Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Postgraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2024-2025

Module BUSI42415: Applied Marketing Science (FT)

Department: Management and Marketing

BUSI42415: Applied Marketing Science (FT)

Type Open Level 4 Credits 15 Availability Not available in 2024/2025 Module Cap

Prerequisites

  • None.

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • To provide a comprehensive introduction to the specialised areas of market intelligence, marketing planning and strategic location management.
  • To consolidate and extend the advanced research methods training and statistical analysis skills acquired during the Core period of the MA in Marketing programme.
  • To equip the student with the advanced conceptual and practical skills needed to successfully complete a dissertation in Marketing and to provide a firm foundation for a successful marketing career.

Content

  • I. Business Location Analysis:
  • Marketing, location, and competitive advantage;
  • Inductive and deductive location selection strategies;
  • Trade area analysis and site evaluation techniques;
  • Territory management and intelligent network planning;
  • Spatial interaction modeling and spatial growth strategies.
  • II. Marketing Research and Intelligence:
  • The marketing research industry;
  • The commercial marketing research process;
  • Exploratory, descriptive, and predictive research;
  • Industrial and consumer test markets;
  • Analysing, reporting and managing marketing intelligence;
  • III. Marketing, Information and Technology:
  • Data, information and market intelligence;
  • Secondary and standardised data - official statistics, commerical data, bespoke services;
  • Understanding and managing spatially - referenced information;
  • Geographical information systems (GIS) and spatial data analysis;
  • Marketing intelligence systems (MkIS) and strategic knowledge management.
  • IV. Spatial Marketing Planning:
  • Segmentation, positioning, and the spatial planning process;
  • Population geography, geodemographic change, and market opportunities;
  • Market segmentation bases - geodemorgraphic, psychographic, lifestyle, etc;
  • Standardized segmentation systems - ACORN, VALS2, PRIZM, PYSTE, etc;
  • Modeling, simulation, and decision - support systems.

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • a critical appreciation of the nature of marketing information and market intelligence, together with the geographical dimensions of that information and intelligence.
  • a critical appreciation of the spatially-referenced data underpinning successful marketing research, and of the technologies used in managing that spatially-referenced data.
Subject-specific Skills:
  • acquired the specialised skills needed to plan, implement, report, and manage a comprehensive and complex programme of market research for a new business venture and/or market diversification project.
Key Skills:

    Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

    • The learning outcomes will be achieved through a combination of lectures, guided reading, individual exercises and the group discussion of case studies, reinforced by IT-based practical classes in the use of statistical software packages (e.g. SPSS) and Geographical information systems (e.g. ArcGIS).
    • The summative assessment of the module - by practical project, group presentation and data analysis exercise - is designed to: Test the acquisition and articulation of knowledge and research skills; Test skills in managing and analysing spatially-referenced data; Test conceptual understanding and skills of application, interpretation and reporting within the business context.

    Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

    Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
    Lectures 6 every 1 or 2 weeks 2 hours 12
    Practicals 5 fortnightly 2 hours 10
    Preparation & Reading 128
    Total 150

    Summative Assessment

    Component: Data Analysis Exercise Component Weighting: 30%
    Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
    individual geodemographic data analysis exercise (equiv to)1000 words 100%
    Component: Report Component Weighting: 60%
    Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
    individual practical project report documenting group marketing project 1000 words (max) 100%
    Component: Group Presentation Component Weighting: 10%
    Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
    group presentation 30 mins 100%

    Formative Assessment:

    Student presentations, case study preparation, performance in IT practical classes.


    Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University