Digital Marketing and Communications

Module title	Digital Marketing and Communications
Module code	MBAM965B
Academic year	2023/4
Credits	15
Module staff	Ms Jill Nurse (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks			5 days

Number students taking module (anticipated)	15

Module description

A good understanding of how firms, individuals, brands communicate with their stakeholders is not just useful for a future in marketing but is essential to a management career regardless of discipline or sector. Having a fundamental understanding of how you reach customers, how promotional messages are developed to meet a firm’s objectives, and then how these messages are communicated in a digital world, will benefit your overall management abilities.

By the end of this module students will have confidence in their knowledge of Digital Communications and their abilities to appreciate how different Digital Communications can maximise consumer/service user engagement.

You will not need any prior knowledge of marketing, however, if you do have previous knowledge you will find that this module will challenge you to think in different ways about the ways in which marketing theory is used in practice throughout a variety of different organisations and for differing purposes.

Module aims - intentions of the module

The aim of this module is to enable students to gain a greater appreciation of the role of Digital Communications in the strategic management of organisations. The module will enable you:

To explore the relevance of digital marketing and social media to an organisation and its markets.
To understand the potential of digital technologies and social media in the achievement of strategic marketing objectives.
To develop the knowledge and skills needed to design, implement and evaluate a digital marketing campaign.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. demonstrate a critical understanding of the development of digital marketing, its associated business models and technologies, and the trends shaping its future;
2. articulate advanced knowledge of challenges and critical success factors involved in managing digital components of integrated marketing campaigns and continuous digital communications;
3. demonstrate a critical appreciation of campaign strategy, creative approaches, and performance optimisation and evaluation methodologies.

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

4. evaluate an organisation's current marketing capabilities including demand for, and barriers to, the use of digital marketing channels;
5. critically analyse quality customer data from internal and external sources, and extract relevant information, in order to devise targeted digital and mobile marketing communications;
6. scope, plan, implement, manage and evaluate an effective and ethical digital marketing campaign.

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

7. take a global outlook: apply creative intelligence and ethical imagination to complex problems to ensure that environmental and social governance is taken into account;
8. apply critical thinking: present and defend strategic analyses in multiple forms (written, verbal, digital) based on case material, desk based and empirical research;
9. work with a collaborative mind-set: give and receive feedback at all levels in a confident and respectful manner. Work inclusively across multi-cultural groups to research, explore and prepare a persuasive argument against an assignment or client brief;
10. develop an ethical perspective: improve personal effectiveness through consciously and diligently making decisions on behalf of all stakeholders, environmental, social and financial;
11. demonstrate technological and digital literacy: identify and apply relevant technologies to source, process and communicate accurate information.

Syllabus plan

Indicative content:

The digital marketing landscape development, nature and scope
Understanding the digital customer
Data capture, consumer profiling and customised marketing communications
Integrated digital campaigns planning and execution
Website marketing design, planning, implementation, usability, usage, etc.
Social media, online advertising and PR, email marketing, affiliate marketing, etc.
Search engine marketing
Mobile communications, location-based services and mobile marketing tactics
Affiliate marketing programmes technologies, channels, remuneration models, etc.
Digital marketing programmes optimisation, control and evaluation
Codes of practice, regulatory issues and digital marketing ethics
Digital marketing futures

The summative assessment of the module is designed to test the acquisition and articulation of knowledge and critical understanding, and skills of application and interpretation within the business context

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

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
35	115	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	20	Seminars: Using Case Study Method of teaching, as well as workshop style sessions for practical activities such as presentations, and assessment practice
Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activity	15	Industryled guest speaker sessions: This course will be co-taught by marketing practitioners, working in the field of Digital Marketing
Guided Independent Study	115	Reading, research, analysis, writing

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Plan for report, structure etc.	Two page overview	1-11	Written & Verbal feedback

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
100	0	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Project Presentation	30	10 minutes	1,3,7,10	Written & Verbal
Project Report (Individual)	70	3,000 words	1-11	Written
	0
	0
	0
	0

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

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Project Presentation (30%)	Project Presentation (10 minutes, 30%)	1,3,7,10	6 weeks after briefing
Project Report (70%)	Project Report (Individual) (3,000 words, 70%)	1-11	6 weeks after briefing

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Core reading:

Chaffey, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2012) Digital Marketing Strategy, Implementation and Practice, Pearson 5^th Edition

Roberts, M., & Zahay, D. (2012). Internet Marketing: Integrating Online and Offline Strategies. 3^rd edition, Cengage Learning

Ryan, D. and Jones, C. (2012) Understanding Digital Marketing, Kogan Page https://www.dawsonera.com/abstract/9780749478445

Ryan, D. and Jones, C. (2012) The Best Digital Marketing Campaigns in the World, Mastering the art of customer engagement, Kogan Page

Wymbs C. (2011) Digital Marketing: The Time for a New “Academic Major” Has Arrived

Articles and papers sourced from the following journals:

Journal of Consumer Marketing

Journal of Digital and Social Media Marketing

Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing

Journal of Marketing Education

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

College to provide hyperlink to appropriate pages

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

Other resources: Various Readings, Videos, Guest Lectures, Webinars etc

Key words search

Digital Communication, Comms, SEO, Content, Marketing, Data Analysis, Analytics, Email, PPC

Credit value	15
Module ECTS	7.5
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	7
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	05/02/2021
Last revision date	18/06/2021