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Advertising and Public Relations Management MSc module details

Block 1: Contemporary Advertising and Communication Strategy

The Contemporary Advertising and Communication Strategy module firstly considers the evolution of the communications environment and the importance of developing advertising campaigns for organisations and brands in a rapidly changing external environment. This module will evaluate and critically appraise contemporary advertising strategy and techniques in order to develop advertising campaigns that provide the opportunity to leverage further communication activities. The advertising and communications environmental context is highlighted to include recognition of the variety of target audiences (publics and stakeholders), the regulatory system, the role of agencies and the media and the cultural and social context of advertising required to deliver global campaigns.  

The module firstly consider how advertising messages are processed and understood by the target audience and then evaluates the stages of the planning process required by organisations to develop an advertising strategy that delivers a fully integrated campaign. This module will require students to adopt a practical stance in developing advertising strategy through problem solving and application. Students are given the opportunity to play the role of advertising executives in determining, producing and defending the development of advertising strategy using contemporary advertising practice, in response to marketing communications problems and briefs. 

Block 2: Consumer Futures: Socio-cultural, Ethical and Psychological Contexts

The consumer futures module looks at the key socio-cultural, ethical and psychological elements surrounding the global consumer landscape. It also considers the motivations and behaviours around consumer consumption and how that is influenced by individual motivations and behaviours. It also encourages an appreciation of how consumption activities contribute to the broader social world that we experience and the impact on the environment and considers how to interpret consumer insight to determine future consumer engagement and loyalty. 

Block 3: Corporate and Brand PR

The module will consider the nature of organisations and brands and the use of PR techniques to build and promote them. PR practitioners operate at the intersection of public relations, advertising and marketing and their activities are concerned both with direct support for organisational reputation, brand image and also more indirectly, in the development of a more favourable commercial environment for companies to operate and enhance consumer-brand relationships. 

Block 4: Contemporary Media Choice: Planning, Budgeting and Control

This module will explore the impact of the digital revolution on media and the implications for delivering communication messages and engaging target audiences. It will examine the role of media agencies in providing creative solutions for delivering content using paid advertising space and utilising a company’s owned media platforms. It will consider changing media habits and the consider the characteristics of different media vehicles in delivering content. Lastly, it will evaluate the role of media analytics in evaluating media options and optimising media spend. 

Block 5 & 6: One of the following:

Dissertation 

In this module, students will design and develop their own independent research study (secondary and primary) on a specific marketing topic and present their analysis in a Marketing Dissertation. The Marketing Dissertation will enable students to synthesize their knowledge gained in other modules and apply that understanding and analysis independently in a marketing topic and context they choose for themselves. Some early seminars in semester two will guide students through the dissertation process and will offer an opportunity for the collective student group to develop preparatory skills for the dissertation. During the initial part of the module, students will develop a preliminary dissertation design and refine their own dissertation topic. The module will encourage self-discipline through improved time management skills and follow through of project to completion. It will also demand that students become competent at integrating ideas into a focused research structure and become competent at reading and writing effectively together with skills in self-analysis and reflection. It should encourage market research skills such as data collection, analysis and presentation. 

Marketing Consultancy Project 

The Marketing Consultancy Project (MCP) is an individual consultancy project that serves as a commercially and employability-relevant experience and is an alternative to the dissertation. It requires a student to compile a 10,000-word report that acts as a solution to a business research challenge. The assessment is in two phases: A. Main report, which includes details of the research / analysis / recommendations, B. Summary presentation. A self-recorded presentation that summarises the key research findings, analysis, and recommendations. 

In an identical way to a business consultancy the organisation will give a summary briefing to students either face-to-face or by MS Teams. After 12 weeks of research and project formation students submit the report, and an mp4 file of their summary presentation. MCP briefs are live projects. In this way students gain a guaranteed business consultancy experience and use their learned skills to make a genuine impact and benefit for company, and can summarise the experience on their CV. All MCP briefs will be scrutinised by the module team to ensure they are appropriate to give the elevated level of commercial experience required. 

Preparation for a project will consist of 10 hours of lectures that cover the key parts of the report, professional skills in a commercial environment, a summary reminder of research methodology and analysis frameworks/models, and commercial advice on interviews and graduate assessment centres. 

Each MCP project cluster will be allocated an academic tutor to assist with both the interpretation and creative suggestions for the report, and academic standards in its formation. MCP cluster supervisors will hold their own project brief meetings with the associated cluster of students who have chosen the project, giving advice and guidance on the project formation, at key stages.