AD3MST: Marketing Strategy

Module code: AD3MST

Module provider: School of Agriculture, Policy and Development

Credits: 20

Level: Level 3 (Honours)

When you'll be taught: Semester 1

Module convenor: Mr Akbar Karim, email: a.a.karim@reading.ac.uk

Pre-requisite module(s): BEFORE TAKING THIS MODULE YOU MUST TAKE AD1FMM OR TAKE AP1EM2 (Compulsory)

Co-requisite module(s):

Pre-requisite or Co-requisite module(s):

Module(s) excluded:

Placement information: NA

Academic year: 2024/5

Available to visiting students: No

Talis reading list: No

Last updated: 27 June 2024

Overview

Module aims and purpose

The module challenges students to develop a sophisticated understanding of the increasingly ‘glocal’ context within which businesses operate and to hone the ability diagnose marketing problems and create effective marketing strategy. You will be exposed to the theoretical frameworks and practical considerations driving effective strategic marketing decision making. The module encourages reflective and critical thinking throughout. Knowledge and skills developed on this module are applicable across any industry. 

Module learning outcomes

By the end of the module, it is expected that students will be able to: 

1. Develop a clear understanding, supported by a portfolio of real-world examples, of how companies approach market analysis and strategy formulation and appreciate how different media and marketing channels may be leveraged to maximise the impact of advertising and brand activities 
2. Identify sources of competitive advantage, demonstrate a critical understanding of applied marketing theory and understand how customer needs are identified and addressed through the deployment of integrated marketing communications 
3. Evaluate scholarly literature within the disciplines of advertising and branding and critically evaluate how companies and brands use advertising and branding techniques in the modern marketplace 
4. Understand the powerful positive and negative influences that adverting and branding activities exert upon modern society and develop a greater appreciation of the commercial environment and an interest in contemporary business issues.                                                                                                                            

Module content

The course will cover all of the following topics, although the focus of the course may differ from year to year with some topics being given more emphasis depending on their topicality: 

1. Strategic Analysis: 

• The external environment: Identifying opportunities and threats. Obtaining and using environmental information. Porter’s Five Forces Model. 
• The internal environment: Strategic capability. Strengths and weaknesses. Processes and frameworks.  
• What is marketing strategy, how prescriptive can a strategy usefully be? A historical perspective on the role of marketing strategy. 
• What does success look like? The role of marketing in corporate success. 

2. Strategy Formulation and Implementation: 

• Business-level strategy: Bases of competitive advantage. Sustaining competitive advantage. Segmentation strategy. Competitive strategy. Growth strategies. 
• The deployment of branding and promotion to build customer-based equity.  
• The role of integrated marketing communications (IMC) in brand building and brand positioning activities.  
• Strategic decision-making to inform the design and deployment of branding and promotion campaigns.  
• The importance of branding and promotion activities in shaping modern society. 
• Strategic management at different stages of the product life cycle. Business models and patterns. Business Planning: the process and the application. 

Structure

Teaching and learning methods

Interactive lectures, blackboard lecture slides, learning resources: videos and further learning resources including Vloggs, bloggs and industry websites (this is likely to change from term to term). 

Study hours

At least 44 hours of scheduled teaching and learning activities will be delivered in person, with the remaining hours for scheduled and self-scheduled teaching and learning activities delivered either in person or online. You will receive further details about how these hours will be delivered before the start of the module.

Please note the independent study hours above are notional numbers of hours; each student will approach studying in different ways. We would advise you to reflect on your learning and the number of hours you are allocating to these tasks.

Semester 1 The hours in this column may include hours during the Christmas holiday period.

Semester 2 The hours in this column may include hours during the Easter holiday period.

Summer The hours in this column will take place during the summer holidays and may be at the start and/or end of the module.

Assessment

Requirements for a pass

Students need to achieve an overall module mark of 40% to pass this module.

Summative assessment

Penalties for late submission of summative assessment

The Support Centres will apply the following penalties for work submitted late:

Assessments with numerical marks

• where the piece of work is submitted after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for that piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of three working days;
• the mark awarded due to the imposition of the penalty shall not fall below the threshold pass mark, namely 40% in the case of modules at Levels 4-6 (i.e. undergraduate modules for Parts 1-3) and 50% in the case of Level 7 modules offered as part of an Integrated Masters or taught postgraduate degree programme;
• where the piece of work is awarded a mark below the threshold pass mark prior to any penalty being imposed, and is submitted up to three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline), no penalty shall be imposed;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

Assessments marked Pass/Fail

• where the piece of work is submitted within three working days of the deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): no penalty will be applied;
• where the piece of work is submitted more than three working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension of the deadline): a grade of Fail will be awarded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: https://www.reading.ac.uk/cqsd/-/media/project/functions/cqsd/documents/qap/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf

You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Formative assessment

Formative assessment is any task or activity which creates feedback (or feedforward) for you about your learning, but which does not contribute towards your overall module mark.

Reassessment

Additional costs