BA (Hons) Marketing

Why study this subject?

Digital transformation combined with increasing complexity in data and technology have impacted on the marketing role and understanding the customer is becoming essential to ensure a competitive advantage for any customer focused company.

You will gain a comprehensive understanding of the role of marketing in this changing landscape, aligned with a portfolio of practical skills required to make your mark in the business world. If you choose to study the Marketing and Media Communications pathway you will have more focus on content planning, creation and management to give you an understanding of how consumers use media.

There is an increasing demand from agencies, media owners, technology companies and management consultancies for new employees to have a solid knowledge of marketing and media communications and a familiarity for this new landscape. Graduating with a marketing related degree will give you the skills to develop and deploy effective marketing and media communications in this ever-evolving world.

We are a student focused and employer led university which means that you are at the forefront of all that we do. We provide you with a thorough understanding and grounding in marketing and business to ensure you graduate ready for employment or further post-graduate study. Recent graduates have gone to work for Premier League football clubs, Formula 1 racing teams and various global media communications agencies.

Why study at Buckinghamshire New University?

Our industry-experienced academics have specifically designed our courses to reflect the best industry practices along with established and newly emerging thinking in this dynamic sector. We have drawn upon our ongoing relationships with leading organisations, from major media owners and agencies to research and digital data companies. The teaching team has a wealth of experience and creates a working ethos that will enable you to not only develop highly relevant skills and knowledge, but also apply these in a variety of different ways. This manifests in guest speakers, and in assessments based upon real world projects. With the UK’s hub for media and marketing agency world, London, being so close we use our relationships within the industry to aid in this. 

At BNU we want you to get the most out of your time with us and being workplace ready is something we are proud to offer you. Our course will cover the impact on business and the consumer of the changing digital landscape and the evolving implications on the relationship between marketing and the wider sphere of the organisation and the external environment.

You’ll develop the marketing expertise needed to succeed in the rapidly changing world of business. From developing a ‘tool kit’ of knowledge, experience and skills to working as a strategic level ‘executive’ in your final year we have designed our course to allow you to graduate ready to enter the workplace.

Some of the companies we have worked with include large businesses such as Hovis, Percy and Reed, and Sacla; as well as not for profit organisations including James Wellbeloved dog food, Bucks Mind and One Can Trust.

Whatever your area of interest we have you covered, our lecturers work hard to ensure that you can develop your interests and abilities. From the core theoretical knowledge needed to excel to the ‘soft skills’ needed to work collaboratively, problem solve and creatively approach projects we will ensure you develop a well-rounded skillset ready to jump straight into the workplace. You’ll cover topics including the customer experience, introduction to data analytics, strategic marketing, consumer brand relationship and Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) strategy and planning.

Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health & wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers.

What will I study? 

During your time studying marketing at BNU you will cover diverse subject areas including consumer behaviour, strategic marketing, responsible enterprise and ethical research. Studying such varied topics will help you understand how marketing impacts global businesses, alongside developing key skills, such as understanding financial decision making, attention to detail and analytical thinking which will ensure you are well placed to enter the employment market.

In your first year we are focused on providing you with all of the building blocks you need to create a solid understanding of the principals of marketing. You will study topics such as people management, employment skills, global business and sustainability as well as an induction to data and analytics to help with financial decision making.

Depending on which pathway you choose, during your second year you will study either: consultancy in practice, provided with live project briefs from real-life business clients you will develop skills including working effectively in a team and pitching for business You will be able to choose optional modules that are consumer behaviour and data analytics for business decisions.

If you choose the marketing and media communications pathway you will study media and communications management and planning, you will have the opportunity to pitch and present ideas and develop a technical and creative understanding of film and TV production.

In your final year, you will focus on preparing yourself for your future and career after graduation. In addition to learning about consumer brand relationships and Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) strategy and corporate communications, you will undertake an independent professional project on an area of marketing of your choice, this module will allow you to examine a contemporary business management issue or address a specific organisational management issue whilst using your time management, professionalism and personal discipline skills.

You will also be able to choose from a range of additional option modules, which include consumer behaviour, data analytics for business decisions, digital and e-commerce strategy and sustainable strategic agility and innovation.

How will I be taught and assessed?

At Buckinghamshire New University we like to foster an interactive and student-focused teaching style where we blend lectures, interactive workshops sessions, guided self-study and directed research and investigations.

We have specifically designed our student teaching and assessment so it reflects how your work will be assessed in the real world. Our focus is on ensuring you develop skills in gathering clear insight from research material and being able to communicate effectively as possible both by the written word via reports and in the form of public speaking and presentation, through team presentations on live briefs, case studies and portfolio materials.

Throughout your three years on this course you will carry out the following assessment activities:

• individual reports
• essays
• oral presentations
• portfolios
• enterprise activities
• project work.