CAM Diploma in Marketing Communications

What do I learn?

* Integrated Media

* Direct Marketing & Sales Promotion

* Advertising

* Marketing Consumer Behaviour

* Public Relations

By the end of the integrated media module, students should be able to explain the role of different media in the marketing mix and the communications mix and identify the relationships between the advertiser, advertising agencies, media buying and media planning agencies and media owners. Students will also set appropriate objectives and strategies and allocate budgets for different media. They will be able to present an overview of media available and their characteristics, including electronic media, and methods of planning and selection and select appropriate methods for measuring the effectiveness of communications media.

In the Direct Marketing & Sales Promotion module, students will be able to describe the relationship of direct marketing with other marketing communications tools and explain the role of sales promotion, merchandising, point of sale and field marketing in the context of various sectors and in terms of consumer, trade and salesforce/employee promotions. They will also be able to develop, manage and maintain a marketing database whilst being able to devise, implement and control appropriate direct marketing and sales promotion campaigns to meet defined objectives. Another aim of this module is that students will justify and manage budgets for individual campaigns and apply the principles of testing and measurement and financial controls which support direct marketing and sales promotion campaigns. Lastly in this module, students will be able to explain the ethical, legal and self-regulatory environment around the disciplines of direct marketing and sales promotion.

In the Advertising module students should be able to explain the role and structure of advertising in the marketing mix, the communications mix and society and continue to explain the structure of the advertising industry and be able to identify the relationships between the advertiser, advertising agencies, suppliers (e.g. research, production) and media owners. They will also be able to set appropriate advertising objectives, strategies and budgets. Another factor will be to understand how to plan strategies for creative and media execution and be able to describe the controls on advertising; social acceptability, legal controls & voluntary constraints, and be able to apply them to given advertisements. Lastly they will be able to select appropriate methods for measuring the effectiveness of advertising.

In the Marketing Consumer Behaviour module students will learn how to explain the role of the marketing plan and communications plan within the context of the organisation’s strategy and culture and understand the marketing planning process and the links between each stage of the process. They will also be able to explain the role of marketing communications and how the tools of the communications mix can be coordinated effectively. The plan is that they also have the ability to develop marketing communication and brand support activities based on an understanding of the salient characteristics of the target audience and be able to explain the importance of developing long term relationships with customers, channel members, agencies and other stakeholders and transfer such knowledge to the development of marketing communication activities. Students will also be able to suggest suitable methods to influence the relationships an organisation has with its customers, any marketing channel partners and other stakeholders, using marketing communications.

In the Public Relations module students should be able to define the nature of public relations within a range of organisational frameworks and explain and work within the legal and self-regulatory constraints under which public relations operates. They will also be able to use the various techniques and skills required for effective public relations, including their characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and costs. The student will also be able to explain the media channels employed in public relations in different contexts and be able to analyse situations and identify whether PR is the most appropriate tool to use. Lastly, the student will be able to also analyse situations and suggest appropriate plans of PR action to specific publics within cost and time parameters.