promotional cultures and the published articles include studies which reflect on the structures, technologies, agents, representations, effects, and ethics of promotion. They are united by a central question: What strategies do we use to explore and attempt to understand the assemblages of technologies, texts, networks, and actors in contemporary promotion? We hope the collection of perspectives gathered here help to address the challenges of researching the digital, excavating promotional ideologies, confronting professions, engaging audiences through academic work, and confronting the risks and realities of research that can equally promote change or speak into a vacuum.