BA (Hons) Marketing module descriptions
Below are the module descriptions for all modules currently taught on our BA (Hons) Marketing
course.
Year One - Core Modules
Fundamentals of Marketing
This module will introduce you to the concept of marketing and general principles in marketing and
design practice.
You will learn to recognise and apply the concepts and techniques that are used to interpret markets
and market trends. You will also study the development of marketing materials and obtain an
appreciation of marketing planning and decision making undertaken in a business organization.
Alongside this you will develop an awareness of the practical and theoretical issues relating to design
plus an awareness of design principles and processes in the external marketing environment.
The Marketing Environment
This module will extend your understanding of the nature and scope of the internal and external
environment, including the global market.
You will use basic analytical techniques to identify key drivers in the internal and external environment
and consider the impact upon the organisation and its marketing activities. You will consider which
factors are uncontrollable, and how an organisation might respond to them, as well as factors within
the micro and internal environment which may be manipulated to the benefit of the organisation and
its customers.
The module will alert you to the factors which influence the operation and success of organisations,
and explore some of the opportunities and challenges that these pose to market oriented organisations
in today’s dynamic marketing environments.
Business Information Systems and Quantitative Methods for Marketing
This module is designed to introduce you to information management and information systems, and
their role within organisations. You will learn to interpret data in a business context, and will develop
skills in both specialist statistical and standard office software. In addition to developing your
knowledge and proficiency in quantitative techniques, the module is also intended to enhance your
confidence and attitude towards numerical aspects of business.
Accounting and Finance for Managers
Through this module you will develop the skills and competencies needed to make effective use of
Ent
er
pr
i
seand Busi
nessDevel
opment
Integrated Marketing Communications
This module focuses on developing your ability to apply marketing communication theory and tools, in
order to design, prepare and implement a strategic marketing communications campaign. You will
explore the concepts and techniques used in the interpretation of markets and market trends, and
develop the ability to work effectively individually and collaboratively to achieve goals in relation to set
targets.
Managing in Marketing
This module focuses on developing you as a manager in marketing, particularly in the management of
the marketing planning process and in managing and developing people in order to maximise
marketing effectiveness. This includes input on the creation of marketing plans, the organisation of
marketing, the recruitment and talent development, and enhancing your own capacity and capability.
Related to this is the need to have effective quality systems and processes to support compliance and
measure and monitor the effectiveness of marketing activities. Thus it draws upon your earlier studies
in level 1 to consider the financial aspects of monitoring performance of the marketing function. The
module also provides an overview of some of the contexts in which marketing activities take place.
Delivering Customer Value
This module explores the models and techniques that are used in key marketing functions, focusing on
how to create and deliver value for the customer. You will consider why organisations make particular
marketing decisions and how marketing activities are integrated and delivered in a way that creates
value for their customers. You will explore a number of areas including product management and
development, branding, pricing, channel management, internal and external marketing
communications and customer service.
Optional Modules
Digital Essentials
This module will help you develop the skills and knowledge needed when planning digital marketing
campaigns within organisation. It will also develop your understanding of the importance of digital
campaign tools, planning, implementation and monitoring.
The content of the module will cover areas such as:

The Digital marketing environment

Digital campaign tools, planning, implementation and monitoring

Digital campaign co-ordination for customer Acquisition, Conversion and Retention

The Digital Communications mix

Digital Marketing Strategy

Online PR and the use of Social Media

SEO – Search Engine optimisation

Target marketing and the emerging buyer behaviour characteristics of the online consumer

Viral online marketing
Exploring Strategy and Innovation
This module provides an understanding of business development and strategy with particular reference
to processes of strategic management, innovation and business development in the global context.
It will develop your understanding of competitive advantage and introduce you to key concepts in
strategy, organisational change and development, all drawn from different cultural contexts. You will
examine the nature of innovation, and the process involved in bringing it about. This module also
seeks to demonstrate how innovation can provide competitive advantage for business firms operating
in local, national and international environments.
Over the course of the module you will:






Study profitability and the nature and purpose of corporate and competitive strategy in a global
context
Explore corporate direction, goals, mission and vision.
Analyse the business environment, methods and techniques of analysis and its relevance to
competitor and customer development.
Explore the nature of technological change and its links to innovation
Classify innovation and innovative activity.
Analyse the process of innovation and different perspectives on the process.
Final Year - Core Modules
Research Project
For this module you will undertake a purposeful, individual, in depth study of a relevant topic,
developing your independent learning, critical thinking and knowledge of research techniques relevant
to your subject area.
The project will develop your ability to manage a major piece of work, for which you will be completely
responsible, and will be completed over a period of several months. You will learn to utilise and
improve your time management and communication skills, as well as test your initiative and
resourcefulness.
To support your development during this module you will study essential skills such as critical thinking,
conducting a literature review, understanding the appropriate research framework, practical research
methods and skills, report and academic writing skills.
Future Marketing
Through this module you will consider new and emerging marketing activities and technologies of the
21st century. You will learn to recognise concepts, emerging trends and technologies within business,
and their influences on the social, economic, technological, political, legal and environmental landscape
of the future.
This module is not purely about using historical data to view new developments, it will also provide you
with an insight into how innovations in business are arrived at and how both projective speculation and
criticality are found in entrepreneurial endeavour both nationally and internationally.
Mastering Metrics
This module examines the importance of managing marketing data in effective marketing decisionmaking. It presents the role of marketing metrics within the organisation and establishes how an
understanding of a range of measurement techniques can enable organisations to achieve marketing
insights and strategic decision making. It provides an appreciation of how measurement techniques,
aligned to business objectives, can establish and determine the effectiveness of marketing activities. It
outlines the value of using appropriate data sources to enable effective marketing analysis, and of
employing appropriate analytics tools and techniques to ensure effective marketing decision making.
Strategic Marketing and Brand Management
During this module you will cover the key concepts, frameworks and models encountered in the
strategic marketing management process. You will learn to assess the nature and dimensions of
branding/brand decisions, their role in the development of a competitor advantage, and their
significance in global markets. As part of your skills development you will also learn to evaluate and
analyse different forms of branding.
On completing the module you will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the direction and
management of marketing activities as part of the implementation of strategic direction, taking into
account business intelligence requirements, marketing processes, resources, markets and the company
vision.
Leadership and Employability
This module will help prepare you for future employment, by further developing your career-related
and transferrable skills. During the module you will critically reflect on your time at University, and
develop your knowledge and understanding of leadership, as well as your consultancy and project
management skills. You will also develop an understanding of how effective strategic leadership can
influence organisational behaviour, strategic management and financial decision-making.
Your lectures and seminars will be delivered by specialist tutors and guests, focusing on themes such
as international accounting and finance, professional practice, public service finance, strategic
leadership, entrepreneurship, sustainability and ethical issues, and career management skills, including
effective job search strategies, realising your full potential via ‘personal branding’ and management of
your online presence, and requirements and qualifications for the various accounting and finance
professional bodies.
In addition to attending traditional lectures and seminars, you will also select career related and
transferable skills workshops and events that match your needs, and guest lectures from business and
industry.
Optional Modules
Digital Marketing Planning
Online marketing is now at the hub of customer-centric communications, meaning graduates are
expected to understand the importance of digital campaign planning. This module will provide you with
the skills and knowledge to understand digital marketing planning at an organisational level, including
the implementation, measurement and evaluation of successful campaigns.
You will learn to appraise different planning approaches and marketing environmental factors that
influence online marketing activity, and also review the similarities and differences between online and
traditional marketing concepts and applications. You will explore the key stages in online development
using relevant business models, and analyse the ways in which the Internet has changed the
marketing mix elements and how organisations employ them creatively in the digital environment.
As part of your skills development you will learn to review buyer behaviour characteristics of the online
consumer and explore how organisations can respond to meet changing behaviour and expectations.
You will also learn how to apply relevant tools and concepts from this unit to design, measure and
monitor an annual online marketing plan.
Managing Creativity, Design and Innovation
The development of successful products and services involves complex processes and is dependent on
how well research, design and innovation activities are integrated with other functions in the
organisation. This module will develop your understanding of the relationships between creativity,
design and innovation and explore and debate a range of perspectives concerning their nature. It will
develop your critical awareness of theories related to the origins and role of creativity at individual,
team and organisational levels, and teach you to appreciate, understand and contemplate some of the
issues facing organisations trying to harness the potential from their creative resources.