Digital Marketing Communications

Overview

Summary

This course examines the digital marketing context. When the tools of marketing change, marketing strategies and marketers must evolve too. The focus of this course is on supporting adaptive practice for potential or current marketers as they navigate the digital transformation of the marketing function.

This course can be taken individually or combined over a period of time towards a Postgraduate Certificate of Professional Development.

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About this course

In this section

1. About
2. Linked programmes
3. Assessment
4. Attendance
5. Entry requirements
6. English Language Requirements
7. Start dates
8. Teaching, Learning and Assessment
9. Academic profile

About

Digital Marketing communications have become the central focus for entrepreneurs, enterprises and organisations seeking to reach, engage, co-create and develop deeper relationships with their consumer 'tribes'. In an age of ubiquitous connectivity and a demand for real-time and personalised engagement, this course will give participants an understanding of what that means for those involved in delivering richer and more productive consumer experiences through digital marketing platforms. This course seeks to provide learners with practical, real-world examples of technologies meeting the demands of such connected consumers and utilises a project based approach to promote active, deeper learning of the unfolding opportunities through Digital Marketing.

The content is delivered through three inter-related key themes.

THEME 1 (DAY 1)

The first of these themes relates to the broad digital context and the implications of advancing technology for how we understand traditional marketing theory and practice. The focus of this theme is predominantly based around the necessary actions required to deliver an integrated marketing communication strategy - at the level of both thought and action.

THEME 2 (DAY 2)

Theme 2 looks at the digital consumer and explores the implications of emerging technology (e.g. voice search), privacy issues (e.g. the privacy tradeoff) and the digital marketing toolbox (e.g. SEM, SEO, social media, PPC, display advertising, email and mobile) within digital strategy development and implementation processes.

THEME 3 (DAY 3)

Theme 3 looks at the Digital Marketers' context and critically examines, through both international case study and visiting speaker inputs, the managerial challenge and opportunity in determining the appropriate use of marketing technology with an emphasis on issues of fit and practical implementation.

Cross-cutting themes are those of customer acquisition, customer engagement and customer advocacy. A further, central dimension of the course is the concept of 'Value Co-Creation' (Vargo et al., 2008). This concept sits alongside 'Open Innovation' in bringing a more technology enabled focus to marketing activity, as existing competency sets are stretched and challenged in this digitised context where mobile use, social media engagement and experience personalisation are significantly impacting.

With marketing media rapidly evolving and patterns of consumer engagement changing, this course will also attempt to anticipate trends that, while relatively unexplored today, may be mainstream in the next 5 years. This will be facilitated through conceptual modelling and real-time testing with live digital marketing case scenarios provided by module industry partners.

Linked programmes

MSc Marketing, PgCertPD Postgraduate Certificate of Professional Development

Assessment

100% Coursework - (1) Report - Group Consultancy Exercise:

The group consultancy exercise will be based around a live international case study where the consultancy teams will be required to assess the appropriateness and extent of a digital engagement by a case company. The exercise will require consultancy teams to develop a management report which will involve the following;

• Conduct primary and secondary research.
• Understand and interpret the case context both internally within the specific case company and at the level of industry and market analysis.
• Utilise Google analytics and/or other appropriate marketing technology (MarTech).
• Propose evidence-based recommendations and examples of content and strategy that the case company can take forward with respect to a digital marketing strategy.

In groups, participants will conduct a digital audit and create a digital strategy of a live project case with a particular focus on the various digital marketing elements and using an appropriate framework of analysis such as SOSTAC. As part of the process, create a content strategy and create examples of this content for presentation to the client (75%).

(2) Oral assessment:

Create a 5 minute podcast reflecting on the project experience and highlighting the major new knowledge which you have acquired in the process of carrying out the project. Use academic citations and current research and data to enhance the communication. Submit the podcast via your online portfolio along with a list of references used in your podcast - simply weave these references within your podcast (25%).

Attendance

This course requires attendance on three consecutive days from 9.15am to 4.15pm in February 2020 and one further follow-up day in early March 2020. Dates to be confirmed.

Entry requirements

Normally, a degree in a relevant area e.g. business or social sciences but other degrees will also be considered.

English Language Requirements

Applicants whose first language is not English must meet the minimum English entrance requirements of the University and will need to provide recent evidence of this (certified within the last two years).

Most of our courses require a minimum English level of IELTS 6.0 or equivalent, with no band score under 5.5. Trinity ISE: Pass at level III also meets this requirement.

Please see details of the English language qualifications and certificates we can accept - https://www.ulster.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/177404/Other-english-language-tests-and-qualifications-2017.pdf

International applicants will also require a short-term study visa. Further information is available at https://www.ulster.ac.uk/international/visa-immigration

Start dates

• 12 February 2020

How to apply

Teaching, Learning and Assessment

Academic profile

The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 59% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.

Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (25%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (18%) or Lecturers (57%).

We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic staff (81%) are accredited fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.

Apply

How to apply

The following page explains the postgraduate short course application procedure:

https://www.ulster.ac.uk/apply/how-to-apply/short-courses (choose postgraduate short courses)

Start dates

• 12 February 2020

Fees and funding

In this section

1. Prices
2. Fees information
3. Scholarships, awards and prizes
4. Additional mandatory costs

Prices

Northern Ireland & EU:

£686.60

England, Scotland, Wales
and the Islands:

£686.60

International:

£1,562.20

Fees information

Information about how to pay for a course including different payment options is available at

https://www.ulster.ac.uk/finance/student/tuition-fees-payments

Scholarships, awards and prizes

Fee waivers may be available to those who meet the eligibility criteria. More information is available from FlexEd@ulster.ac.uk

Additional mandatory costs

Tuition fees and costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges), and normal living are a part of university life.

Where a course has additional mandatory expenses we make every effort to highlight them. These may include residential visits, field trips, materials (e.g. art, design, engineering) inoculations, security checks, computer equipment, uniforms, professional memberships etc.

We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free wifi is also available on each of the campuses.

There will be some additional costs to being a student which cannot be itemised and these will be different for each student. You may choose to purchase your own textbooks and course materials or prefer your own computer and software. Printing and binding may also be required. There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines. Additional costs vary from course to course.

Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs as well as tuition fees.

Please contact the course team for more information.

Contact

Email: FlexEd@ulster.ac.uk

Telephone: (+44) 028 9036 6680

For more information visit

Ulster University Business School

Department of Management, Leadership and Marketing

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