You’ll work through the main theories and principles of marketing for the marketing manager or business leader, understanding how those theories and principles can be applied in practice to a range of business contexts; from business-to-consumer, business-to-business, charities, arts, to tourism and service-based industries. You’ll focus particularly on global business challenges; competition and defining value; a digitally based economy; and societal marketing (corporate social responsibility, sustainability, morals and ethics) whilst also understanding the legal framework that impacts upon marketers and marketing practice such as consumer and data protection laws. This module will challenge you to examine marketing problems that have faced brands and organisations to critically analyse their approach and suggest new alternatives. You’ll gain a firm grasp of the scope of marketing in general business management and leadership roles as well as a clear understanding of the specialist areas of study and work as you plan your lifelong career in this very broad industry.

There are many types of brand, and personal branding applies to each and every one of us. One of the most noticeable places that we present our personal brand is on social media, where we have a persona that we choose to show the world. Some manage to make their living from this persona and social media influencers will be explored in this module. Celebrity will also be a key topic, as this is the ultimate in personal branding, the level of celebrity and the thinning of the distinction between micro and traditional celebrities will be explored. How these personal brands can be used to market products and services will also be a central theme in this module, and the associated marketing strategies will be examined. At the end of this module, you’ll have a clear understanding as to the development and maintenance of personas and how to communicate this effectively to the audience. This module enables you to develop your knowledge in marketing, including technical and professional knowledge and be able to use this to identify promotional opportunities.

You’ll critically and creatively analyse the nature of brands and explore how the changing environment and innovations effect their impact, including looking at how brands face the challenge of disruptive innovations and their response in order to continue to compete with their competition. You’ll also look at how brands face increasing ethical and sustainable challenges as consumers reject conspicuous consumption. You’ll finish with a clear understanding as to the development and sustainability of brands and how to communicate the brand value proposition effectively to the consumers. This module enables you to develop your critical and innovative thinking alongside knowledge in marketing, including technical and professional knowledge to identify business trends and entrepreneurial opportunities.

In today’s digital world, big brands are known and coveted by consumers around the world. In fact, social influencers can create a desire for a brand or a product in countries where it is not even available! In this module, you’ll learn the techniques of international marketing and how brands can appeal to consumers in different markets, including how to assess market
opportunities and develop brand strategies appropriate for a variety of international markets. In particular, you’ll learn more about brand management theory and analyse why some brands manage to cut through cultural boundaries to target a broader consumer base. This will involve deconstructing brands to understand the value they create for the consumer and the essence of their appeal. Brand listings will also be examined to understand what makes a brand valuable, how to increase brand equity, and how other brands can improve their ranking.

This major project module allows you to engage in a substantial individual primary and/or secondary research project focussed on a topic relevant to your business degree and specialist subject area under the supervision and guidance of a member of academic staff. Supervisors will discuss with you the contemporary research problems and issues based on your research and practice, and you will conduct literature reviews, evaluate and critically appraise a range of information, investigate and adopt suitable theoretical frameworks, research methodologies and methods, and process and analyse data to produce a coherent and justified solution to the problem(s) identified. Throughout the module your supervisor will support you in terms of content and skills development so that you can work semi-utonomously on your individual research project. This is achieved through regular supervisory meetings throughout the year, which will allow for individual discussion of the tasks that will have to be completed in order to develop the project smoothly.