Dr Ed Vollans

I joined the University of Leicester in 2018 as a Teaching Fellow, progressing to Lecturer shortly thereafter. I have previously worked at a range of Higher Education providers within the UK. Previously I have  worked as a Journalist, Communications Professional  and in the Creative Sector.

Alongside my Teaching and Research roles, I hold significant administration responsibilities, overseeing the School's collaboration with Leicester Partnership Trust, and with colleagues, coordinating our Client-Led media production projects. 

My research focuses on the promotion and communication of the creative industries, concerned with questions about how we archive, study and make use of media paratexts, so-called ancillary or subordinate media texts that surround books, games, films etc.: advertising, interviews, press releases, merchandise, analogue and digital ephemera. If consumers make decisions based on promotional content, then looking at promotion allows us to see how the industry wants to position itself. Simultaneously the ways in which consumers respond to, engage with, and reject promotion, merchandise and other forms of ancillary materials offers a vital way of exploring and understanding contemporary media and entertainment cultures. Understanding how best to archive content that would otherwise disappear, why certain approaches are used, why certain forms of promotion are used enables us to pull back the curtain covering the industry and make sense of how the industry functions.

My work has tracked the history of book, theatre and videogame 'trailers', the ways in which 'authenticity' was used to legitimate and develop the marketing campaign promoting the film Jurassic Park, and contributed to wider models of understanding games and promotion. In 2017 I co-edited a special issue of the Journal Kinephanos, and in 2024 co-edited the book (Not) In the game; History, Paratexts and Games.  My work has appeared in the Journal Convergence, Arts Marketing (formerly Arts and The Market), Publications, and the International Journal of Media and Cultural Politics. 

Vollans, E (2026) Reading Paratexts and Writing Histories, in Wright, E; Donald, I; & Webber, N (eds) Writing Game Histories , Bloomsbury, London. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/writing-game-histories-9781350468269/

Vollans, E (2024) Advergaming: Context and definitions in McRury, I & Manika D (eds) Digital Advertising Evolution Routledge, London. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003168485

Vollans, E (2023) From '6ft Turkey' to Marketing Monster: Marketing Jurassic Park and its Sequels in Melia, M (ed) The Jurassic Park Book  Bloomsbury, London. https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/jurassic-park-book-9781501384837/

Vollans, E & Seiwald R (2023) (eds) (Not) In the Game: History, Paratexts, and Games DeGruyter Oldenborg. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110732924

Vollans, E (2021) "Paratextually Here" in Beil, Freyermuth & Schmid (eds) Paratextualising Games Transcript Verlag. https://www.degruyter.com/document/isbn/9783839454213/html

Vollans, E. , Janes, S., et al (2017) 'It's [Not Just] in the Game' Special Issue of Kinephanos  Vol 7. Issue 1. https://www.kinephanos.ca/2017/its-not-just-in-the-game-the-promotional-context-of-video-games-le-contexte-promotionnel-des-jeux-video/

Vollans, E. (2016) "Think of It as a Trailer" for a Book" Publications Vol. 4, No. 4: 32. https://doi.org/10.3390/publications4040032

Johnston K.M, Vollans, E., & Green, F.L. 2016) "Watching the Trailer: Researching the film Trailer Audience"  Participations. Vol 13. No. 2. https://www.participations.org/Volume%2013/Issue%202/5.pdf

Vollans, E. (2015), "So just what is a trailer, anyway?", Arts and the Market, Vol. 5 No. 2, pp. 112-125. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAM-07-2014-0026 

Greene, F; Johnston, K. & E Vollans (2014)  "Would I lie to you? Researching audience attitudes to, and uses of, the promotional trailer format"  International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics Vol 10. Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1386/macp.10.1.113

I welcome candidates in areas that clearly align with my broad research areas: Paratextual Studies, the Advertising, Promotion, Marketing or Associated Historical issues of   Cinema, Games or wider Creative Industries.

I have previously supervised PhD work on Sexuality in Thai Cinema and have previously supervised student work on Flipped Classroom learning. I Currently supervise PhD students exploring the Asian Diaspora Cinema, and Media Planning in Saudi Arabia. Alongside my specialisms I regularly supervise MA, and BA level research in areas as diverse as audience studies, marketing, film studies, social media, cultural and journalism studies.

I teach a range of modules across the Undergraduate and Postgraduate field of media, communications and advertising, I teach across all the existing curriculum and regularly develop new modules in collaboration with external industries and stakeholders.

I oversee the development of a pioneering partnership between the School of Arts, Media & Communication and Industry employers. Students on bespoke designed modules develop content in response to industry needs, demonstrating not only the value of Media studies across different industries but ensuring students can gain access to work experiences within the curriculum, aiding student employment and building individual confidence therein.

Read about the nomination for the Association of Graduate Careers & Advisory Services. 

I regularly attend and am invited to speak at national and international conferences, in 2025 I was invited to speak at a roundtable Panel In Chicago, for the Society of Cinema & Media Studies (SCMS), and later that year was invited to provide marketing and publicity workshops at the International Film Festival of India, Goa, as part of the Waves Film Bazaar event.

Alongside my research interests in Promotional media and Paratexts, I am keen to see how we can develop and design curricula that offer inclusive and engaging teaching content that breaks down the barriers between the workplace and education.

I regularly engage with popular and industry press you can read about my early work on film promotion conducted alongside colleagues at UCLA and UEA. in 2025 I was interviewed for the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services (AGCAS) about my role as director of collaborative teaching partnership with Leicester Partnership NHS Trust. For press queries about my work on promotion within the creative industries please contact the University Press team. 

I obtained my PhD 'Cross Media Promotion the Entertainment Industry and the Trailer' from the University of East Anglia in 2015 having previously studied my MSc in Film Studies at the University of Edinburgh and attaining a B.A (Hons) in Film & Television Studies at Aberystwyth University (formerly the University of Wales Aberystwyth). In 2025 I attained Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and Attained a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice.