MSc in Digital Marketing 2021

I received a distinction in every course and for my dissertation (for Americans that means strait A’s) received my Masters of Science In Digital marketing in December 2021.

Modules Included:

Collaborative Dissertation with

BACKGROUND

In Collaboration with Ogilvy Health, my dissertation investigates what elements contribute most to workforce wellbeing and a positive workforce culture, as well as current trends in recruitment and recruitment marketing, exploring best practices for companies to communicate culture to candidates.

Key words: Employer Branding, Recruitment, Marketing, Digital, AI, Human Resources, Employee Wellbeing, Work-life Balance.

METHODS

An academic literature review was undertaken to explore the current research on workforce wellbeing interventions being used by employers, and on recruitment marketing practices.

 Secondary research, through the analysis of non-academic sources such as company websites and other digital channels was undertaken to determine what benefits, interventions and policies companies employ in the workplace wellbeing space, and how they market themselves to candidates. News outlets were reviewed to understand current views on the job market, workforce wellbeing, and recruitment.

Primary research, both qualitative and quantitative, was undertaken to get first-hand accounts of attitudes towards wellbeing interventions, and recruitment techniques in practice. Qualitative research was undertaken through eight semi-structured, in-depth interviews with relevant stakeholders at a variety of organisations. Quantitative research was conducted using a survey, receiving 309 responses, it targeted candidates and employees to understand what might persuade them to join one company over another, what contributed most to their satisfaction at work, what features would be most appealing in a wellbeing programme, and what channels they favoured for job searching and recruitment marketing activities.

FINDINGS

Formal workforce wellbeing offerings, while desirable to those surveyed, ranked least important among several benefits and policies, suggesting that the bulk of company resources allocated to recruitment and retention may be better focused elsewhere. Work-life balance and a supportive culture appear to be the biggest contributor to employee wellbeing. Flexible working hours, above-average pay, working in a supportive environment, and above-average time-off rated most highly were by survey respondents; the vital importance of culture was a common thread among interviewees.

 Further findings suggest that, when recruiting, companies should follow similar practices they would use to entice customers, communicating the value they will add to their employee’s lives at work and beyond.

Strategic Marketing & Management

 This was a core module which covered four major blocks of areas, including environmental scanning, strategy and planning, execution, and control/evaluation. The assessment was a comprehensive marketing plan for a brand stretch.

CONTENT INCLUDED

• Critical analysis of organisational positioning: products and services in a market. 

• Recent developments in marketing thinking and market strategy development

• Market strategy development and current issues such as relationship and Internet marketing

• Practical experience of the development and adjustment of strategies in an integrative manner, using a simulation exercise

• Key theories in strategic marketing management, building on the latest academic insights

TOPICS ADDRESSED

• Market Orientation

• Segmentation & Positioning

• Value-creating strategies

• Branding

• Customer Retention

STRATEGY AND PLANNING

 Almost like a mini-MBA this course looked at a company’s holistic business strategy. part of the module included the world-renowned Capstone Simulation. “The goal of Capsim is to help students relate to what happens in the real world. The secret for winning lies in looking at your competition to see what they are doing, and then adapting and strategizing to do things better and make better decisions— just like in the actual competitive marketplace.”

CONTENT INCLUDED

• Investigation techniques for trend forecasting

• Scenario planning for strategy development

• Fundamentals of business planning

• Frameworks for running business ventures: Operations management and Financial statements

INFORMATION MANAGEMENT

This module focused on learning best practices in information management, Including:

CONTENT INCLUDED 

• Ethics of data management, data governance, 

• Data architecture, modelling, and design to discover, analyse, represent and communicate data requirements

• Data storage and operation

• Information security management

• Data integration and interoperability between data stores, applications and organisations

• Document and content management

• Business intelligence to enable workers to get value from information

• Information quality management

•  Introduction to big data systems and related technologies
  

DESIGN PRACTICES IN DIGITAL INDUSTRIES

CONTENT INCLUDED 

• Introduction to a wide span of human-centred design practices in digital industries through a series of group activities and real-world examples

• Insights of client experiences and needs through user data collection and analysis techniques

• Problem framing, brainstorming, conceptual thinking and ideation

• Method and practices of rapid concept actualization and innovative prototype of products, services and experiences in digital industries

• Design criteria and rationales for digital industries

• Presentation of ideas and concepts by digital storytelling, visualization, and immersive activities

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR MARKET ANALYSIS

CONTENT INCLUDED 

• Market research and analysis within the landscape of technological influence

• Planning and designing market research utilising digital technologies for value-added effects

• Fundamentals of digital tools for market research: research gamification, online communities, eye tracking, visual attention detection, crowdsourcing, mobile surveys, IoT/Sensor networks, and mobile ethnography

• Advanced data analytics for market research: Media analytics, text analytics, facial expression analysis big data analytics

• Data visualisation techniques for effective market research delivery

• Ethical issues surrounding market analysis techniques and digital mechanisms to overcome those issues such as privacy preserving analytics

DIGITAL MEDIA AUDIENCES AND MARKETS

CONTENT INCLUDED 

• Approaches to studying digital media audiences and the digital media markets

• The shift in the digital media consumption behaviours in the Internet age

• The interactions between the user experience, personal information processing and creation of business value

• The factors involved in creating and retaining audience interest in digital media and examples of how to use them

• Implications of new digital media on audience behaviour

DIGITAL PRACTICES FOR CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

CONTENT INCLUDED 

• Digital marketing strategy: impact of digital media and technology on marketing

• Importance of understanding and engaging customers for delivering effective marketing strategies

• Emerging digital tools for customer behaviour analysis and brand engagement

• Fundamentals of data science for social network analysis: propagation of trust, online communities, and social networks

• Artificial intelligence technologies for behaviour prediction, and customer engagement measurement

• Managing digital marketing programs: Analysis, planning and implementation, campaign planning for digital media, delivering online customer experience, and impact of potential cyber-crimes

• Digital technologies for marketing communications: search engine optimisation, affiliate marketing, email and social marketing