Digital Marketing (with Foundation Year)

Year 1

Compulsory modules

• Finance for Marketing

  You’ll look at finance for marketing and focus on its importance in a variety of business contexts. You will learn how to interpret and analyse simple financial statements in order to assess an organisation's performance and its financial strength. You’ll understand the basics of planning and budgeting and short-term decision making. Also you’ll develop your confidence in your ability to deal with the internal and external financial information important to marketing.

• Academic and Professional Practices for Marketing

  This module supports your transition from your school/college to now studying an honours level undergraduate course. Through the lens of real business problems, you will acquire the necessary research, critical analysis, team working and communication skills that will be the foundation of your academic and future professional success. You’ll have the opportunity to develop your skills in specific areas, based on tutor feedback. This module will prepare you for your other first year modules, helping you to flourish in an academic environment.

• Essential Management and Leadership Skills for Marketing

  Gain the key management and leadership skills you’ll need in a marketing environment. You will actively engage with the study of key management and leadership approaches by being exposed to the essential characteristics of organisations operating in a global context and the role of management within this. 

  Also you will explore the functions of business, their interrelatedness and the impact of management and leadership styles on their operations. By examining how theoretical concepts and frameworks are applied in practice you will be exposed to a number of different scenarios so you build your awareness of how management decision making impacts business performance and also look at and learn the skills successful managers and leaders use to meet the challenges of a dynamic marketing environment.

• Marketing in a Digital World

  This is your introduction to the general principles of marketing. Through practical activities supported by lectures, you will learn to apply the tools and techniques used by professional marketers. You’ll gain understanding and appreciate the inter-relationships between different marketing and business concepts and be able to build upon the knowledge you develop in your subsequent second year modules.

• Customer and Marketing Insights

  To understand customer needs and market trends is intrinsic to the success of any business. On this module, you will look at the concepts and tools required by professional marketers to understand customer and market needs including a brief overview of consumer behaviour. Through traditional and contemporary techniques you’ll explore the process of marketing research and its role in gaining understanding of consumers and markets to meet organisational objectives.

  You’ll learn the academic concepts underlying marketing research and develop practical research and analytical skills. You will gain sufficient grounding in marketing research techniques and data analysis and its interpretation to enable you to carry out projects involving marketing research and data analysis.

• Sustainable and Ethical Marketing

  You are the marketers of tomorrow, so it is key you understand and are able to respond to the ethical and environmental sustainability challenges that will be faced. As such, your learning is tied to the Business School’s commitment to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management. 

  You will discuss the meaning of ethical marketing and key environmental issues such as:

  • global warming
  • pollution
  • biodiversity loss 
  • freshwater depletion.

  Including the role of marketing in causing as well as responding to such issues. You’ll look at a variety of stakeholder perspectives and frameworks to aid the analysis of marketing responses.

Year 2

Compulsory modules

• Contemporary Marketing Communications

  The communications environment is rapidly changing and you’ll look at contemporary approaches to integrated marketing communications in a wide range of contexts. You’ll also be introduced to Digital asset management as a concept for curation of digital artefacts and assets in the context of marketing communications, building your understanding of marketing communicative methods.

• Digital Consumer Behaviour

  You’ll develop your skills to identify and evaluate the latest developments in digital consumer behaviour, including emerging consumer behaviour trends across different consumption contexts. You’ll progress your application of appropriate research methods and tools to collect your findings.

• Brand Management

  You’ll progress your existing marketing and business knowledge into the sphere of product branding (both physical goods, services and business to business). You’ll look at contemporary brand literature, both academic and professional, building your understanding of the brand knowledge that underpins the core themes you will cover. You will investigate the function of brand management within the various stages of the brand positioning process such as 

  • brand analysis
  • strategy development 
  • and implementation.

• Applied Marketing Consultancy

  This is your introduction to marketing consultancy through action (or experiential) based learning methods. In action learning, you’ll be part of a team to solve a real and relevant problem for a client. Through this approach to learning you’ll experience and analyse marketing as it happens in a work based context.

  In the lectures, you’ll develop marketing theory, skills and knowledge to support you in the second part of the module (i.e. workshops, lab work and field work) to work on behalf of a client organisation.

• Social Media and Influencer Marketing

  Get to grips with social media marketing, how and why it has become one of the most important tools used by businesses to find and engage with customers and the increasingly key role that Influencer Marketing plays. Through both a strategic and practical approach you will build a Social Media and Influencer Marketing Plan for a real business; gaining an understanding of the changing face of Social Media and Influencer Marketing, how to choose and find influencers and how to use them to improve customer engagement and ultimately drive sales.

Optional modules

• Digital Advertising and Creative Content

  This is your introduction to the world of digital marketing in a global context. It builds on your earlier module Contemporary Marketing Communications and will help give you insights into a range of contexts including mobile advertising, in-game advertising and user generated advertising.  

  This will help to prepare you for your final year modules and also enhances your employability skills with the opportunity to engage you with practical and written assessments linked to creative industry scenarios.

• Contemporary Omnichannel Retail and Marketing

  This is your introduction to the nature, scope and characteristics of the various marketing and sales strategies used in the retail industry and how they are evolving, in line with changing customer buying habits and expectations. 

  You will look at the drivers impacting on the sector and the interaction between digital platforms and physical outlets, combined with new technologies, to enhance the customer experience and bring new efficiencies to retail sales and marketing. You’ll build your knowledge of how these various factors can combine to create the ideal Omnichannel retail experience for the customer.

Optional Placement Year

Optional modules

• CHOOSE ONE MODULE FROM:

• Placement

  On this placement you will be able to access a 40-52 week work-based learning / placement opportunity to help develop your employability and enterprise skills. You will gain first-hand knowledge and experience of making applications to and working in a placement role. You will set your own work-based targets and reflect upon your progress in the role you have on your placement. Halfway through your placement you will make a presentation to your line manager and placement tutor which summarises your gained knowledge on your placement and the tasks you have/ will complete in your placement role.

• Full Year International Study Abroad

  This is your opportunity to study Business topics abroad in order to experience a different national, educational and business culture and to build on your knowledge, understanding, skills and competencies you’ve gained so far. You will undertake an international study exchange at a university outside the UK, arranged with the University’s exchanges office. This international study exchange lasts for one academic year and is taken after your second year of studies (Level 5).

• OR CHOOSE THESE TWO OPTIONS:

• Short Placement

  This 24-week placement is your opportunity to develop your employability and enterprise skills. In the UK or Europe you will gain first-hand knowledge and experience of making applications to and working in a placement role. You will set your work based targets and reflect upon your success in your placement role. At the end of the placement, you will make a presentation to your line manager and placement tutor which summarises the knowledge and skills you have developed on your placement.

• Work-based Learning

  This module is also a 24-week work-based learning opportunity for you to develop your employability and enterprise skills. As on the other modules you will have the opportunity to obtain first-hand knowledge and experience of making applications to and working in a placement role. This could include employment, volunteer work experience or undertaking a consultancy type project.

  You will agree a brief before your work-based role begins,set work based targets and reflect upon your success in your placement role. At the end of the placement, you will make a presentation to your line manager and placement tutor which summarises the knowledge and skills you have developed on your placement.

Final Year

Compulsory modules

• Personal Branding

  Harness your knowledge of brands, communication strategies and business types gained through your degree. This module will help you to understand your potential future career paths, based on your strengths, skills and interests. You’ll get the support to be focused, differentiated and successful in planning your future careers through developing your:

  • personal brand purpose
  • brand story
  • brand communication plan 

  in a way that is consistent and authentic. You’ll look at theoretical and professional perspectives relating to management, professional ethics and other areas relevant to careers in business, marketing, events and related areas.

• Critical Issues in Digital Marketing

  Look at the emerging digital environment and future trends, which will help you to develop a critical understanding of the research and practice trajectory of digital marketing. You’ll progress your critical understanding of how consumers engage with brands online and the ethical dilemmas that may require critical consideration with the further adoption of future digital developments.

• Harnessing Big Data

  Big data is generated from various sources, including social media, websites, mobile devices, and customer interactions. In today's competitive market, the application of harnessing big data is highly useful. 

  This module is your introduction to harnessing big data and how it can be used in a marketing context. You will look at data collection, storage, and processing, as well as data mining and machine learning techniques for marketing applications. Also you’ll learn how to analyse large datasets to gain insights into consumer behaviour and preferences, and how to use these insights to inform marketing strategies.

• Social Media Management

  Focus on the use of social media platforms as a key part of digital marketing strategies. You’ll actively engage with current trends of social media management by evaluating relevant social media campaigns and applying learned theories and approaches to understand their effectiveness. This will help you think critically about how to design, plan, and manage successful social media campaigns. You will also critically evaluate and implement various stages of managing social media platforms for marketing purposes.

Optional modules

• Project (academic or sustainability and enterprise)

  You’ll receive appropriate supervision and guidance, on a topic you select to study in depth from your course. You will engage in research and employ methodologies which will progress your understanding of the process of research, and you’ll also use material that is at the forefront of the topic you’ve selected.

• Advanced Consumers and Marketing Analytics

  Marketing Analytics uses data and advanced methods to solve marketing and business problems. It is one of the fastest growing areas of application and as a consequence, competition and value generation has moved quite fast from the use of general theories towards a data-driven approach. 

  Through this module, you’ll examine and equip yourself with the knowledge of how to best use this data in order to reach business, economic and societal and ecological objectives for a sustainable future.

• Entrepreneurial Business Management

  This module provides you with an in-depth focus on the skills involved in evaluating business ideas, the practical steps involved in launching a business and the necessary processes of winning the finance. The module also addresses those issues that ventures must consider when planning an exit strategy and so focuses attention on the purpose of business enterprise. In Semester 1 this module explores contemporary theories of entrepreneurship and applies them to real life case studies. In Semester 2 the module focuses upon the preparation of a complete plan for a new business, capable of attracting funding.

  On successful completion of this module, you will be able to apply appropriate analytical concepts to provide support for untried venture proposals, understand the range of technical issues faced by those in start-up ventures and reflect on application of entrepreneurship theory, based on experience in a practical setting.

• Global Marketing Management

  Build upon your marketing knowledge and apply it within an international context. Brands operating in international markets need to be mindful of the various challenges posed by an ever changing and dynamic global market. You’ll proactively understand these global market dynamics that help brands establish a sustainable competitive advantage. You’ll also look to develop understanding of various ethical and sustainable issues in a global context and respect cultural differences in different markets.

• Social and Non-profit Marketing

  An effective society is arguably one where people are civically engaged. It is one where they not only know about and are conscious of social and environmental issues and imbalances, but are also motivated to step forward: whether through managing nonprofit organisations, leading social campaigns or through consumer behaviour such as donating, volunteering or boycotting. 

  On this module, you will deepen your knowledge of the role of marketing in strengthening engagement with the nonprofit sector, and how behaviour change is achieved through social marketing campaigns. 

• Creative Communication Management

  You will practise marketing problem-solving using marketing communications throughout this module. Your taught input and practical exercises will help you develop a holistic view of marketing communications campaigns, their role and how they are developed, managed and evaluated in a variety of organisational and social contexts, cultures and communities. 

  You’ll build on your knowledge of marketing communications tools, ability to conduct independent research into a variety of markets and sectors. You will further develop and hone your knowledge and skills, which will be utilised throughout this module in a way that prepares you to be effective within a marketing communications-focused area.