OTHM LEVEL 7
DIPLOMA IN strategic marketing
Postgraduate level qualifications
120 credits (online)
Ofqual Qualification Number: 603/5946/8
Course description
OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Marketing qualification is to provide learners with the skills and understanding in marketing & branding that align with good strategic decision making to maintain organisations’ competitive advantage. Learners acquire knowledge through an integrated approach of theory in marketing, branding consumer behaviour and digital communication management and practice using real-time activities. Successful completion of this qualification will develop learners’ strategic marketing management, consumer behaviour and branding skills and their ability to focus on the requirements of implementing an organisation’s strategy. The OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Marketing qualification enables learners to progress into or within employment and/or to work toward a relevant Master’s programme with advanced standing.
Entry requirements
For entry onto the OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Marketing qualification, you must possess:
1. An honours degree in a related subject or UK level 6 diploma or an equivalent overseas qualification
2. Mature learners with management experience (learners must check with the delivery centre regarding this experience prior to registering for the programme)
3. Learners must be 21 years old or older at the beginning of the course
4. English requirements: As this qualification is taught in English, you must have an appropriate level of English for entry onto the OTHM qualifications. If you are not from a majority English-speaking country, you must provide evidence of English language competency. For more information visit the English Language Expectations page. If you do not hold any certificate, LSBE will provide you with an English Level Test for free. Please contact us.
Equivalence
The OTHM Level 7 diplomas on the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) are at the same level as master’s degrees. However, they are shorter (120 credits) and students will have to proceed to the dissertation stage (60 credits) with a university to achieve a full masters programme.
Qualification Structure and Content
OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Marketing consists of 6 mandatory units for a combined total of 120 credits, 1200 hours Total Qualification Time (TQT) and 600 Guided Learning Hours (GLH) for the completed qualification. To achieve the OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership, you must achieve a minimum of 120 credits; 80 credits must be achieved from the mandatory units in Group A, plus a minimum of 40 credits from the optional units in Group B.
Contemporary Issues and Principles of Marketing (20 credits)
The aim of this unit is to develop learners’ understanding of evaluating the potential impact of emerging contemporary marketing challenges and apply strategic thinking to develop future marketing using marketing principles in different contexts. The learner will also learn marketing concepts and theory in a range of contemporary settings from entrepreneurial start-ups, industrial manufacturers and global brands, to develop an actionable marketing plan.
Consumer Behaviour and Market Communications (20 credits)
This unit aims to develop learners’ understanding of a theoretical and practical understanding of processes and factors that influence the consumer behaviour of individuals and organisations. By learning about how consumers make decisions, what motivates them, and how contexts and practices influence consumption, you will be able to strategically apply these insights to the creation of customer value and learn how to critique and challenge current marketing practices and consumer communications. The learners will be able to evaluate how consumer research has been undertaken and develop your intellectual and analytical capabilities vis-à-vis interpreting cultural and societal trends, parallel to psychological consumer processes, to inform marketing decision-making.
Digital and Social Media Marketing (20 credits)
This unit aims to develop learners’ a practical introduction to digital and social media technologies (such as Twitter, Facebook, connected devices – the internet of things and affiliate networks) and their application within marketing. The module examines the key characteristics of digital and social media, identifies the theoretical underpinnings such as issues of trust and customer engagement together with trends and usage patterns to provide a framework through which to understand and evaluate them. In addition, the module examines the legal and ethical considerations that marketing in a digital world raises. This module teaches you a range of state-of-the-art tools and theories of how to use social media effectively to achieve your branding and communication goals. students will learn the scientific and strategic approach to marketing with hands-on implementation of online marketing and social media strategies.
Contemporary Challenges and Strategic Marketing (20 credits)
The aim of this unit is to develop learners’ understanding of up-to-date knowledge of the business environment, competitive dynamics and know how to integrate marketing strategy into an overall business strategy. The module provides a comprehensive examination of all the major components of marketing strategies marketing and their integration into organisations for continued success in highly competitive markets.
Strategic Brand Management (20 credits)
This unit aims to develop learners’ understanding of the key principles that underpin managing brands and brand equity. The module enables you to devise a strategic approach to branding for product/service level consistent with the corporate brand. The learners will develop an understanding of how to do marketing from a branding perspective. The learner will gain the skills to establish and position brand strategy, and also manage the brand so it continues to deliver the brand promise. the learners will also important issues involved in building strong brands and in maximising the value of existing brands in various industries and sectors.
Marketing Research Project (20 credits)
The aim of this unit is to develop learners’ research skills including the formulation of research proposals, literature reviews, referencing, data collection, use of interviews and surveys, questionnaire design, statistical analysing using SPSS, qualitative data and methods for drawing conclusions from the analysed data.
Duration and delivery
OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Marketing is designed to be delivered over one academic year if you chose to study full-time, however, it is also flexible to accommodate part-time and distance learning. At LSBE, the OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Marketing is taught through online learning (Learning Management System and weekly live webinars).
Assessment and Verification
All units within this qualification are internally assessed by the centre and externally verified by OTHM. The qualifications are criterion referenced, based on the achievement of all the specified learning outcomes. To achieve a ‘pass’ for a unit, you must provide evidence to demonstrate that you have fulfilled all the learning outcomes and meet the standards specified by all assessment criteria. The judgement that the students have successfully fulfilled the assessment criteria is made by the Assessor. The Assessor should provide an audit trail showing how the judgement of the student's overall achievement has been arrived at.
Progression
Successful completion of the OTHM Level 7 Diploma in Strategic Marketing qualification enables learners to progress into or within employment and/or continue their further study. As this OTHM qualification is approved and regulated by Ofqual (Office of the Qualifications and Examinations Regulation), students are eligible to progress to a Master's top-up at many universities in the UK and overseas with advanced standing. For more information visit the OTHM University Progressions page.
Technical requirements
As this qualification is taught through a distance learning format, you will be studying online. Therefore, you must have access to a desktop or laptop computer and a broadband internet connection.