Digital Marketing MSc/PGDip/PGCert

• The nature, extent and purposes of research in marketing and marketing management.
• Research paradigms in researching areas of marketing.
• Research strategies for marketing and marketing management.
• Research designs, methods and approaches
• Research quality standards: establishing validity, reliability and generalisability
• Research instrument design and sampling.
• Research ethics.
• Research Data Management and Interpretation: collection, organisation, analysis, conclusions.
• Managing a dissertation research project.

The aim of this module is to enable learners to:

1. Design and implement a research project proposal using methodologies and methods appropriate to research questions and objectives within the field of marketing and/or marketing management.
2. Critically analyse and report research findings meeting academic and/or practitioner requirements of a marketing management research project.
3. Develop appropriate skills in preparing, implementing and managing marketing projects.

A programme of individual study and research project in accordance with established research principles involving the completion of the following elements:

Marketing Management Project

• Introduction and planning Marketing Management Projects
• Approaches to critically review literature and other sources of data for a marketing management project
• Justifying appropriate data collection methods
• Research ethics
• Undertaking a marketing management project
• Selecting data analysis techniques for a specified research strategy
• Techniques in forming conclusions and preparing implications and recommendations.

1. To provide students with an opportunity to propose justified solutions to a marketing problem.
2. To enable students to develop and apply their existing knowledge to a project and to enhance their ability to collect, analyse and interpret a range of sources of data.
3. To enhance students’ skills to complete a significant piece of research that embodies the ability to clearly communicate a marketing issue, plan and implement a research design and evaluate data in a comprehensive and cohesive project.

This module covers some of the key skills needed by a marketing practitioner operating in a digital environment.

Key Themes:

• understanding digital disruption and the impact on digital communications strategy
• Using digital planning frameworks to align business objectives with campaign objectives
• Planning and implementing digital communications tools, which includes: search engine marketing, email marketing, digital PR, content marketing, email marketing, affiliate marketing
• Using segmentation techniques for effective campaign implementation and management
• Developing and using website personas for acquisition and conversion (research and web analytics)
• Planning successful campaigns by developing online value propositions and understanding buyer behaviour
• Branding for digital communications
• Understanding campaign timing and integration issues
• Building online customer relationships

This module provides opportunities for students to:

1. Explore and develop an understanding of the theories, concepts and techniques employed in strategic digital marketing communications and their integration into traditional marketing campaigns;
2. Consider a framework of understanding and critically analyse strategic digital marketing communications in diverse organisational types and in differing contexts and frameworks of operation;
3. Develop an advanced critical understanding of the uses and limitations of digital marketing tools in the business environment and to be able to apply creative solutions to business management situations.

This module covers some of the key skills needed by a marketing practitioner or strategist operating in a digital environment.

Key Themes: 

• Customer Journeys
• Customer Personas
• Profiling, segmentation and targeting
• Setting objectives
• Data mining and data modelling
• Acquisition 
• Conversion 
• Retention
• Configuring for tactical mix with ACR in mind
• Metrics and tools 

This module provides opportunities for students to:

1. Explore and develop an understanding of the theories, concepts and techniques that can be used for acquisition, conversion and retention in digital marketing campaigns
2. Critically evaluate the advantages and limitations of different digital marketing techniques in diverse organisational types and in differing contexts and frameworks of operation
3. Consider the most appropriate applications of digital acquisition, conversion and retention tools against organisational objectives and resources
4. Develop critical and creative skills to analyse an organisation's market position and offer realistic digital marketing solutions in the context of a real life situation

This module will offer a theoretical, historical, and cultural exploration of the contexts, functions, meanings, and impact of social media in contemporary society

The module will enable students to evaluate, project,and apply the practical aspects of social media to different contexts.

The student will develop and employ advanced practical and technical skills in different applications in order to develop and deploy appropriate social media strategies. 

The module will examine dominant and emergent social media forms and the most influential digital media technologies in the context of a variety of themes.  The following is illustrative of what the module may cover (subject to the constant ongoing developments in this field):

• Data-driven insight in a social media marketing context
• The uses of social media in corporate and political media relations activities
• Social Media Marketing Strategy
• Social Media Platform Strategy
• Social Media messaging strategy
• Influencer Marketing
• User-generated content development and curation
• Professional practice in social media - reputation management

The application of social and digital media technologies to marketing and communications projects

The aims of this module are as follows:

• To enable students to critically explore the backgrounds and contexts of contemporary social  media marketing;
• To provide opportunities for students to critically evaluate the most appropriate uses of social media strategies in different contexts;
• To enable students to develop the technical, critical, and creative skills to apply the opportunities offered by emerging social media to different contexts;
• To provide a strategic appreciation of Social Media Marketing Strategy and how it integrates with wider Digital Communications strategy.

The aims of this module are to:

1. provide a critical understanding of the theories, concepts and frameworks relating to online consumer behaviour in different contexts;
2. enable an advanced critical understanding of the various factors which influences online consumer behaviour;
3. develop and evaluate different Customer profiling and customer journey mapping techniques
4. facilitate the critical application of customer journey maps and personas to different contexts.

 The aims of this module are to:

• provide students with an in-depth, strategic appreciation of the concept of Digitial Disruption;
• encourage students to critically reflect on current and future digitally disruptive  trends;
• enable students to critically assess an organisation's digital capabilities and readiness for change;
• empower students to develop appropriate strategic recommendations in response to identified disruptive trends and in the context of operational capabilities.