This module aims to:

Enable students to define experiential marketing and critically evaluate its place within other related fields such as relationship marketing and customer relationship marketing;

Develop students’ ability to critically appraise experiential marketing in B2C, B2B organisations;

Equip students with the skills needed to critique the relationship marketing strategies of organisations, both offline and online;

Develop students’ skills to appraise the main psychological and sociological theories underpinning experiential marketing.

(LO1) Students will be able to define experiential marketing and critically evaluate its place within other related fields such as relationship marketing and customer relationship marketing.

(LO2) Students will be able to critically appraise experiential marketing in B2C, B2B organisations.

(LO3) Students will be able to critique the experiential marketing strategies of organisations, both offline and online.

(LO4) Students will be able to demonstrate a critical appraisal of the main psychological and sociological theories underpinning experiential marketing.

(S1) Adaptability
Students will need to understand the business environment of their chosen organisation and consider how it can use an understanding of the customer journey to launch a new product/service offering.

(S2) Problem solving
The module will challenge students to critically analyse the experiential marketing strategies of organisations in light of academic theory. Students will need to be creative in presenting their video/podcast for designing a customer journey.

(S3) Numeracy
Measuring experiential marketing approaches is often carried out using numerical approaches such as Net promoter Score (NPS), so student will learn to be able to calculate these values.

(S4) Commercial awareness
Students will use their knowledge of experiential marketing to make recommendations about an organisation can enhance its customer experiences. Case studies of organisations undertaking experiential marketing will be used throughout the module.

(S5) Organisation and ability to work under pressure
Managing deadlines to get assignments in on time.

(S6) Communication
Students will have a chance to demonstrate both written and verbal communication skills in the assignments. Seminars will provide them with opportunities to discuss and present their ideas.

(S7) IT skills
Students will have the chance to demonstrate aptitude in making a video/podcast for the first assignment. They will require IT skills find suitable literature for the second assignment as well as demonstrating a knowledge of newer technologies that might help firms improve their customer experiences.

(S8) Ethical awareness
The module will reflect on the ethical dimensions of customer experiences, particularly storytelling, where brands provide a narrative about what they stand for in the market and society more generally.

(S9) Lifelong learner
This module develops lifelong learning skills by blending marketing theory with practical tools, emphasising experiential marketing, customer experience management, and fostering critical thinking to engage thoughtfully in contemporary marketing debates and real-world applications.

Lectures x 14 hours (2 hours x 4 weeks and 1 hour x 6 weeks)
Seminars x 12 hours (2 hours x 6 weeks)
Self-directed learning x 174 hours

The module is delivered by a mixture of lectures, seminars and self-directed learning, namely, 14 hours of lectures, 12 hours of seminars across 10 weeks of teaching. Outside of lectures and seminars, students will use the remainder of their time on self-directed learning, including work on the assignments, seminar preparation and directed reading (174 hours). Students will be encouraged to engage in wider reading and enhance their comprehension of other sources that go beyond the core text of the module. This will be supported by appropriate levels of independent private study. Key information will be posted on the VLE and co-ordinated to students. An FAQ area will also be available to address generic student queries and give guidance on assessment. The lecturers will provide ample academic support and feedback hours.

Introduction to customer experiences (CX) and experiential marketing:

This topic will be introduced to students and experiential marketing placed within the broader context of related topics such as relationship marketing.

Customer journeys and touchpoints:

This topic considers how organisations develop customer journeys including the range of touchpoints that consumers encounter on these journeys.

Psychological and sociological underpinning of customer experiences:

The theoretical underpinnings of experiential marketing will be discussed such as flow state and social consumption.

Customer experience management:

This topic considers how organisations design and manage experiences including their measurement.

Experiences in B2C offline contexts:

This topic considers the primary context of CX, namely offline B2C environments. The topic is explored through addressing how a range of businesses create experiences.

Experience s in B2C online and omnichannel contexts:

This topic will address how experiences are created in online B2C environments and those created online and offline.

Introduction to B2B (relationship) marketing:

An introduction to B2B marketing, with a focus on relationship development. Having a critical understanding of the distinct nature of B2B (compared to B2C) marketing is essential to discussing experiences in B2B contexts.

Experiences in B2B contexts:

Experiences in B2B contexts are an emerging topic and this topic will consider how organisations might create experiences that may need to encompass a range of actors (e.g., customers, distributors, suppliers) operating in a network.

Technological developments driving customer experiences:

This topic considers some of the new technologies such as AR/VR, AI and service robots that are driving changes in the CX landscape.