1. Module Rationale The purpose behind the Applied Marketing Project is
Module Rationale The purpose behind the Applied Marketing Project is to enable students
to apply knowledge and skills acquired throughout the course to an organisational issue or
problem. This module serves as an integrating mechanism for all other modules as well as
developing powers of analysis and evaluation and project management skills. This module
follows on from the Marketing Analytics module that students undertook in order to
develop the appropriate skills to complete an applied marketing project efficiently and
effectively. Overall Aim of the Module The overall aim of this module is to enable students to
critically evaluate a specified real-life Marketing problem in order to develop a range of
potential solutions. Specifically, the aims of the module are: • To introduce students to
marketing consultancy as a key area of applied business activity and to enable them to
acquire knowledge and understanding of some of the core areas of marketing consultancy; •
To develop research and project management skills to enable students to conduct a
marketing consultancy project on a real-life business problem area; • To ensure that
students have the necessary competencies to prepare a well-structured and well-presented
marketing consultancy project report; • To enhance and further develop knowledge,
intellectual, professional and transferable skills that will help prepare students for a career
in marketing consultancy. Successful students will be able to: 1. Demonstrate knowledge
and experience of the role of a marketing consultant and when it is beneficial to use
marketing consultancy within an organisation 2. Critically evaluate arguments,
assumptions, evidence and techniques to support conclusions / recommendations, while
ensuring its reliability, validity, significance and investigating contradictory information to
successfully complete an applied project 3. Demonstrate skills in management
competencies such as project management, to successfully complete an applied project
creatively within agreed guidelines 4. Successfully develop the ability to select and manage
information, completely undertake reasonably straight-forward research tasks and manage
own learning using a full range of discipline resources. Assessment Guidelines1. 1. A
Consultancy/Project Proposal of 2,000 words setting out consultancy project scope, key
deliverables, timescales and project management reporting methods. A project area and
client/case study will be identified during week 1 of semester. It is up to you to secure a
company to work with or a case company that you can solve a marketing issue for.
Assessment Guidelines 2. 1. The assignment should the form of a consultancy report of
8,500 words providing solutions for a real-life Marketing problem, including
recommendations. Report must set the context of the business environment and

2. demonstrate a wide use of the management tools learnt throughout the course. These will
be used to conduct the analysis within the company and develop the appropriate strategy
that forms the solution. 2. During semester youwillbe allocated a case study project, you will
be expected to solve a marketing problem for this company and produce the output as a
consultancy report. This should include appendices of research and development you have
conducted during semester. 3. You should include a 500-word reflection on your learning in
this module at the end of the report. It should be structured using either Gibb’s or Kolbs
reflective models. 4. Detailed guidance will be given in the live session in week 1 to provide
samples and guidance on how to complete this task successfully Standard Assessment
Guidance The following guidance is applicable to all coursework items. 1. Marks are
awarded for content, quality of discussion and effective use of referencing. To achieve high
marks, students will be expected to demonstrate a familiarity with the wider literature in
the subject area, and not merely an ability to re-produce the lecture notes. Higher marks
will also be awarded to students who provide strong evidence of analysis and critical
evaluation of the various concepts and techniques identified and their application to real
world situations. 2. Work should include references to journal articles and other relevant
publications, and should be properly laid out using the Harvard system of referencing as
indicated below: Buzzell R., (1968) ‘Can you standardise multinational marketing’, Harvard
Business Review, (Nov-Dec) 46, pp102-113. Jeannet J.P. and Hennessey H.D., (2004) Global
Marketing Strategies. 6th ed. Houghton Mifflin. More detailed guidance is available in the
‘Guide to Referencing in the Harvard Style’. We encourage you to avail of the Academic
Support via the Library’s Support Service, further details in the Library Support Services
Section. 3. Marks will be deducted for incomplete or inaccurate referencing. 4. Students may
make multiple submissions in advance of the due date to receive feedback via Turnitin on
their academic writing style (similarity score) and any potential plagiarism issues. A
similarity score of less than 20% is acceptable. 5. Students must adhere to the word limit
policy so as to avoid penalties as follows: +10% – no penalty +>10% – 20% – 5% penalty
+>20% – 30% – 10% penalty +>30% – 40% – 15% penalty +>40% – 50% – 20% penalty
+>50% – maximum mark of 40 Books Required (Must read) Wickham and Wilcock, 2020,
Business and Management Consulting: Delivering an Effective Project, 6th Edition, Pearson
Books Recommended (Should read/ Could read) Wickham and Wilcock, 2016. Management
Consulting: Delivering an Effective Project, 5th edn, Pearson O’Mahoney, J., (2013),
Management Consultancy, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gardiner, P., (2012),
Project Management (2e), Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Stokes, D. and Wilson, N., 2010.
Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship, 6th edn, Andover: Cengage Learning
EMEA. Turner, R., Huemann, M., Anbari, F. and Bredillet, C., 2010. Perspectives on Projects,
ist edn, London: Routledge. Greiner, L.E., Olson, T.H. and Poulfelt, F. (Eds.) 2009.
Management Consultancy Today and Tomorrow Casebook, 1st edn, London: Routledge.
Useful Journals Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing Strategic Digital Marketing
Journal of Interactive Marketing Journal of Marketing UsefulWebsites Forbes.com
Gartner.com McKinsey.com