Marketing in Practice

Module description

This module draws upon the skills and knowledge that you have obtained across your taught modules on the MSc Marketing, and directs these towards a range of practical business/marketing problems. Working in small learning teams, you will act as a consulting team addressing three real company briefs that address particular marketing problems. You will work on these briefs intensively over one week, delivering a short group pitch that will be judged by a panel of academic and industry experts. This will occur for all three briefs. You will also submit an individual report for each brief summarising your findings and key recommendations for the company.

Full module specification

Module aims

This module is integrative and aims for students to demonstrate that they can apply marketing theory in real-life practice. Working under time pressure, and in teams, the module will allow you to demonstrate that you have acquired the key skills and knowledge required for a career in marketing. This module encompasses a range of requirements in terms of primary and secondary research, oral and written presentation skills, and an ability to apply marketing theory in complex real-life situations.

ILO: Module-specific skills

• 1. perform a consultancy-style investigation of a business problem using appropriate data collection and analytical techniques
• 2. demonstrate the ability to select and apply appropriate marketing theories and frameworks

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

• 3. demonstrate problem-solving skills and creative thinking
• 4. design and carry out research under data and time constraints

ILO: Personal and key skills

• 5. professional and succinct oral and written presentation of work
• 6. demonstrate a collaborative mindset

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Syllabus plan

Monday: Companies/marketing agencies will come in and provide a brief and any relevant data that can be shared with the students, followed by a Q&A session. Academic session lead will follow up with a brief outline/review of relevant academic theories and frameworks.

Students work intensively on the brief throughout the week, and can arrange 2x 30 minutes of meeting with academic lead to get feedback.

Friday: Students present their work in a ten minute presentation assessed by industry and academic representatives.

This schedule will be repeated three times, with three different company/agency briefs covering different aspects of marketing e.g. product innovation, consumer behaviour, digital/marketing communication, growth strategy etc.

Students will then work independently writing up a 2,000 words report which includes an executive summary, an overview of the brief/background/context, a justification for the research conducted and an explanation of your findings, your key recommendations, conclusions and limitations, Feedback from the oral presentation should be taken into account. Support will be offered from the academic lead. The best three reports will be forwarded to the company/agency for their feedback. Submission of individual reports will be staggered in the period following the end of term 3.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Basic reading:

Web based and electronic resources: including but not limited to resources such as company and industry reports, Office for National Statistics, reputable business news websites, University-published resources etc.

Module has an active ELE page?

Yes

Origin date

02/02/2019

Last revision date

17/09/2020