module specification

With the challenges presented by new media, shifting media patterns, and divided consumer attention, the optimal integration of marketing communications takes on increasing importance. The module is designed to enable students unlock the power of integrated marketing communications (IMC) by taking advantage of the unique strengths of different communication options, and combining and sequencing them strategically.

The module provides students with key industry-standard skills needed to develop a successful career in marketing communications, digital marketing and social media. It enables students to gain a first-hand experience in setting up live marketing communications campaigns in different contexts by combining both traditional media and new digital options.

The module content includes critical reflection on the academician–practitioner gap in understanding how marketing communications might work; developing a marketing communications pitch in response to a strategic creative brief and creative deliverables; crafting message strategy and creative strategy supported with Adobe Creative Cloud; media planning and buying - advanced measurements and calculations of traditional and digital media buys using advanced Excel program; campaign implementation and scheduling process using Microsoft Project software; practical challenges in monitoring and controlling IMC campaigns, setting campaign metrices and contingency plans; addressing regulatory, legislative and ethical issues and the interrelationships between marketing communications, culture and society. Additionally, students will be encouraged to successfully complete online courses including Advanced Google Analytics and Google Analytics 360 which are highly sought-after skills by employers.

This module builds on Level 5 modules knowledge and aims to:

• Develop an advanced understanding of marketing communications theory and practice with focus on both strategic and operational-level IMCs.
• Enable students to develop effective IMC campaigns in both Business to Consumer (B2C) and Business to Business (B2B) contexts.
• Provide students with key skills in response to a strategic creative brief and creative deliverables.
• Develop realistic media planning and buying strategy as well as measures of IMC campaigns.
• Develop critical awareness and competence in suggesting ethical and sustainable strategic alternatives to local as well as global organisations.

The module also aims to assist students in the acquisition of the following skills:
- Researching and analysing
- Academic and highly specialist writing and reading
- Application of knowledge and presenting data 
- Critical thinking and being creative
- Communicating/presenting, orally and/or in writing
- Digital Literacy and IT skills

Crafting a strategic creative (intelligent) brief  LO1

- Developing a strategic creative brief, writing and evaluation of a creative brief and understanding the challenges involved in the development of strategic creative brief; crafting a marketing communication pitch in response to a strategic creative brief#

Unlocking the power of integrated marketing communications  LO2

- How marketing communications fits into an organisations marketing strategy and business strategy; organisational decision-making processes and how to define and solve marketing communications problems.
- How integrated is you’re your integrated marketing communications: new findings, new lessons and new ideas.
- Narrowing/closing the academician–practitioner gap in understanding how marketing communications might work and how consumers process information.
- The role of marketing communications in building strong brands and brand equity.

The integrated marketing communication planning process

- Context analysis and marketing communications strategy: Segmentation, targeting, differentiation and positioning (STDP) techniques; developing a dynamic, expanded consumer decision journey, identifying main target group(s) and developing a buyer persona.

- Setting integrated marketing communications objectives and budgets.

- Message strategy and creative strategy: conceptualising the ‘big idea’, creative appeals and execution and creative deliverables including copywriting and visual design/output such as infographics supported with software such as Adobe Creative Cloud features such as Premiere Pro, Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign.

- Media planning and buying: the traditional/ digital media industry developing optimal media objectives strategies, defining media consumption behaviour of target audience, media mix (traditional and digital) and sequencing major communication platforms, communication outcomes and objectives, media buys and plan evaluation, advanced measurements and calculations.

- Campaign implementation and scheduling process using Microsoft Project software.

- Monitoring and controlling IMC campaigns, setting campaign metrices and contingency plans.

- Addressing regulatory, legislative and ethical issues in marketing communications.

This module will be delivered over a 12-week period and consists of 2-hour interactive learning sessions and 1-hour appreciation and critique of marketing communications issues and theoretical perspectives. The 1-hour lecture will focus on critical evaluation of academic and practitioner theories on how marketing communications work, the development of a strategic creative briefs and integrated marketing communication pitch and plan. defining and clarifying the theoretical principles to the appropriate depth and breadth. The 2-hour interactive learning sessions serve to anchor knowledge imparted in the lectures and provides a forum for a better understanding of lectures through setting problem-based tasks,  small group discussions, case study/ campaigns/ journal article/problem solving analysis, presentations by guest speakers, and interchange of questions and answers. It also assists students in relating their knowledge to the marketing communications discipline and profession.

The module adopts a student-led blended learning approach in which a high degree of student in-put and interaction is encouraged. In order to ensure that students take more control of their learning and development flipped classroom’ approach is adopted where all lectures are recorded and/or teaching materials are made available online, and the classroom time is used for more interactive questioning, student content creation and idea exploration.

The module also enables students gain key industry-standard skills. To achieve this, students will be introduced to and apply relevant software such as Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Project and advanced Excel programs. Students will be also encouraged to complete online courses including Advanced Google Analytics and Google Analytics 360. Acquisition of these skill sets will help students when applying for entry-level graduate roles.

The facilities of Web Learn will be used as part of a blended learning approach and will be central to the delivery of module handbook, case studies, campaigns, journal articles, and external web links, as appropriate. It will also be used for the timely provision of feedback following formative assessment.

On successful completion of this module, students will be able to: 

1. Demonstrate ability to develop a marketing communication pitch in response to a strategic creative brief.

2. Demonstrate application of creative thinking skill to practical problems by developing an effective integrated marketing communications plan.

The assessment has been designed to test the achievement of the module’s learning outcomes and it requires students to think critically and apply the knowledge gained during the module. Accordingly, the module is assessed by two components:  20-minute group presentation (20% weighting) and 1500-word individual written report (80% weighting).

Assessment 1: 20-minute group marketing communication pitch (20% weighting) - LO1 addressed
The assessment requires students to analyse, think critically and apply specialist knowledge gained during the module in crafting a marketing communications pitch in response to a live brief.

Assessment 2:  Individual written report (1500 words, 80% weighting)– LO2 addressed
The assessment requires students to produce a commercially viable and
an effective integrated marketing communications plan.

Core Texts

- Fill, C. and Turnbull (2016)   Marketing Communications: touchpoints, sharing and disruption, 8th Edition, Pearson (Available as an e-Book).
- Katz, H. (2019) The Media Handbook, 7th Edition, Routledge.

Additional reading:
- Altstiel, T. and Grow, N. (2016) Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy and Design, 4th Edition, SAGE.
- Andrews, J.C. and Shimp, T.A. (2018) Advertising, Promotion, and Other Aspects of Integrated Marketing Communications, 10th Edition, CENGAGE.
- Arens, W.F. and Weigold, M.F. (2017) Contemporary Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communications, 15th Edition, McGraw-Hill. 
Belch, G.E. and Belch, M.A. (2018) Advertising and Promotion,11th Edition, McGraw-Hill.
- Chaffey D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2015) Digital Marketing Strategy Implementation & Practice 6th Edition Pearson Education Limited.
- Chaffey, D. and smith, PR (2017) Digital Marketing Excellence: Planning, Optimizing and Integrating Online Marketing, 5th Edition, Routledge.
- Christians C., Fackler M., Richardson K., Kreshel P. Woods R. (2017) Media Ethics Cases and Moral Reasoning 10th Edition Routledge.
- Dahl, S. (2018) Social Media Marketing: Theories and Applications, 2nd Edition, SAGE.
- De Pelsmacker, P., Geuens, M. & Van den Bergh, J., (2017) Marketing Communications, 6th Edition, Pearson. (Available as an e-Book).
- Graham, B. and Anouti, C. (2018) Promoting Fashion, Laurence King Publishing. 
- Kapferer, J-N. (2012) The New Strategic Brand Management, Advanced Insights and Strategic Thinking. 5th Edition, London: Kogan Page.
- Keller, K. (2013) Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring and Managing Brand
Equity. 4th (Global) Edition, London, Pearson International.
- Kelley, L., Jugenheimer, D. and Sheehan, K. (2015) Advertising Media Planning: A Brand Management Approach,4th Edition, NY: Routledge.
- Rossiter, J.R., Percy, L., Bergkvist, L. (2018) Marketing Communications: Objectives, Strategy, Tactics, SAGE.
- Smith, P.R. and Ze Zook (2020), Marketing Communications, 7th Edition, published by Kogan Page, London.
- Spiller, L. (2020) Direct, Digital and Data-driven Marketing, 5th Edition, SAGE.
- Tag, N. (2012) Ad Critique How to Deconstruct Ads in Order to Build Better Advertising, SAGE.
- Rowles D. (2017) Mobile Marketing, 2nd Edition, Kogan Page.
- Tuten, T.L. and Solomon, M.R. (2019) Social Media Marketing, 3rd Edition, SAGE.

Journals:
Journal of Communication Management
Journal of Marketing Communications
International Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications
Journal of Advertising
Journal of Advertising Research
International Journal of Advertising
International Journal of Advertising: the quarterly review of marketing communications
International Journal of Integrated Marketing Communications
Journal of Interactive Marketing
Journal of Interactive Advertising
International Journal of Mobile MarketingComputers in Human Behaviour
Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice
Journal of Website Promotion
Journal of New Communications Research
International Journal of Electronic Commerce
Journal of Mobile Communications
Journal of Direct, Data and Digital Marketing Practice
Journal of Consumer Marketing
The Journal of Database Marketing and Customer Strategy Management
Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing