Digital Marketing BA (Hons)

This module will introduce you to the fundamentals of marketing and core digital marketing principles. You will consider how markets are segmented and targeted and how consumers make decisions. This will lead to a focus on the marketing mix and the digital landscape. You will also consider how marketing concepts are applied in a digital context and will then apply these concepts and techniques to a live project. 

This module expands your knowledge from the Practical Marketing Module. You will deepen your understanding of how the marketing mix applies in practical and digital contexts. You will appreciate how current and emerging digital marketing practice influences overall marketing approaches. 

This will be delivered through a marketing simulation (i.e. MyMarketingExperience) in order to provide a real-world scenario to apply your knowledge. 

In this module, you will gain deeper insight into current marketing issues and practices, as well as exploring key themes that are evolving within the industry. 

This module aims to broaden your marketing knowledge and practical skills to help you move up to Level 5 study and shape your career aspirations. Topics may include but are not limited to sustainability and ethics, consumer insights, global marketing, AI in marketing, and digital disruption. In addition we will build on your academic skills and practice as part of your step-up to Level 5. 

The module focuses on contemporary soft skills and enables students to develop a modern marketing mindset, making you an asset to any marketing team. You will draw upon the diverse strands of knowledge you have accumulated on your programme to this point, resulting in a holistic understanding of your chosen discipline. 

This module will be informed by employers and marketing professionals, professional bodies such as the Chartered Institute of Marketing, and publications such as Skills for the Modern Marketing (Econsultancy). Content will vary depending on industry requirements. 

You will develop key skills the industry requires, including but not limited to creative thinking and creative media. Module content will encourage curiosity and confidence when applying marketing-specific skills. 

This module enables students with A-Level German or equivalent to further develop their grammar, vocabulary and expression and apply these to real world situations.You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop your oral and written communication skills at Post-A level.

This module is designed for students that have completed A-Level or equivalent in French. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and expression and apply these to real world situations. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop your oral and written communication skills at Post-A level.

This module is designed for students that have completed a A-Level or equivalent in Spanish. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and expression and apply these to real world situations. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop oral and written communication skills at Post-A level.

This module is designed for students who have completed GCSE in Chinese or equivalent. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and learning conventions for spelling and pronunciation. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop oral and written communication skills at an intermediate level.

This module is designed for students who have completed GCSE or equivalent in French. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and learning conventions for spelling and pronunciation. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop oral and written communication skills at an intermediate level.

This module is designed for students that have completed GCSE or equivalent in Spanish. You will further develop your grammar, vocabulary and learning conventions for spelling and pronunciation. You will work with written and recorded texts on a range of cultural, personal and social topics and will develop oral and written communication skills at an intermediate level.

This module provides the opportunity to study a new language from scratch and introduces you to basic grammar, vocabulary and cultural contexts. You will apply the language to practical situations using both oral and written skills. 

This module focuses on consumer behaviour and customer relationship building in the service economy. The module will develop your critical understanding of the decision-making process, and how the role of digital tools are vital in influencing the customer journey. 

You will explore a range of influences on buying decisions, including internal, group and cultural influences, and how broader societal factors inform decision-making. You will also consider the role of marketing and digital marketing in enhancing customer experience and how firms can generate brand loyalty. 

This module focuses on social media campaign planning and approaches to successfully engaging audiences through social media channels. 

This may include an exploration of social media marketing as a crucial component of broader marketing communications strategies; content creation for user engagement; methods for ensuring consistency across various digital touchpoints to strengthen brand presence; an overview of legal/regulatory considerations for social media marketers and an introduction to social media metrics for measuring campaign performance. 

This module will explore how to build a successful user experience across a range of digital channels. You will develop knowledge and skills in an area with increasing importance for businesses as user experience shapes how businesses develop an effective and consistent digital presence.

This may include developing an understanding of the digital consumer; exploring factors that can positively influence user decisions and behaviour; applying the concept of usability to app and/or website design; exploring a range of design principles; engaging in the planning and testing stage of the design process; conducting user testing; analysing content and design; digital accessibility and exploring how user experience is essential to emerging technologies, for example, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and AI.

This module provides a structured, university-level work placement for 5 weeks as one continuous block / period with a placement provider (i.e. a local employer from the private, public, or charitable sector). It is designed to enhance your professional skills in a real-world job setting.  

The placement can either be organised by you or with support from university staff.  

All work placements within this module must be university-level; this means:  

• Undertaking high-skilled work commensurate with level 5 study (e.g. report writing, attending meetings, delivering presentations, producing spreadsheets, writing content on webpages, social media, marketing services/products etc)  

• Physically placed (albeit part of it can be hybrid) within an employer setting in one continuous block / period for 5 weeks for a minimum of 140-147 hours over the course of the entire work placement 

• Where applicable, your existing part-time employer can be approached/used as the placement provider, if the high-skilled work criterion above is fulfilled for the full duration of the placement.   

• All quality assurances/agreements provided by the University are adhered to, by you and the employer.  

The work placement context may not necessarily, reflect your degree discipline per se, but rather, it will give you an enriched experience to enhance your professional skills in a real-world job setting. 

This module will enhance your employability through experiential learning. This may be achieved through live marketing projects and collaboration with various organisations. You will develop a real-life appreciation of a range of activities carried out by marketing professionals. This may include market research, social media marketing, brand development and communications planning.

You will also refine your transferable skills to maximise your work readiness and employability prospects within the marketing industry, develop your graduate-level employment skills and appreciate the importance of life-long learning. 

This module will allow you to network, build organisational relationships and gain valuable insights about the marketing industry. 

The module will provide the opportunity to further develop your language skills, building on your previous learning at advanced level. The second half of the module includes a placement abroad or, alternatively, a project on a sustainability issue in a target language country. The first half of the module will prepare you for placements abroad where appropriate as well as a deeper understanding of sustainability in target language contexts. Students of more than one language may take one language in the first half of the module and spend their time abroad developing a different language. 

The module will provide the opportunity to further develop your language skills, building on your previous learning at intermediate level. The first half of the module includes intensive taught sessions in interactive workshop mode which will prepare you for placements abroad or self-directed language development. The second half of the module includes an placement abroad or, alternatively, a project on a business or tourism issue in a target language country. Students of more than one language may take one language in the first half of the module and spend their time abroad developing a different language. 

The module will provide the opportunity to further develop your language skills, building on your previous learning at beginner level. The first half of the module includes intensive taught sessions in interactive workshop mode which will prepare you for placements abroad or self-directed language development. The second half of the module includes a placement abroad or, alternatively, a project on a cultural issue in a target language country. Students of more than one language may take one language in the first half of the module and spend their time abroad developing a different language. 

• The multiple facets of global citizenship
• Ethical engagement and practice
• The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Intercultural communication
• Culture shock
• Cultural adjustment
• Self- assessment of needs: identification of the range of transferable skills, competencies and attitudes employees need and employers expect graduates to possess-with a strong focus on understanding the intercultural competencies (ICC) needed to live and work abroad.
• Critical analysis/evaluation of individual requirements in relation to culture/cultural adjustment/culture shock/visas/medical.
• Critical analysis/evaluation of skills already acquired in relation to key skills related to ICC.
• Devising strategies to improve one’s own prospects of working abroad in the future.
• Devising an action plan to address gaps in transferable skills based on organisational analysis and sector opportunities.

Part A:      

Preparation for Experiential Overseas Learning will take place at the University of Chester during level 5 and will include:  

• The multiple facets of Global citizenship
• Ethical engagement and practice
• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Intercultural communication

Theories, models and strategies of learning

• Theories and models Intercultural competence
• Theories and models of Integration and Multiculturalism
• Critical thinking skills and models of Reflection

• Experiential learning models
• Self-directed experiential learning

Personal and placement-related skills

• Enhanced independence
• Improved command of multicultural behaviour
• Increased knowledge and confidence in their individual facets of personal identity
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Project management – working away from University and independent study
• Self-management and personal development
• Team building and team work

Part B:            Overseas

Students will engage in experiential learning activities overseas for at least 150 hours 

The traditional academic programme structure is not applicable in relation to this experiential learning intern-ship opportunity. The experiential content is freely structured and determined by negotiation between the student, placement supervisor and host organisation. It is generally informed by the aims and learning outcomes and by the objective of optimising added value for both the host organisation and the student experience. 

A placement conference will enable peer to peer sharing of experiential learning permit feedback and allow an analysis of the range of skills and benefits derived from the placement, it will also further develop the construction of learning logs and the portfolio.  For those unable to attend, for whatever reason, online via Teams will permit engagement and feedback.  In addition, the conference will provide an opportunity to acquire an overview of final year options and dissertation and/or project research.

For those students where costs or other geographical/logistical difficulties render visits, conference attendance or participation via teleconferencing prohibitive, there will be an augmented portfolio of activities to substitute the conference activities.

All students will engage in the drawing up of a learning agreement on acceptance of the placement that will cover a contact plan and agreed learning outcomes with their designated academic tutor and placement coordinator.

Preparation for the year abroad will take place in Chester during level 5 and will include:

• Cross-cultural issues and sensitivity
• Host-country orientation, study methods– economic, political and social reality of the country
• Orientation specific to exchange – health, education, gender issues
• The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• Practical matters relating to living and studying in the wider world

Theories, models and strategies of learning

• Critical thinking skills, experiential learning and models of reflection

Personal and placement-related transversal skills

• Effective self-motivation and independent resourcefulness
• Effective time management and organisational skills
• Project management – working away from University and independent study
• Self-management and personal development

Whilst abroad:

You will undertake study at one of the University of Chester's partner universities or undertake and approved work placement or virtual placement. If you are a student,  it is expected that you will choose a series of modules at the university abroad which must be agreed by the host institution and the Module Leader. you must supply details of you modules on a learning agreement within 4 weeks of arrival at the host university.

This modules provides a comprehensive knowledge strategic marketing planning and management process. It will develop a critical perspective of the various strategic marketing approaches and models available and will enable you to implement them within an organisational context, with a view to creating a sustainable competitive advantage.

Digital technologies and concepts will be analysed to consider how this might feed into the strategic marketing process. You will also  explore contemporary marketing issues and critically evaluate their impact on the discipline of marketing. 

The module offers a critical understanding of branding and it's creative and managerial role in the marketplace. It will offer a holistic approach to branding, moving away from a simple concept of visual identity to developing a brand experience as part of the customer journey, thus considering internal branding as a key aspect of brand delivery.

It will provide a strategic skillset to grow and maintain brands in a sustainable and ethical manner, whilst at the same time focusing on way to enhance brand image and identity.

The module will encourage you to think in a more creative way towards brand building and development as well as offering a strategic focus.

This module develops student understanding of the £billion UK marketing communications industry.

Students develop knowledge of the paid, owned and earned media that marketers use to communicate with customers; explore the use of traditional and digital communications touchpoints to nudge consumer behaviour – awareness, interest, purchase, loyalty, advocacy; and learn how to integrate media across the consumer journey.

Students will apply academic models and theory to practice, to develop creative message appeals, and plan marketing communications campaigns, that can cut through the noise of the digital era to reach, engage and retain target customers.

This module will explore emerging and disruptive trends in digital marketing. Module content will be informed by the most current issues and debates within the industry. Topics may include the role of Artificial Intelligence in marketing, content marketing trends, misinformation, developments in digital retail, and regulatory considerations  such as data management and advertising standards

Learners will develop an in-depth appreciation of the current digital landscape to prepare them as graduates for evolving industry standards and expectations. 

The module is designed to enable students to develop and apply business research and analytical skills that will enhance their employability and rapid progression to management positions in the workplace. It requires them to: 

• Undertake a research project that is 'scoped and framed' within a required degree programme of study.
• Design and conduct appropriate in-depth research in an elected area of study.
• Acquire, consolidate and apply theoretical knowledge, methodologies, and research approaches in a ‘real world’ environment.
• Develop and utilise skills in critical investigation; analysis and synthesis of evidence; reflection and autonomous learning.

This is a self-directed module which enables and empowers students to initiate and develop their own project concept appropriate to their discipline of study.

Students within their final year of studies are very focussed on their ultimate work aspirations, and this module aids them to gain 'graduate trajectory' and enable them to better move into their chosen profession / industry as seamlessly as possible upon graduation.  

After the initial lectures setting out the style and scope of the module and opportunities, students decide on the content of their project and assessment (co-creation), and pitch this to staff by way of an initial project proposal.

Students then receive tutorial support and supervision throughout the year and agree the form that their final assessment will take. Students are encouraged to work with other stakeholders (internally or externally) where appropriate in the developing the project or work.