MSc Marketing & Strategy

This module will equip you with the knowledge and tools to critically assess the ethical implications of Artificial Intelligence in business. By integrating insights from behavioral economics, business, digital ethics, and corporate governance, the module provides a comprehensive understanding of how AI influences managerial decision-making and leadership. Through interactive teaching methods - including case studies, simulations, and expert discussions - you will develop practical skills to navigate ethical dilemmas in AI-driven environments.

Examine traditional and new marketing communication tools in the context of marketing strategy and how these can be best utilised for different audiences in different contexts. Examine brand strategy through the concept of brand equity and examine models for measuring and managing this core area of marketing practice. 

The module is structured around three key themes:

• Consumer Behaviour Intelligence: This theme offers a deeper exploration into consumer needs—a critical aspect of crafting effective Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning (STP) strategies. It delves into the complexities of understanding consumers even beyond their own self-awareness. You will be introduced to cognitive and motivational principles, enabling you to more accurately identify your target consumers and comprehend the underlying factors driving their purchasing behaviour
• Consumer Insights for Decision Makers: The focus of this theme is on how consumer insights can strategically inform decisions in product and service development, pricing, and beyond. The module will provide practical knowledge in areas such as behavioural pricing, systematic inventive thinking, and choice engineering. This willo equip you with the tools to make informed, impactful decisions based on deep consumer understanding
• Consumer Behaviour Management: This theme delves into practical methods for influencing consumer behaviour in real-world scenarios, covering key areas such as persuasion, motivation, and choice architecture. We will offer you state-of-the-art insights and strategies for each of these behaviour-modifying mechanisms. You'll learn how to identify and leverage specific cognitive and motivational levers to influence consumer actions and determine which levers are most relevant in various situations.

Challenge thinking about the underlying principles of marketing by exploring aspects such as customer experience (CX), servitisation, service innovation and user experience (UX). Develop knowledge of how consumer needs and expectations translate into activities to enhance the customer experience and add value. 

You'll develop knowledge of international contexts and how these allow organisations to enhance customer experience, as well as understanding how to assess customer expectations in context and to develop and deliver activities that meet those expectations. Further to this you will develop understanding of effective monitoring and measurement techniques that improve customer experience.

This module will provide you with the theoretical foundations, appropriately supported by real-life examples, to help understand how global business works today.

Anyone who follows the news will immediately understand the importance of global business and how it has become central to decisions made by governments and their regulators. The trade conflict between the US and China, all the problems for global businesses (as well as the people of the UK and Europe) arising out of Brexit and the potential disruption to global supply chains for companies as diverse as car manufacturers and financial services. Furthermore, environmental crises and disruptions come in various forms: economic recessions, disease outbreaks, as well as terrorist attacks – many of which cannot be easily predicted and impose numerous non-trivial costs on firms, particularly MNEs due to their multimarket exposures. At the same time, MNEs are accused of behaving irresponsibly in their quest for global market growth, which is likely to impose further costs on these firms.

By the end of the module, you will be able to dig deep into these news headlines and gain real insight into the issues in order to discuss how MNEs can build sustainable business models in today’s global business environment.

The purpose of the module is to raise awareness of cultural diversity and to enhance an understanding of how culture impacts business practices in a particular country. You will have the opportunity to learn about a specific area of business/management in an international context. The international partners used will typically be established WBS international partners from one of WBS' networks (the Partnership in International Management (PIM) or Council on Business and Society (COBS).

We aim to provide students with an opportunity to gain cultural exposure and raise awareness of cultural diversity and how principles of marketing and strategy apply to different types of businesses embedded in varying geographic locations.

We also aim to:

• Enhance students’ appreciation of how culture impacts business practices
• Develop students' understanding and knowledge of a particular business, management, marketing or strategy topic or topics related to the selected country and the partner university
• Develop students' ability to critically reflect on the issues that underlie the role of business in global society.

*This module incurs an additional cost of £2,500, which covers transport, accommodation and programme activities. Visas, some meals and other personal expenditure will need to be covered by the student. 

The word “luxury” has been used to describe highly desirable but exclusive goods and services. Traditionally, the purchase and possession of these goods or services is an ultimate sign of personal success and fulfillment of individual dreams. However, it is also perceived as the inappropriate display of financial excesses and disparities.

With the democratization and globalization of luxury brands, increasingly, luxury brands are purchased and consumed to satisfy the emotional and hedonic needs. At the same time, all contemporary brands intend to provide emotional value and experiential benefit to individuals.

Furthermore, luxury brands used to rely on exclusive and personal services to distinguish themselves from non-luxury brands, However, with the rise of digital channel and social media, luxury brands have to adapt to the omnichannel shopping behaviour of the new generation consumers. As a result, the line between luxury brands and non-luxury brands are blurring.

Against the above background, this module addresses the important question of what are the unique value propositions that luxury brands can deliver and how to deliver them.

This module aims to:

• Develop specific skills and knowledge sets appropriate for what is regarded as a distinct industry and product field
• Challenge your existing conceptions of luxury marketing to address the changing needs of the luxury consumer and to communicate the value propositions to a diverse range of consumers in the global market
• Encourage students to apply advanced techniques and concepts from the luxury marketing to solve real business problems in the luxury sector and critically assess the relevance and applicability of those techniques to other sectors.

This module will enable you to understand how organisations design and implement reward systems that support strategic objectives, motivate employees, and promote fairness. You will explore the principles and practices of pay management, including job evaluation, pay structures, incentive schemes, and variable and performance-related pay.

You will evaluate how performance management processes—such as appraisal, goal-setting, and feedback—interact with reward decisions, while considering the behavioural, organisational, and ethical implications of different approaches. Drawing on contemporary research and real-world cases, you will develop the analytical and practical skills needed to design reward systems that are legally compliant, cost-effective, and aligned with organisational performance and employee well-being.

Technology has led to a proliferation of social media channels. These channels enable peer-to-peer communication as well as providing brands with many more ways to reach their customers, have relevant conversations with them, and listen to what matters to them. This module develops an understanding of how brand managers can access and use social media channels as part of their marketing strategy in order to build brand presence and maintain relevance in the life of their customers.

Through this module you will develop a greater understanding of the fast growing, changing world of social media channels and their relevance to customers, brands and the firm. The module aims to develop an appreciation of how the firm’s integrated marketing communications, brand management, and content management strategies are impacted by social media channels, and to examine the strategic opportunities and challenges these present.

Specific objectives of the module include:

• Understanding the role of social media in achieving the objectives of the firm's integrated marketing communications strategy.
• Understanding the significance of a content management strategy, including selecting and combining appropriate social media tools for stages of the customer journey.
• Linking social media into the marketing mix, including understanding their relevance in developing product, place, and service decisions.
• Understanding how to use social media as a tool for insight into changing customer needs
• Recognising the advantages and pitfalls of earned media including brand communities, viral marketing, and PR crises.

The digital landscape is evolving and it is essential to understand the opportunities and challenges presented with the use of digital platforms and technologies. Develop a comprehensive insight into the practices of digital marketing and strategy. Develop knowledge-based skills linked to marketing, strategy, research and tactics. Examine the strategic underpinnings of digital implementation and market disruptions. Critically examine prevailing digital trends such as social media, search engine optimisation, viral marketing, virtual reality and artificial intelligence.

If you select the Research Paper route, Research Methodology becomes a compulsory module for you and it gives you the academic skills to confidently approach your Research Paper topic. The focus is on epistemological foundations, the design of a research project, the preparation for and execution of valid and reliable business research (whether qualitative or quantitative), and on the writing up and presentation of research results.

Gain a deeper understanding of key marketing and strategy functions within a simulated business environment, as you develop personal skills such as decision-making, creative problem-solving and effective performance evaluation.

Your investigation of a contemporary topic will develop your theoretical and practical understanding of current problems in this area, as well as your research and communication skills. This is your opportunity to demonstrate how you would work in reality, as you detail the decisions you would make – and why.

This course offers the opportunity to self-source a summer internship, to increase your employability by applying your theoretical learnings to a real-world industry setting. Our careers team will support you through each step of the process.