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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2015/2016

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Business School : Common Courses (Management School)

Postgraduate Course: Marketing Communications (CMSE11113)

Course Outline
SchoolBusiness School CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits15 ECTS Credits7.5
SummaryThis course aims to provide students with knowledge of communications theory and a critical understanding of the marketing communications mix. The course aims to introduce students to key communications tools in the contemporary marketplace and how they are integrated, with particular attention to the seamless relationship between online and offline communications required. This course build on students' knowledge gained in the core courses, therefore complementing the other courses and minimising overlap of materials.
Course description This course seeks to provide you with the knowledge and skills required to manage the development of marketing communications campaigns. It aims to introduce you to the contemporary marketing communications landscape, including the relationship between communications agencies and clients, and the societal implications of marketing communication practices. It aims to develop your knowledge and understanding of the role played by key communications tools, and how these can be integrated effectively. It seeks to provide you with analytical frameworks and practical insights to guide you through the process of planning and evaluating marketing communications campaigns.

Syllabus
Introduction: the marketing communications landscape
Managing agency-client relationships
The marketing communications planning process
Understanding creatives and creativity
Creative strategy and working with creative teams
Media planning and integrating marketing communications
The rise of digital communications tools
Planning international communications
Understanding and researching communications effectiveness
Ethics and regulation, and course review

Student Learning Experience
This course will introduce you to vocabulary, concepts, case histories and decision-making frameworks which are essential for marketing communications-related careers, either from a client or agency perspective. The material covered in this course will also expose those of you interested in further study to a range of research issues and methods in the area.

This course is based on ten two-hour interactive lectures, which will relate theory to practice by drawing on examples of marketing communication practice in the form of video and other case material, and through a number of contributions from guest lecturers with extensive industry experience.

You will be encouraged to engage with the material through independent reading and class discussion, as well as small group work in preparation for short informal class presentations and on the continuous assessment project.

Attending lectures is only one part of the work you are expected to do on this course. You will also be expected to read the assigned material for each lecture, keep up to date with developments in marketing communications through observing campaigns around you and monitoring the trade press and relevant websites; and work on the continuous assessments and revise for the examination
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Marketing Management (CMSE11132) OR Principles of Marketing Management (CMSE11110)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements Alternatively, students must have previously undertaken a marketing-related module at university/college level (documentary proof must be supplied), or worked in a marketing post for a minimum of one year.

For Business School PG students only, or by special permission of the School. Please contact the course secretary.

Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2015/16, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 150 ( Lecture Hours 20, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 3, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 125 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 60 %, Coursework 40 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Formal assessment of your performance on this course takes two forms. The degree examination is worth 60% of the total marks on this course, and the group continuous assessment project is worth 40%. Of the 40 marks for the continuous assessment project, 35 will be for the report itself and 5 will be based on peer assessment.
Feedback All students will be given at least one piece of formative feedback or feedforward event for every course they undertake, provided during the semester in which the course is taken and in time to be useful in the completion of summative work on the course. Such feedback may be at course or programme level, but must include input of relevance to each course in the latter case.

Students will gain feedback on their understanding through lecturer response to their contributions to class discussion and informal presentations. They may also obtain informal feedback on their ideas for the group project through discussion with the course lecturers.
Feedback on formative assessed work will be provided within 15 working days of submission, or in time to be of use in subsequent assessments within the course, whichever is sooner. Summative marks will be returned on a published timetable, which has been made clear to students at the start of the academic year.



In addition to informal feedback through class discussion, and marks provided for your continuous assessment project and examination performance, you will receive three pieces of written formal feedback on this course as follows:

Continuous assessment project:
The Course Organiser aims to provide feedback as follows:

(a) a feedback form providing a mark, overall comments and structured feedback in the form of rating scales on the content, presentation and organisation of your group project.
(b) additional feedback will be provided in the form of comments on the project itself, which will be available for consultation but must be retained in the PG Office and available to the Board of Examiners.

Examination:
(c) following the meeting of the Board of Examiners, you will receive a mark for your performance in the examination. General feedback on each examination question will also be provided on the course website within one week of the meeting of the Board of Examiners.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)Marketing Communications2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Overarching Learning Outcomes: Understand and critically discuss the marketing communications process, ranging from objective-setting to creative and media strategy and the measurement of effectiveness.
  2. Critically evaluate the implications for communications planning of the expanding role of digital communication tools.
  3. Critically discuss the rationale for integrated marketing communications, barriers to achieving it and ways of overcoming these.
  4. Critically discuss ethical and regulatory issues surrounding marketing communications.
  5. Apply theoretical frameworks to analyse particular marketing communications situations.
Reading List
Class Text
Semenik, R., Allan, C., O'Guinn, T. and Kaufmann, H. (2012) Advertising and promotions: an integrated brand approach, International edition, South-Western/Cengage Learning

Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Cognitive Skills
After completing this course, you should have developed analytical skills, including the ability to:

- critically evaluate specific forms of communication for a given marketing problem or objective;
- explain the process of marketing communications planning and the context in which it is undertaken;
- analyse how different approaches to positioning, media, creative work and communications research may influence marketing effectiveness;

- apply theoretical frameworks to analyse particular marketing communications situations;

- compare, contrast and apply different approaches to assessing marketing communications effectiveness.

Subject Specific Skills:

After completing this course, you should be able to:

- locate and use appropriate marketing resources to research particular issues concerning marketing communications;

- offer a critical account of the process and context of communications planning, informed by both academic and practitioner literature;

- identify and evaluate alternative communication strategies in light of an organisation¿s marketing environment, objectives and target markets;

- understand the perspective of advertising creatives and how account planners and other managers can communicate effectively with them;

- write a creative brief in an appropriate format and justify your approach;


Transferable Skills
By the end of the course you will be expected to be able to:
- communicate and exchange ideas in both large and small group settings;

- employ analytical and problem-solving skills;

- work individually and as part of a team in the development of a planning document;

- reflect on your own values with respect to ethical practice.
KeywordsMark-MComms
Contacts
Course organiserDr Stephanie O'Donohoe
Tel: (0131 6)50 3821
Email: S.O'Donohoe@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Ashley Harper
Tel: (0131 6)51 5671
Email: Ashley.Harper@ed.ac.uk
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