MSc Marketing and Brand Management

This module introduces the key principles of responsible marketing by studying the theories that underpin ‘Better Marketing for a Better World’ which works towards achieving the UN Sustainability Goals. The module will explore the marketing environment including the changing needs of customers, and how brands make choices about the marketing mix to meet those needs in a long-term sustainable way. This includes the ways in which marketers plan, manage and implement marketing programmes in the context of the international interconnected global environment of the twenty first century.

You'll examine consumer behaviour in relation to global challenges such as climate change, inequality, poverty, and the wealth gap. Grounded in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 12, you'll explore how consumer choices contribute to and can help address sustainability challenges.

Drawing on behavioural science, psychology, sociology, macro marketing, and ethical consumption theories, you'll analyse digital influence, AI, VR, neuroscience, and misinformation in shaping behaviour. The module also incorporates futurism and creative thinking to reimagine sustainable consumption practices. Through contemporary research and applied analysis, you'll gain insight into the transformative potential of sustainable consumer behaviour for a better future.

This professional and academic skills development module helps you to become a lifelong learner and enhances your employability. Starting with a focus on how to achieve your best academically, you will then develop your skills for employment and career planning. You will work through a self-development plan, taking the lead in your own learning and development. You will be coached in identifying, engaging in and reflecting on how you can gain from developmental activities within the University and externally.

You will examine how brands are created and successfully managed. You will explore the latest research and practice in strategic brand management and focus on innovative approaches to new product development. Key ethical, environmental and socio-cultural implications for contemporary brand management are analysed within regional, national and global contexts. The latest research and practice in strategic brand management and the use of social media and digital communications technology, is investigated. On completing this module, you will have gained an advanced knowledge of the latest tools, techniques and broader societal implications of contemporary strategic brand management.

Explore the role and usage of contemporary brand and marketing communications and build on the fundamental insight that an organisation’s brand strategy needs to be at the heart of all its marketing communications activities.

You'll be able to develop your knowledge and skills to manage integrated marketing communications in a variety of sectors including consumer goods and services, business-to- business and not-for-profit. You'll look at a broad range of marketing communications channels and tools that will be critically assessed. This includes advertising, public relations, sponsorship and digital marketing communications, particularly in the context of social media. Creative and strategic insights from current practice will underpin your understanding and application of the marketing communications skills essential for today’s marketers.

You'll focus on developing marketing strategies in a sustainable global world. While learning how to select and apply a range of marketing theories, concepts and approaches in order to inform the decision-making processes involved in developing marketing strategies in a global context.

This module also embraces relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals and their relevance for responsible marketing practitioners. The main aim of this module is to ensure that you'll understand and appreciate the importance of ethical, sustainable, social, cultural and environmental issues in the global marketplace and the profound impact these factors have on marketing practices in a global context.

Explore how digital technologies, big data, and AI-driven tools are transforming modern marketing strategy, execution, and performance measurement. You'll develop skills to apply marketing and competitive positioning frameworks across digital channels, including social, mobile, and emerging platforms.

You'll use an evidence-based decision-making, through marketing analytics, web and app analytics, campaign measurement, and consumer behaviour analysis. You'll learn to extract insights from structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data such as social media, reviews, and search activity. Also you'll examine AI-enabled marketing practices, automation, governance, privacy, and bias, while strengthening your ability to communicate insights through dashboards and executive-level recommendations.

You'll undertake a practical development and delivery of an applied marketing research project for a particular live client organisation or case study. Building on your knowledge and practical skills gained in other modules. You'll equip yoursleves with the necessary knowledge and skills to undertake an independent applied research project, relevant to your specific area of marketing you're studying. You'll be able to investigate in detail an area of particular interest or relevance in your area of study.

You'll explore the links between applied research, analysis and professional practice by drawing upon a range of primary and/or secondary sources in preparation for your assessment. The ability to carry out independent research and data analysis, and then to communicate their findings in writing and orally, are key skills required by the marketing profession.

This non-credit-bearing module focuses on developing the academic writing and reading skills required when undertaking postgraduate level study.

It will help you develop your understanding of key features of successful academic writing, including how to integrate sources to support arguments, how to demonstrate critical thinking and how to address assessment tasks effectively. Critical reading and research skills are also developed as well as Critical AI Literacy. It is particularly suitable for postgraduate students who have had little or no previous Academic English training or study experience in a UK university.

This elective study trip will give you a hands-on, intensive experience with the ideas and practices of global business. You’ll meet with leaders of global firms, receive presentations from global academic experts, and tour company facilities. You’ll also have direct interaction with management executives and practices through site visits to major corporations and agencies.

All costs associated with the trip will need to be funded by you. It is not linked to university assessments in any way. If you successfully complete this module you will have it recorded on your transcript. As the destination and therefore precise costs vary from year to year, the programme fee of the study trip will be communicated to students before the application deadline.

As one of the fast-recovering sectors in the post-pandemic period, the future of luxury is promising with a few significant changes taking place in global markets.

Luxury brands are unique in many perspectives, for instance, offering consumers a high-quality product or service, engaging with the emotional benefits of prestige and exclusivity. In a new era of sustainability, it is critical to understand how the concept of luxury takes shape and continues to develop by adopting fresh ideas such as circular economy, substitute material and green consumption.

This module introduces luxury from a perspective of both theory and practice on luxury goods and services, such as jewellery, fashion, tourism, and prestige cars and explores a range of luxury marketing areas, including concepts, principles, heritage, people and sustainability in luxury.

This module explores how to acquire and retain the appropriate share of good customers, as well as how to prioritise customers. It is based on the premise that customers are the essence of the organisation, as, without customers, the organisation would fail. The module takes a customer-centric approach and acknowledges the hyper-connected environment in which organisations operate today. Technologies like AI and Big-data, and methodological approaches to obtain customer insights and to build detailed customer profiles are discussed. Moreover, the module considers how to engage with customers in ways that add value to both parties. The module uses real case studies, and a wide range of analytical approaches to obtain insights from datasets but also students' own experiences as customers.

If you decide to take the sandwich mode your year of full-time taught study will be followed by one year of full-time, supervised work experience. The time on supervised work experience is paid and spent with a suitable international hospitality and tourism employer. You carry out an assessed project for the company as part of your academic studies on the placement. You'll expand your enterprise skills in the context of the workplace. The focus will be on building your intrapreneurial mindsets during your placement, helping you to develop the curiosity, creativity, vision and resilience to be successful in a variety of organisations. The placement will enable you to drive innovation in one or more of the following areas: ethical business behaviour, inclusivity, responsible management, sustainability, digitalisation and internationalisation. Drawing on your research skills you'll propose evidence based innovative solutions to your placement organisations’ challenges.