Postgraduate Course: Marketing Communications (CMSE11552)
Course Outline
| School | Business School |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 10 |
ECTS Credits | 5 |
| Summary | Marketing communications tools are constantly evolving in response to developments in media, technology and branding, and to changes in consumer practices and broader societal concerns. This course aims to examine key components of planning and managing marketing communications. Particular attention will be paid to enabling effective creative work that harnesses target audience insights and strikes an appropriate balance between traditional and digital media, and to how marketing communications campaigns may be researched, evaluated and subject to societal scrutiny and regulation. |
| Course description |
Building on your understanding of marketing principles and practices gained in Semester 1, this course seeks to provide you with the knowledge and skills to manage the development of marketing communications campaigns, from an agency and/or client perspective. It aims to develop your knowledge and understanding of the marketing communications landscape, including industry structure, key relationships, and how industry practice evolves in response to societal and regulatory developments. It also aims to examine how key communication tools can be integrated effectively, led by audience insights and often combining traditional, digital and social media. Finally, it aims to provide you with analytical frameworks and practical insights to guide you through the process of planning and evaluating marketing communications campaigns.
Outline Content:
The marketing communications landscape.
Planning marketing communications.
Fostering creativity and working with creative teams.
Media planning.
Understanding and researching communications effectiveness.
Student learning experience:
The course will involve interactive sessions that will provide an overview of key concepts, frameworks and research, examined and applied to specific situations through discussion of research and examples of award-winning work and current campaigns. Input from guest lectures (in person and/or digital live or pre-recorded) will further enhance your understanding of marketing communications practice. Student learning will also require engagement with a set of curated academic and practitioner resources (written, video, and audio content).
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | None |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2025/26, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Block 3 (Sem 2) |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
100
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 12,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
86 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
100% coursework (individual) - assesses all course Learning Outcomes |
| Feedback |
Formative: Formative feedback will be provided through class discussion and a Q&A session about the assignment.
Summative: Feedback on the assignment will be provided in the form of comments and rating scales to contextualise the mark awarded.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of how the marketing communications industry is organised and the role of key industry relationships in shaping marketing communications campaigns.
- Demonstrate a critical understanding of the marketing communications planning process, and the environmental, ethical, organisational and personal factors shaping it.
- Apply theory, research evidence and practitioner frameworks to understand creative and media decision-making.
- Apply theory, research evidence and practitioner frameworks to analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of particular marketing communications campaigns.
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Reading List
| Hackley, C. and Hackley, A. (2021) Advertising and Promotion, 5th edition |
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Knowledge and Understanding
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Demonstrate a thorough knowledge and understanding of contemporary organisational disciplines; comprehend the role of business within the contemporary world; and critically evaluate and synthesise primary and secondary research and sources of evidence in order to make, and present, well informed and transparent organisation-related decisions, which have a positive global impact.
Identify, define and analyse theoretical and applied business and management problems, and develop approaches, informed by an understanding of appropriate quantitative and/or qualitative techniques, to explore and solve them responsibly.
Practice: Applied Knowledge, Skills and Understanding
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Apply creative, innovative, entrepreneurial, sustainable and responsible business solutions to address social, economic and environmental global challenges
Communication, ICT, and Numeracy Skills
After completing this course, students should be able to:
Convey meaning and message through a wide range of communication tools, including digital technology and social media; to understand how to use these tools to communicate in ways that sustain positive and responsible relationships.
Critically evaluate and present digital and other sources, research methods, data and information; discern their limitations, accuracy, validity, reliability and suitability; and apply responsibly in a wide variety of organisational contexts.
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| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Ms Kitty Shaw
Tel:
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Lucy Brady
Tel:
Email: |
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