International Marketing (Top-up) - BA (Hons)

Marketing is usually involved in providing information used in strategic decision-making and is often in the forefront of executing such decisions. It is very important for marketers to have an understanding of strategy and planning as it enables marketing activities to be directed to the specific needs of that organisation. You must appreciate the complexities of preparing and implementing longer-term, customer-focused plans and the significant role of marketing and management in contributing to the core vision of the organisation and the achievement of its plans.

Let me ask you something... Could you tell me the main benefits of the next smartphone that you're hoping to buy? Is it the 256GB of storage? The HD retina display? Perhaps the pixel resolution on the camera? Now, could you tell me the impact that the production of that phone has on the environment and on society? Would you consider giving up your smartphone for the greater social good?

These types of questions, and the issues of ethics, social responsibility and sustainability in business, have moved from the marginal to the mainstream during the last 50 years. As such, society is increasingly looking to develop a long-term, sustainable vision for the future that considers the social and environmental impact of business decisions, not just the financial gains.

Whilst Marketing has contributed to the problem of over-consumption, this module aims to provide you with an understanding of the role that marketing has to play in meeting the needs of the sustainability agenda. It identifies the nature and extent of the challenges facing organisations and considers potential approaches for addressing these. In doing so, it aspires to create a vision of the future in which organisations, consumers and government can realise a one planet business strategy.

This module aims to equip you with the conceptual knowledge needed to develop your understanding of Digital Analytics for Marketing. It explores a diverse range of activities that comprise Marketing Analytics as it pertains specifically to Digital Marketing campaigns in order to enable you to appreciate the major differences between traditional and Digital Marketing analytics at a strategic level.

Creative marketing communication tools and techniques are continuously evolving. In line with the programme aims you will use both academic theory and current industry to develop a full advertising proposal and pitch, mirroring the work that advertising agencies do. This distinct opportunity to develop the skills need to both develop and present advertising concepts is vital for a successful career in this area. Taking this comprehensive view of the industry, you will critique current practices and theoretical concepts in order to create your own campaign. 

Culture is generally accepted by marketing researchers as one of the most important underlying determinants of consumer behaviour. Geert Hofstede himself has stated that if there is one aspect of business that is culture-dependent, it is consumer behaviour. Considering that marketing is about consumers to begin with, it is crucial for marketers to understand and predict the behaviour of consumers in all markets they serve. As businesses expand into new national and international markets, dealing with differences in cultural values amongst consumers can be quite challenging, which in turn has implications on the development of viable marketing strategies.

The module provides you with an introduction to the main issues of international business. This module deals with the cultural, administrative, geographical and economic differences around the world and how these differences shape businesses today. Three fundamental issues that this module addresses are: (i) the differences among domestic, international and global firms; (ii) the attributes of multinational corporations (MNCs) and finally; (iii) the determinants of success in international business.