The world has changed.
Brands and the way they communicate with consumers has to demonstrate flexibility, adaptation, empathy and experience. Organisations have to prove their commitment through relevant products and play a meaningful role in addressing societal issues. Moreover, brands need to create conversations which build trust and communicate their value propositions in ways that resonate with the consumers at every touchpoint in their journey. The MSc In Branding and Marketing Communication programme, will enable you to develop your understanding of the ‘phy-gital’ space in which brands exist and communicate.
Through real time assessment and learning, you will understand how organisations seamlessly integrate digital touchpoints into physical experiences through human interaction. Your programme will be made up of students from a diversity of backgrounds and give you an appreciation of how the future of brand communication is about innovating naturally and adapting at will to the different marketing environments and conditions in which organisations function.
A key theme underpinning the programme is about recognising change in all aspects of our lives. You will be encouraged to reflect, question and challenge conventional wisdom because you represent the future, and the programme’s philosophy is focused on creating marketing professionals who demonstrate adaptability, agility, empathy and understanding.
The programme is designed with a teaching philosophy which puts you the students at the heart of the learning experience; recognising that you are future-oriented and career focused and looking to enhance your skills for employment in a range of marketing positions.
The programme emphasises practical hands-on application of knowledge. We are the only University in the UK that offers you a unique practitioner focused learning experience, where we take you away for a week-long residential programme to witness ‘marketing in action.’ You will receive presentations and insights from a range of companies which have included global sports brands, cutting edge digital communication agencies as well as not-for-profit organisations.
The practical relevancy of the programme is further enhanced through modules which are taught jointly with advertising practitioners and specifically, Lucky Generals advertising agency with whom we have a unique collaboration.
The programme is designed for applicants at the beginning of their marketing careers as well as those wishing to enhance and build on their expertise. We welcome students from a broad range of education and subject disciplines which adds to the vibrancy of the overall learning experience.
Opportunities for employment in marketing, communication and advertising roles is further enhanced as programmes are recognised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM).
You will also receive a discount on fees to study for the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) globally recognised Foundation Certificate. This will give you two stars towards the full Membership of Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (MIPA).
Find out more about the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising Foundation Certificate.
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The programme design recognises diversity of learning styles and approaches to learning in the student community. The hands-on focus of the programme will equip you with an advanced level of understanding and critical reflection on key brand building concepts and narratives.
You will understand the processes involved in designing effective, powerful branded content through a sound understanding of traditional and diverse range of digital media platforms through which brand messages can be communicated.
The programme is designed to ensure that you are equipped with important transferrable skills in working both collaboratively and individually, which will enable smooth transition from academic study to the working environment.
You will be able to critically evaluate complex situations, to write clearly and analytically, synthesise information from a diverse range of sources and develop well-informed and justified solutions to marketing challenges.
Whether you wish to work as a marketing manager, brand or creative consultant, analyst, researcher or entrepreneur, the programme will allow you to acquire both general and specialised knowledge required to start building your chosen career.
We’ve made sure that the skills and knowledge that you’ll gain on your course will enable you to enjoy a successful marketing career.
Gain a broad perspective of the marketing practitioner through an intense and unique one week off-campus residential programme. The Residential will provide students with a practical and applied perspective of the marketing/digital marketing discipline through presentations and hands-on experience with a range of organisations. All providing their cutting-edge insights to current marketing challenges.
At its core, experiential marketing is about immersing consumers in live experiences through an authentic interaction with product and service brands. Students will gain an understanding of how experiential marketing approaches can amplify and humanise via sensory experiences that profoundly impacts consumer feelings and behaviour, facilitating a deeper emotional level of brand engagement.
The Research Project is the culmination of the programme and provides students the opportunity to further develop and integrate the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the programme. Developing an understanding of the research process and to conduct research leading to successful completion of their Research Project.
With the support of the programme team and an individual supervisor students will propose, design, conduct, analyse, interpret and evaluate an ethically sound research project.
This module will demonstrate the dynamic and changing nature of the marketing discipline through an innovative approach to content delivery and design. The module will adapt content to reflect current and leading-edge marketing practice; and will ensure that students have the opportunity to explore and develop a critically applied understanding of brand and communication issues as they present themselves across a range of market sectors and industries.
Creativity & Innovation exists at the core of digital marketing, explore and understand the dynamics of creativity & innovation within digital marketing. Whether brands strive for disruptive innovation for consumer engagement, or product advertising and promotions to stand out and become memorable and communicate a brand message, this lies at the core of digital marketing.
Learn to analyse the role of creativity and innovation in behaviour and communications across all aspects of digital marketing applying considerations such as neuro-marketing.
This module aims to develop students' understanding of collecting, analysing and interpreting customer and business data to generate insights that enable companies to serve their customers better. The module also offers an opportunity to equip students with various analytical tools, techniques, and applications that help them develop their employability skills.
You will critically review and assess digital marketing strategies of live organisations and provide insight and analysis of the latest developments in digital as well as an understanding of the processes to optimise and improve a brand’s digital communications performance.
Through an understanding of social media and advertising metrics, search behaviours and customer journey management, you will produce a coherent and evidence-based digital marketing strategy.
Explore the concepts of brand storytelling, brand personas and influencers, to provide insight into techniques for creating and nurturing brand value, as well as an understanding of the critical role brands play in creating and influencing customer experiences, culture, society, social media and in the context of today’s globalised and dynamic digital era.
We live in extraordinary times; this module presents content which reflects the evolution of the marketing discipline and brand communication strategies in the face of changing consumer behaviour and attitudes. Issues of sustainability and ethical consumption affect the ways in which brands position themselves in the minds of consumers, and the recognition that brands need to engage the hearts and minds of their consumers to remain relevant.
Students will examine and apply a range of models used for persuasion and engagement to achieve coherent brand communication strategies and brand narratives across traditional media.
You will work closely with a leading London-based advertising agency: Lucky Generals as part of the process of understanding the challenges and opportunities presented with the growth of new media channels in a dynamic digital communications sector.
See the course specification for more information:
Optional modules are usually available at levels 5 and 6, although optional modules are not offered on every course. Where optional modules are available, you will be asked to make your choice during the previous academic year. If we have insufficient numbers of students interested in an optional module, or there are staffing changes which affect the teaching, it may not be offered. If an optional module will not run, we will advise you after the module selection period when numbers are confirmed, or at the earliest time that the programme team make the decision not to run the module, and help you choose an alternative module.
We are regularly reviewing and updating our programmes to ensure you have the best learning experience. We are taking what we have learnt during the pandemic and enhancing our teaching methods with new and innovative ways of learning.
We aim to model a wide range of teaching strategies and approaches on the course which you can adapt to your own setting.
Our approach to teaching recognises that you come with different experiences and approaches to classroom engagement as well as having your own individual learning style.
We want and encourage you to be an active participant in classroom discussions, so our teaching philosophy is based very much on practice-based learning and one which recognises that learning is not restricted to the classroom alone.
We understand that education is not just about an ability to solely demonstrate knowledge, but it’s about the application of that knowledge which distinguishes true learning.
We actively encourage you to embrace the diversity of the learning community and use this as a way of expanding and building on your overall experience.
The assessment design within the programmes has a clear vision of setting challenges which reflect and resemble the tasks you are most likely to face when in employment. The strategy is designed to provide you with concrete transferable skills but also to become independent learners, team collaborators and problem solvers.
It is important that you see the learning environment as a safe space in which you can make mistakes, practice, develop and hone your skills, because we believe that you learn best when you are engaged and stimulated.
The constantly evolving nature of the marketing discipline, its arguable ‘influence’ on society and its perception as holding up a mirror to society norms, are all imperatives which cut across our assessment strategy.
You will be empowered to be co-creators of many aspects of the assessments you will complete; and you will see how we have moved away from the traditional ‘exam’ and ‘essay’ approach to one which challenges you to be critical and reflective as well as innovative, experimental and creative through practical and application based projects and assessments.
We are regularly reviewing and updating our programmes to ensure you have the best learning experience. We are taking what we have learnt during the pandemic and enhancing our teaching methods with new and innovative ways of learning.
We are currently reviewing our approach to teaching and learning for 2023 entry and beyond. We've learned a lot about how to give you a quality education - we aim to combine the best of our pre-pandemic teaching and learning with access to online learning and digital resources which put you more in charge of when and how you study. We will keep you updated on this throughout the application process.
Your timetable will be built around on campus sessions using our professional facilities, with online sessions for some activities where we know being virtual will add value. We’ll use technology to enhance all of your learning and give you access to online resources to use in your own time.
The table below gives you an idea of what learning looks like across a typical week. Some weeks are different due to how we schedule classes and arrange on campus sessions.
This information is likely to change slightly for 2023 entry as our plans evolve. You'll receive full information on your teaching before you start your course.
Learning structure: typical hourly breakdown in 2022/23 | ||
Live in-person on campus learning | Contact hours per week, per level: | 12.5 hours |
Live online learning | Average hours per week, per level: | N/A |
This information is likely to change slightly for 2024/25 entry as our plans evolve. You'll receive full information on your teaching before you start your course.
Definitions of terms
Support
You have a strong support network available to you to make sure you develop all the necessary academic skills you need to do well on your course.
Our support services will be delivered online and on campus and you have access to a range of different resources so you can get the help you need, whether you’re studying at home or have the opportunity to come to campus.
You have access to one to one and group sessions for personal learning and academic support from our library and IT teams, and our network of learning experts. Our teams will also be here to offer financial advice, and personal wellbeing, mental health and disability support.
Skills and knowledge in communications can enhance many marketing roles in management, strategy, PR, advertising and communications. The course has a strong emphasis on developing an understanding of how theory can be applied in practice, preparing recent graduates with an awareness of the challenges of the sector and current practitioners with the specific knowledge for application in their careers.
Careers specific to branding and marketing communication can include:
We’ll carefully manage any future changes to courses, or the support and other services available to you, if these are necessary because of things like changes to government health and safety advice, or any changes to the law.
Any decisions will be taken in line with both external advice and the University’s Regulations which include information on this.
Our priority will always be to maintain academic standards and quality so that your learning outcomes are not affected by any adjustments that we may have to make.
At all times we’ll aim to keep you well informed of how we may need to respond to changing circumstances, and about support that we’ll provide to you.
Start: September 2023
Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Code: PGN594
Start: September 2023, January 2024
Duration: 1 year full-time, 2 years part-time
Code: PGN594
