Brand Management MA

Study level: Postgraduate
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In modern business, a powerful and well-managed brand is key to standing out in a crowded marketplace, with many of the world’s most successful companies also boasting successful brands. Upon successful completion, this contemporary course will help to put you on the radar of potential employers, looking for professionals with the skills to lead their brand marketing strategies.

Year of entry

2023-24

Location

Coventry University (Coventry)

Study mode

Full-time
Part-time

Duration

1 year full-time
2 years part-time
16-24 months (with professional experience)

Course code

FBLT064

Start date

September 2023

How to apply
Book an Open Day
Download a prospectus
Ask a question

The information on this page is for 2022-23 entry and should be used as guidance for 2023-24 entry. Please keep checking back on this course page to see our latest updates.

Course overview

In modern business, a powerful and well-managed brand is key to standing out in a crowded marketplace, with many of the world’s most successful companies also boasting successful brands.

  • Upon successful completion, this contemporary course will help to put you on the radar of potential employers, looking for professionals with the skills to lead their brand marketing strategies.
  • The opportunity to take part in a simulated public relations exercise, exploring how to leverage the media to increase the strength of a brand.
  • Develop your understanding of the role that analytics has in the evaluation of the importance and relevance of the brand to the organisation and of brand valuation.
  • Allow you to make brand-related decisions and recommendations through the appraisal of brand position within the marketplace. 
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Global ready

An international outlook, with global opportunities
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Teaching excellence

Taught by lecturers who are experts in their field
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Employability

Career ready graduates, with the skills to succeed

Why you should study this course

  • Opportunities to participate in industry field trips2, to advertising agencies, exhibitions and events (subject to competitive application, availability, meeting any applicable visa requirements and additional fees may apply).
  • Opportunities to hear from guest speakers (subject to availability) from industry speaking about various marketing challenges, for example, Big Data, social media and online customer engagement.
  • Option to apply for professional experience opportunities2, which could see you gain experience of employment in the sector. See modules for more information.
  • Chance to study a module dedicated to luxury branding, a growing area of importance within branding with far-reaching, global implications, and one focused on crisis management and PR, crucial areas in maintaining a successful brand.
  • The chance to access our digital communications lab – the DigiComms Lab4 – equipped with industry-standard software, including Adobe Comp, Adobe Slate, Adobe Voice, Behance, WordPress and social media platforms.

Accreditation and Professional Recognition

This course is accredited1 and recognised by the following bodies:

Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

This course is accredited1 by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) for the 2022/23 intake as well as being part of the CIM Accredited Degree scheme.

Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

Chartered Management Institute (CMI)

The course currently includes the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) accredited1 module, Leading Strategic Change through Creativity and Innovation. Upon successful completion of the module, you will gain the CMI Level 7 Certificate in Strategic Management and Leadership Practice at no additional cost. Further details can be found on the Professional Development module homepage.

Memberships

European Foundation for Management Development

Coventry Business School is currently an active member of the European Foundation for Management Development, a global membership organisation dedicated to management development, covering over 900 members across 90 countries. Coventry Business School is recognised by the above memberships for the 2022/23 intake. There is currently no intention for this membership to lapse however if it was not to be renewed we would notify applicants and students as soon as possible.

Chartered Association of Business Schools

Coventry Business School is currently an active member of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, which has a membership of over 120 business schools and higher education providers and supports its members in maintaining high standards of teaching and research. There is currently no intention for this membership to lapse however if it was not to be renewed we would notify applicants and students as soon as possible.

I had a great experience undertaking my Master's degree in Brand Management at Coventry University. The course offered me not only academic knowledge, but also helped me grow professionally and as an individual. It taught me teamwork and helped me built various skills, such as creativity, time management, attention to detail and organising. I was surrounded by highly-skilled professionals who led the courses and seminars, who encouraged my creativity and supported me throughout my professional journey.

- Aleksandra Gyoneva, MA Brand Management, graduated 2019, quoted 2020, now Sales Support Executive at Daimler Fleet Management (Mercedes-Benz)
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What you'll study

Modules

  • Building a successful brand is both an art and a science. In today’s world, brands represent invaluable intangible assets and their creation and nurturing brings considerable challenges for brand managers. This module provides you with a comprehensive and up-to-date perspective on brands, brand equity and strategic brand management and approaches to managing a brand over different geographical areas.

    The module combines current thinking and developments surrounding global brand management with illustrative examples for you to draw from and particularly focuses on branding in an international context.

    Compulsory

  • This module aims to provide you with a critical examination of the key challenges and opportunities for luxury branding. It is crucial to understand the motivations for the purchase of luxury products and to critically examine customer perceptions of luxury quality. The module explores the diversity of meanings of luxury across different markets and includes a review of current practice, as well as the digital evolution of luxury brands. The module appraises the nature of conspicuous consumption, the creation of symbolic meaning and their implications on price management in luxury branding.

    Compulsory

  • This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the importance and relevance of the value of a brand to the organisation. It presents you with theoretical and practitioner-driven methods of brand valuation in order to appreciate the utility, strengths and limitations of the different approaches available.

    The module considers tangible and intangible assets, as well as financial and non-financial indicators that contribute to the assessment of brand value. The module aims to allow you to make brand-related decisions and recommendations through the appraisal of brand position within the marketplace.

    Compulsory

  • This module aims to introduce students to the key concepts involved in contemporary research is related to their course subject area. Students will also be given critical insight into relevant contemporary trends and research priorities.

    Compulsory

  • This module is key to developing operational marketing skills for future application in the workplace. The module aims to develop a strategic focus for marketing management by applying operational principles and practices to the framework of the marketing planning process in building organisational strategy. It also focuses on the implementation, control and evaluation of the marketing planning framework.

    The module utilises a marketing simulation game and enables you to construct and implement a strategic marketing plan. You evaluate its effectiveness by analysing the marketing and financial impacts of business decision-making, based on key performance indicators.

    Compulsory

  • This module provides you with a detailed insight into how consumers make buying decisions and the various psychological and sociological factors that influence the decision-making process. You will be required to develop your skills of academic research and analysis to critically examine the various strands of thought in behavioural studies and to take into account cultural impacts.

    Compulsory

  • This module is key to providing you with a critical understanding of the theory, knowledge and skills required to plan for and make marketing communications decisions. You will be given the opportunity to develop a critical and theoretical knowledge of the main communications planning frameworks and promotional tools. You will also recognise the complexities of marketing communications applications.

    You will make judgments on financial and creative aspects needed to achieve communications objectives. A feature of this module is the use of a client and includes interactive learning to develop analytical and decision-making skills required by marketing communications practitioners in the workplace.

    Compulsory

  • The purpose of this module is for you to examine the challenges of managing corporate communications, crisis management, and public relations. This module explores key themes around corporate reputation and corporate communications using crisis management techniques and public relations as the main communications tools to help address and minimise gaps and to avoid potentially serious issues impacting on the organisation’s reputation.

    Compulsory

  • This module aims to provide you with a framework of knowledge and understanding of how to manage change using creativity and innovation.

    You will critically assess strategies for change and change management, and explore the leadership skills required to lead such successfully. You will explore for example, the complexity of innovative strategic plans, implementation plans and how to apply analytical techniques, theories, models and creative problem solving to manage change with confidence.

    Ultimately, you will be given the opportunity to develop an innovative framework to deliver a change management strategy in a changing organisational context.

    Finally, the module requires you to reflect critically on your personal learning and development needs and how you work with others, from an ethical and professional standpoint to encourage your continuing professional development.

    Compulsory

  • You will also have the opportunity to try to develop your own area of expertise through the Postgraduate Dissertation/Consultancy Project. This could provide a pathway for early research career progression if, upon successful completion of the course, you are interested in progressing to a PhD, or for progression to a digital marketing management position. Please note that further study opportunities may be subject to criteria and fees.

    Compulsory

With professional experience option

The professional experience opportunity2 enables you the opportunity to apply for optional professional experience in semester 1, which, upon successfully securing an opportunity, will extend the duration of your master’s to either 16, 20 or 24 months. The professional experience provides an opportunity for you to develop expertise and experience in your chosen field with the aim of enhancing your employability.

Please note that the optional professional experience modules incur an additional tuition fee, for which 1 semester of professional experience is £1,333.33, for 2 semesters of professional experience is £2666.67, and for 3 semesters of professional experience is £4,000.

Professional experience may also be subject to additional costs, visa requirements being met, subject to availability and/or competitive application. Professional experience opportunities are not guaranteed but you will benefit from the support of our Talent Team in trying to find and secure an opportunity. Find out more about the professional experience option.

We regularly review our course content, to make it relevant and current for the benefit of our students. For these reasons, course modules may be updated.

How you'll learn

The course is structured to provide a mix of classroom and lab-based activities and can be delivered through a combination of face-to-face teaching and online classes and tutorials:

  • Lectures
  • Associated seminars
  • Practical workshop classes
  • Personal tutorials
  • Opportunity to work in our DigiComm lab4 – equipped with industry-standard marketing software allowing you the chance to undertake tasks in an environment that closely replicates a contemporary marketing agency.
  • Guest speakers (subject to availability)
  • National and international field trips2 (subject to competitive application, availability, meeting applicable visa requirements and additional fees may apply).

This course can be offered on a full-time or part-time basis. Whilst we would like to give you all the information about our part-time offering here, it is tailored for each course each year depending on the number of part-time applicants. Therefore, the part-time teaching arrangements vary. Please request information about studying this course part-time.

Teaching contact hours

In your first and second semester, you will have around 12 contact hours of teaching a week. The contact hours may be made up of a combination of face-to-face teaching, individual and group tutorials, and online classes and tutorials. In addition to the contact hours, we offer the opportunity to attend additional optional sessions, such as guest lectures (subject to availability), or to meet with staff during their advice and feedback hours.

A strong emphasis is placed on the postgraduate dissertation/consultancy project in your final semester and therefore total teaching contact hours may be reduced in the final semester.

As an innovative and enterprising institution, the University may seek to utilise emerging technologies within the student experience. For all courses (whether on-campus, blended, or distance learning), the University may deliver certain contact hours and assessments via online technologies and methods.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are prepared for courses due to start in or after the 2022/2023 academic year to be delivered in a variety of forms. The form of delivery will be determined in accordance with Government and Public Health guidance. Whether on campus or online, our key priority is staff and student safety.

Assessment

This course will be assessed using a variety of methods which will vary depending upon the module.

Assessment methods include:

  • Providing a real client with a marketing communications plan and campaign
  • Preparing a brand manual
  • A developmental conference research paper
  • A crisis management manual
  • E-portfolio on luxury branding
  • Data dashboard with academic commentary

The Coventry University assessment strategy aims to ensure that our courses are fairly assessed and allows us to monitor student progression towards achieving the intended learning outcomes.

International experience opportunities

There are opportunities2 to visit other countries and institutions, with previous cohorts on similar courses having visited countries such as Greece. While in Athens, past students on similar courses had the opportunity to visit the Perfetti van Melle headquarters (the organisation which own global brands like Mentos and Alpenliebe) and work on live case studies. In addition, past students on similar courses attended a seminar on negotiations at Athens University of Economics and Business.

Entry requirements

Accepted applicants will normally hold an honours undergraduate degree (minimum 2:2) in a relevant academic discipline, such as a marketing or a business management degree.

Applicants with a degree in another discipline may be admitted after consideration on a case-by-case basis. Applications from candidates with relevant experience are encouraged and will be considered on an individual basis.

We recognise a breadth of qualifications; speak to one of our advisers today to find out how we can help you.

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Select your region to find detailed information about entry requirements:

Europe

Americas

Middle East

South Asia

South East Asia

East Asia

Africa

Russia and Central Asia

You can view our full list of country specific entry requirements on our Entry requirements page.

If you do not have the typical entry requirements, you may want to consider studying this course with an international pre-master's. Upon successful completion our International Pre-Master's - Business will provide you with the knowledge and skills you need to progress onto this postgraduate degree.

Alternatively, visit our International hub for further advice and guidance on finding in-country agents and representatives, joining our in-country events and how to apply.

Accepted applicants will normally hold an honours undergraduate degree (minimum 2:2) in a relevant academic discipline, such as a marketing or a business management degree. Applicants with a degree in another discipline may be admitted after consideration on a case-by-case basis. Applications from candidates with relevant experience are encouraged and will be considered on an individual basis.
Accreditation for prior learning (APL) is in accordance with University regulations.

English language requirements

  • IELTS: 6.5 overall, with no component lower than 5.5

If you don't meet the English language requirements, you can achieve the level you need by successfully completing a pre-sessional English programme before you start your course. 

For more information on our approved English language tests visit our English language requirements page.

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Fees and funding

2023/24 Tuition fees

Student Full-time Part-time
UK £11,200 per year Request fee information
International £20,050 per year Not available

For advice and guidance on tuition fees3 and student loans visit our Postgraduate Finance page.

We offer a range of International scholarships to students all over the world. For more information, visit our International Scholarships page.

  • We carry out an initial fee status assessment based on the information you provide in your application. Your fee status determines your tuition fees, and what financial support and scholarships may be available to you. The rules about who pays UK (home) or international (overseas) fees for higher education courses in England are set by the government's Department for Education. The regulations identify all the different categories of student who can insist on paying the home rate. The regulations can be difficult to understand, so the UK Council for International Student Affairs (UKCISA) has provided fee status guidance to help you identify whether you are eligible to pay the home or overseas rate.

    If you meet all the criteria required by any one category, including any residence requirements, your institution must charge you the home rate. You only need to find one category that you fit into.

Facilities

As part of the Coventry Business School, this course will take place primarily in the Faculty of Business and Law building and with that you have access to a number of innovative learning spaces4.

Two students working in the Digicomm Lab

DigiComm Lab

Designed to build creative minds, the DigiComm Lab is equipped with the latest industry-standard marketing and advertising software and devices to support your creative development.

 
Students sat with a tutor in the Business Simulation Suite

Business Simulation Suite

Coventry Business School's Business Simulation Suite utilises the latest business simulation software to give you the opportunity to improve your business skills.

 

A student with a Talent Team adviser

Talent Team

Our dedicated Talent Team can assist you in applying for work placements, graduate-level jobs and offer skills development workshops. They also organise networking events to introduce you to potential employers and industry contacts.

Careers and opportunities

On successful completion, you will be able to:

  • Apply the latest paradigms used to develop marketing planning, crisis management and public relations to solve issues using a range of techniques at the forefront of contemporary brand management practice in a multi-domestic context.
  • Critically analyse and evaluate consumer behaviour, researching the brand and the theoretical underpinning of luxury branding, encompassing the narrative of ethical, sustainable, regulatory and societal considerations.
  • Make informed decisions on branding research, marketing management and marketing communications management.
  • Identify synergies within multifaceted contemporary brand research as well as brand analytics and make sound judgements at the forefront of branding thought, both domestically and globally.
  • Construct, recommend and execute an international brand management, crisis management or marketing communications project to meet the corporate objectives of an organisation.
  • Undertake independent research either in an academic or work context to solve complex problems, reaching informed decisions and critically review them.

Through our Talent Team, you will have the support of dedicated employability support staff, who are industry trained, and are able to tap into their extensive network of employers with a wide range of internship possibilities. The Talent Team’s staff based in Coventry Business School can also support you with workshops and guidance on the various aspects of the employment process such as preparing your CV, interview practice and mock assessment centres. Please note that internship opportunities may be subject to competitive application, availability, meeting any applicable visa requirements and additional costs may apply2.

Coventry University is committed to preparing you for your future career and giving you a competitive edge in the graduate job market. The central Talent Team provide a wide range of support services to help you plan and prepare for your future career.

Where our graduates work

Previous graduates on our similar marketing courses have secured positions in marketing areas, such as brand management, creative advertising development, social media campaign management and website analysis, working with leading organisations worldwide, such as Airbus, BMW, Millward Brown, Silverstone, McCann’s, Zurich and many others.

I never had a boring day at Coventry University and I believe it's the place that supports you to achieve your personal and professional goals through a wide range of work experience, volunteering and travel opportunities and via its supportive teaching staff.

Aleksandra Gyoneva, MA Brand Management, graduated 2019, quoted 2020, now Sales Support Executive at Daimler Fleet Management (Mercedes-Benz)
Overview of students studying and taking notes while reading

How to apply

  • Coventry University together with Coventry University London Campus, CU Coventry, CU London, CU Scarborough and Coventry University Online come together to form part of the Coventry University Group (the “University”) with all degrees awarded by Coventry University. 

    1Accreditations

    The majority of our courses have been formally recognised by professional bodies, which means the courses have been reviewed and tested to ensure they reach a set standard. In some instances, studying on an accredited course can give you additional benefits such as exemptions from professional exams (subject to availability, fees may apply). Accreditations, partnerships, exemptions and memberships shall be renewed in accordance with the relevant bodies’ standard review process and subject to the university maintaining the same high standards of course delivery.

    2UK and international opportunities

    Please note that we are unable to guarantee any UK or International opportunities (whether required or optional) such as internships, work experience, field trips, conferences, placements or study abroad opportunities and that all such opportunities may be subject to additional costs (which could include, but is not limited to, equipment, materials, bench fees, studio or facilities hire, travel, accommodation and visas), competitive application, availability and/or meeting any applicable travel COVID and visa requirements. To ensure that you fully understand the visa requirements, please contact the International Office.

    3Tuition fees

    The University will charge the tuition fees that are stated in the above table for the first Academic Year of study. The University will review tuition fees each year. For Home Students, if Parliament permit an increase in tuition fees, the University may increase fees for each subsequent year of study in line with any such changes. Note that any increase is expected to be in line with inflation.

    For International Students, we may increase fees each year but such increases will be no more than 5% above inflation. If you defer your course start date or have to extend your studies beyond the normal duration of the course (e.g. to repeat a year or resit examinations) the University reserves the right to charge you fees at a higher rate and/or in accordance with any legislative changes during the additional period of study.

    4Facilities

    Due to COVID-19, some facilities (including some teaching and learning spaces) and some non-academic offerings (particularly in relation to international experiences), may vary from those advertised and may have reduced availability or restrictions on their use.

    Student Contract

    By accepting your offer of a place and enrolling with us, a Student Contract will be formed between you and the university. The 2023/24 Contract is currently being updated so please revisit this page before submitting your application. The Contract details your rights and the obligations you will be bound by during your time as a student and contains the obligations that the university will owe to you. You should read the Contract before you accept an offer of a place and before you enrol at the university.

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Your next steps

Student life
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Fees and funding