Marketing, Communications and Branding MSc

Advertising and Marketing Communications provides an advanced insight into the creation and management of strategic advertising and branding campaigns. It focuses on integrating marketing messages across multiple channels to achieve organisational objectives, with an emphasis on data-driven strategies and real-time analytics to enhance campaign performance. The module also covers global brand communication strategies, addressing cultural and regulatory considerations in international markets. Ethical and sustainable marketing practices are explored, alongside techniques for managing advertising crises and navigating contemporary challenges. Throughout the module, you will also get the opportunity to examine the use of emerging technologies, including AI, AR/VR, and programmatic advertising, to build customer-based equity within brands. By combining strategic thinking with cutting-edge technologies and ethical considerations, you will be equipped to lead impactful and responsible advertising campaigns in a dynamic global environment by the end of this module.

Module code: BUS4717

Credits: 15

Assessment:

Marketing: Sustainable and Ethical Perspectives addresses two of the most pressing issues facing the business leaders and consumers of the future: sustainability and wellbeing. Drawing on key ethical theories, this module encourages you to critically engage with a range of contemporary sustainability-related issues in marketing, presenting arguments and developing solutions. The issues considered include: whether promoting consumption is unethical and at the detriment to the environment and to what extent are the beauty and fashion industries detrimental to emotional well-being as well as exploring questions including ‘Is digital marketing detrimental to consumers?’ and ‘Is there such a thing as ‘green’ consumption or ‘ethical trade’?’. Throughout the module, you will also take a more reflexive view of long established, results-orientated marketing concepts and re-evaluate their effectiveness and relevance in the light of wider environmental and societal issues including the prevalence of digital marketing.

Module code: BUS4714

Credits: 15

Assessment:

International Brand Management considers the central role of branding for today's marketers, with particular emphasis on creating and managing global brands in order to build customer value and brand equity, and the role of branding as part of an organisations marketing strategy. You will engage with a range of critical debates surrounding the concepts, theories and role of branding from both customer and organisational perspectives.

Module code: BUS4712

Credits: 15

Assessment:

Public Relations recognises the importance of PR as a key part of the marketing mix and offers you an in-depth understanding of public relations practice and emerging thinking in the context of marketing communications. The main aim of the module is to enable you to scrutinise and design PR campaigns and deal with complex crisis situations, while employing sophisticated problem solving and crisis-solving techniques. You will also get the opportunity to critically engage with current ethical dilemmas, industry debates and its professional bodies and a varied range of professional products, maximising your employability, creative thinking and professional status. 

Module code: BUS4718

Credits: 15

Assessment:

Business Analytics aims to develop your ability to make optimal decisions within a variety of contexts including finance, human resources, operations and marketing by exploring the practical application of statistical and non-statistical analytical techniques. By the end of the module, you'll be equipped to carry out sophisticated analytics that promote the application of evidence-based decision-making. This module is particularly beneficial for students wanting to progress their career in market intelligence, business analysis or consultancy as well as those who want to optimise their general managerial capabilities.

Module code: BUS4710

Credits: 15

Assessment:

Applied Analytics explores the practical use of data analytics to support informed decision-making across various business functions. Throughout the module, you will engage with emerging technologies and tools, while ensuring adherence to ethical standards and regulatory requirements for responsible data use in today’s complex business environment. You will learn advanced techniques for predicting customer behaviour, managing performance, identifying market trends, and segmenting audiences to tailor marketing and business strategies. You will develop your ability to turn complex data into clear, actionable insights through effective data visualisation, enabling communication with key stakeholders. You will also examine how digital platforms, and social media can be analysed to optimise brand and product strategies and how to evaluate the performance of campaigns across multiple channels, using customer data to improve engagement and retention.

Module code: BUS4716

Credits: 15

Assessment:

Collaborative Innovation focuses on the process of transforming an idea into a product or service and establishing its ‘innovative’ character. Innovation involves the development and launch of a novel or reconfigured product or service to secure a competitive edge or even establish new markets. This module delves into the distinctions amongst an idea, an invention, and an innovation, providing you with a case-driven comprehension of the process in action, from inception to execution. Furthermore, it will equip you with an array of tools and methodologies to critically evaluate success.

Module code: BUS4705

Credits: 15

Assessment:

Organisational Research is designed to develop your awareness of research methodologies and techniques that are specifically appropriate for undertaking, analysing and writing-up academic research linked to critical, public and third sector management. The module will develop your existing knowledge of advanced theory within the areas of study and link this to a range of research techniques. You will explore a wide range of methodologies and develop the necessary conceptual, methodological, practical and ethical skills necessary for management studies research.

Module code: BUS4701

Credits: 15

Assessment:

Dissertation is designed to provide you with the opportunity to undertake a piece of independent research based on, or linked to, a specific issue or topic related to organisation and management development that has been identified during the programme.

Module code: BUS4707

Credits: 60

Assessment: