Direct, Digital and Database Marketing
MODULE CODE
CREDIT VALUE
Module Aims
Aim 1
This module is designed to provide students with a working knowledge of direct and digital marketing within the Relationship Marketing paradigm. Given the environmental (especially technological) factors enabling firms to communicate directly and interactively with their markets, the module also aims to equip students with a critical appreciation of the frameworks and tools which are available to interactive marketers and thence equip them with the ability to formulate appropriate DM strategy.It provides students with the opportunity to bring together previous learning in business and marketing to develop concrete yet creative plans and further develops their skills in budgeting and scheduling.
Module Content
The key differences and strategic benefits of direct and digital marketing (off/online)
Importance of channel and media-neutral planning
The stages in planning an acquisition/retention campaign
Difference between brand adverting and direct response planning & buying
Selecting and targeting prospects and customers by status, potential value and interest
Accountability through measurability
Increasing customer loyalty and lifetime value, ladder of loyalty, hierarchy of targeting.
Influence and referral markets
Customer insight and the role of personalisation
How to develop strategies and direct and digital action plans (process)
Customer Acquisition and Retention Strategies and action plans (including budgeting)
Response, campaign testing, measurement and evaluation
Customer engagement, activation & retention
Prospect and customer data capture strategies, data enhancement and screening
Database functions and requirements
Creating a Single Customer View
Profiling, segmentation & targeting (profiling)
Sources of profiling data
Privacy and data protection (the law and codes of conduct), ethical DM.
Integrated direct marketing communications
Roles and strategic advantages/disadvantages and costs of different media for specific tasks/campaigns (hierarchies of effects, AIMRITE, response uplift, data capture) , inc major media; DRTV; press; D-mail; radio and door-drops.
Difference between brand adverting and direct response planning & buying
Reviewing the digital landscape (technological change)
Viral, social, mobile media,
Optimisation, Enhancing the customer journey – on & offline
Affiliates and affinity marketing
Up-selling and cross-selling,
Enhancing the customer journey – on & offline
The function and nature of offers and incentives
Testing and rolling-out Creative strategy, differences between general advertising and DDM creativity
Creating a great creative brief
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, a student will be able to:
Teaching Methods
In the first part of the module the students
a) are introduced to the concepts tools and techniques of the DM industry through short lectures, online power-point and video presentations either in class, elearn or on Blackboard
b) develop a presentation with notes to be assessed and shared with class on a specific tool(s) (weighted not more than 30% module marks). This assessment supports class learning on the range and role of tools and media available to practitioners.
c) read, study, analyse and discuss the campaign or case study brief
Thereafter, working in campaign teams is highly desirable as the bedrock of the work is a major DDM campaign plan. Students work as a class and in teams of 3-6 to apply their learning of the philosophies, tools and techniques of Direct and Digital and Database marketing to the brief they are given. Wherever possible the class works on a strategic Direct and Digital Marketing campaign brief (or similar) provided by the Institute of Direct Marketing (National Student Competition). The range of acquired skills in the class allows for skills-sharing (as in a real enterprise). However, each student is required to reflect on the development of the sample strategic campaign and produce their own document (individually) as a campaign plan. This allows for individual refinement of the team’s work and is useful to enable assessors to discriminate as to the quality of the output. This is assessed individually. (Weighted at 70% of module marks).
Class and group feedback (including from class peers) is actively provided as campaign plans progress. This is supported in the workshops and online through discussion tools. The existence of a national competitive element to this module motivates the students to work closely to the brief as they would have to do if working in the Direct and Digital marketing Industry. This contributes greatly to their employability as business and marketing practitioners.
[After feedback on the final assessment, as appropriate students may be offered the opportunity to re-form teams and re-work their plan developmentally for submission to a national Student Competition] There is scope within this module for a student to work entirely alone, if they so desire, but this must be negotiated with and approved by and is designed to assist with the exceptional circumstances of specific students.
Assessment Methods
This module is assessed through a Pair presentation (30%) and a Strategic campaign plan (70%).
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Compulsory
