Dennis Olsen

Associate Professor Dennis Olsen

Associate Professor (Reader) of Advertising and Branding
KEF Lead for London School of Film, Media and Design
London School of Film, Media and Design
Dennis.Olsen@uwl.ac.uk

Dennis' interdisciplinary work in branded communications is framed by sociological, cultural and psychological perspectives. He sees this triangulation as an excellent fit for advertising and branding specialists, who are facing increasing challenges in all three of these areas within a fast-paced globalised world that requires interaction with a variety of stakeholders.

Before joining the University of West London, Dennis worked for several years as a strategic planner in a multinational communications and advertising agency, and as a lecturer in advertising psychology at universities in Germany and Austria. His research interests revolve around consumer cultures, EDI campaigns, stereotype research – particularly in the context of ageing societies – and shifting consumer behaviours.

Dennis' research and KE/PE initiatives have earned him several national and international accolades and have been funded by various non-commercial and commercial organisations, including the British Academy, Leverhulme Trust, History of Advertising Trust, Centre for Ageing Better and SOS-UK.

Dennis is a founding member of the Brand Design Research cluster at UWL, as well as the international Brand Design Conference (part of the London Design Festival). He also chairs an interdisciplinary working group dedicated to EDI within the creative industries at RCMC, which includes a collection of British and German academics and independent researchers. Dennis also holds a visiting professorship in Germany.

  • Qualifications

    BA (Hons), MA, PgCert, PhDr, PhD

  • Memberships

    Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA)
    Certified Member of the Market Research Society (CMRS)
    Member of the British Society of Gerontology
    Member of the RCMC, Germany
    Member of the European Network in Aging Studies

Teaching

Dennis teaches on both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes within the London School of Film, Media and Design. His modules primarily focus on promotional cultures, consumer behaviour, research methods and creative entrepreneurship. In addition, Dennis is an in-demand supervisor for MPhil and PhD students.

Research

  • Research and publications

    Selected refereed output from the past 5 years

    Olsen, D.A., Crewe, J. and Nicholls, M. (2023) Screening older age. The representation of older adults in British cinema between 2010 and 2022. London: Centre for Ageing Better.

    Olsen, D.A. (2023) 'The portrayal of successful ageing in British prime-time TV advertisements: a concern for the healthcare sector?', Studies in Media and Communication, 11(4), pp. 31-38.

    Olsen, D.A. (2022) 'The promotional window into society: Advertising as indicator and influencer of socio-cultural trends', New Vistas, 8(1), pp. 47-52.

    Olsen, D.A. and Scott, C. (2021) 'Golden Years, Wise Mentors and Old Fools: An Updated Typology of Older Characters in British TV Advertising', Journal of Aging and Social Change, 11(2), pp. 83-94.

    Olsen, D.A. (2021) 'A new outlook on life: the public’s perception of post-retirement', in Autonomy (ed.) Feminist Futures Programme. London.

    Olsen, D.A. and Scott, C. (2021) 'Different stories: Investigating promotional narratives featuring older characters from minority ethnic groups in current British TV advertising', New Vistas, 7(2), pp. 31-35.

    Olsen, D.A. (2021) 'The impact of camera angles in learning videos on the perception of teaching excellence and emotional connectedness of students in the creative industries', Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching, 13(2), pp. 110-120.

    Olsen, D.A. (2019) 'Loneliness as an Activation Strategy in Narratives of Contemporary Advertising', in Fox, B. (ed.) Emotions and Loneliness in a Networked Society. London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 239-251.

    Olsen, D.A. (2019) 'How it all began: A history of scholarship on the representation of older adults in German advertising', in Larsen, V. (ed.) Exploring Identity Building: Marketing History as an Instrument of Transformation. Saskatoon, Canada: University of Saskatchewan Press, pp. 139-156.

    National and international academic exhibitions

    The Power of Diversity and Inclusion in Advertising (2019) [Exhibition]. University of West London, St Mary’s Road campus. 18 November–22 December 2019. Also: Cardiff Metropolitan University, Llandaff Campus. 6 July–31 October 2020; Privatuniversität Schloss Seeburg, Austria. 21 June–30 September 2021; HdpK Berlin, Germany. 6 December 2021–28 February 2022.

    Feuchtwanger relaunched! Jubilee exhibition for the 50th anniversary of Lion Feuchtwanger’s death (2008) [Exhibition]. Volkswagen Bibliothek Berlin, 3rd floor. 7 July 2008–21 December 2008.

  • Conferences

    Selected refereed conference papers from the past 5 years

    Olsen, D.A. (2023) 'The portrayal of older adults in British films', Inclusive Ageing – a Society for All. British Society of Gerontology 52nd Annual Conference, University of East Anglia, Norwich, 5–7 July. 

    Ylänne, V., Yoon, H., Olsen, D.A. and Aina, R. (2023) 'Look them in the eyes: Investigating the perception of the UK’s COVID-19 public health campaign among minority ethnic older adults', Inclusive Ageing – a Society for All. British Society of Gerontology 52nd Annual Conference, University of East Anglia, Norwich, 5–7 July. 

    Olsen, D.A. (2023) 'Knowledge Exchange in the Creative Industries: Three steps to fostering KE/PE collaborations', Knowledge Exchange Conference 2023, 29 March. 

    Olsen, D.A. (2022) 'Investigating the lack of old age diversity in Australian advertising', Diversity in der Wirtschaftskommunikation. 22nd inter-disciplinary symposium of the European Cultures in Business and Corporate Communication (EUCO), FOM Hochschule fuer Oekonomie & Management, Hamburg, Germany, 6–8 October. 

    Aina, R. and Olsen, D.A. (2022) 'Approaching diversity at the conceptual design stage of campaigns: The case of racial diversity in the beauty industry', Diversity in der Wirtschaftskommunikation. 22nd inter-disciplinary symposium of the European Cultures in Business and Corporate Communication (EUCO), FOM Hochschule fuer Oekonomie & Management, Hamburg, Germany, 6–8 October.

    Yoon, H., Olsen, D.A. and Ylänne, V. (2022) 'Minority ethnic older adults' narratives about COVID-19 public health campaigns', European Network in Aging Studies (ENAS) & North American Network in Aging Studies (NANAS) joint conference, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania, 28 September–1 October. 

    Olsen, D.A. (2022) 'Investigating narratives of intersectionality: stories of ethnic-culturally diverse ageing in contemporary British advertising', European Network in Aging Studies (ENAS) & North American Network in Aging Studies (NANAS) joint conference, National University of Political Studies and Public Administration, Bucharest, Romania, 28 September–1 October. 

    Olsen, D.A. (2022) 'Brand storytelling and the idea of ageing and old age in the UK', Better Futures for Older People – Towards Resilient and Inclusive Communities. British Society of Gerontology 51st Annual Conference. University of the West of England, Bristol, 6–8 July.

    Olsen, D.A., Brennan, D. and Osula, J. (2022) 'Exploring customer attitudes to diversity, equity and inclusion in entrepreneurial marketing for creative start-ups', The 6th Advances in Management and Innovation Conference. Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, 19–20 May.

    Paun, R. and Olsen, D.A. (2022) 'Video content consumption during the pandemic: developing an innovative SVOD aggregator and communal viewing experience for the UK market', The 6th Advances in Management and Innovation Conference. Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, 19–20 May.

    Olsen, D.A. (2021) 'Evaluating the impact of infographics in online learning settings on student engagement and experience', Learning and Teaching Symposium: The View from the Other Side. University of East London, London, 16 September.

    Olsen, D.A. (2021) 'Different stories: the impact of ethnicity on the narratives of market communications using older characters', Ageing Past, Present and Future: Innovation and Change. 50th Annual Conference of the British Society of Gerontology. Lancaster University, Lancaster, 7–9 July.

    Olsen, D.A. and Scott, C. (2021) 'Snapshot 2020: The portrayal of ageing and older adults in British TV advertising', Ageing Past, Present and Future: Innovation and Change. 50th Annual Conference of the British Society of Gerontology. Lancaster University, Lancaster, 7–9 July.

    Tidy, J. and Olsen, D.A. (2021) 'Consumer mindset in a time of crisis: Exploring the role of social media for Gen Z’s fashion consumption in 2020', The 5th Advances in Management and Innovation Conference. Cardiff Metropolitan University, Cardiff, 20–21 May.

    Olsen, D.A. (2020) 'Increasing student engagement: exploring learning artefacts via user-design research', Learning and Teaching Symposium: Advancing Futures in HE. University of East London, London, 17 September.

    Olsen, D.A. and Brewe, K. (2020) 'Embracing digital dexterity in Higher Education to address the digital skills gap', Learning and Teaching Symposium: Advancing Futures in HE. University of East London, London, 17 September.

    Olsen, D.A. and Owen, M. (2020) 'Visualisation Strategies for Teaching and Learning in the Creative Industries', Festival of Learning and Teaching 2020. University of West London, London, 2 July.

    Olsen, D.A. (2019) 'Considering students’ perception of teaching excellence in learning videos for the creative industries', Learning and Teaching Symposium: Connected Students. University of East London, London, 19 September.

    Olsen, D.A. (2019) 'Diversity Marketing: Exploring Age, Sex and Ethnic-Cultural Diversity in Advertising', 3rd ARS Conference. London, 11 July.

    Olsen, D.A. (2019) 'The impact of camera angles in learning videos on the perception of teaching excellence and emotional connectedness of students', Festival of Learning and Teaching. University of West London, London, 3 July.

    Olsen, D.A. (2019) 'Re-thinking or re-branding? Generation Z meets cultural tourism', TRAJECTORIES 2019. London, 12 June.

    Olsen, D.A. (2019) 'How it all began: Marketing to older adults', 19th Biennial Conference on Historical Analysis & Research in Marketing (CHARM). Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada, 16–19 May.

    Aina-Shodipe, R., Lelis, C. and Olsen, D.A. (2019) 'Racial diversity at the conceptual design stage of beauty brands’ campaigns', 14th Global Brand Conference 2019. Berlin School of Economics and Law, Berlin, Germany, 8–10 May.

  • Research degree supervision

    Principal supervisor

    Branding: The Skill of Communicating Moral Values (Bernardo Meza Guzman, in progress)

    The aesthetic of culture in contemporary promotional narratives (Anja Schmidt, completed)

    Second supervisor

    The Role of Social Media and Branding in Gang Recruitment (Rachel Lucy Dimond, in progress)

Courses taught on