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Top 10for marketing in the UK
Source: Complete University Guide 2024
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All our courses are industry-accredited
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Top 100in the world for marketing master’s courses
About the Department of Digital and Data Driven Marketing
Digital and Data Driven Marketing is a department of Southampton Business School. We explore the challenges of the digital economy and society, with a focus on the impact of technologies and innovation.
Using theoretical frameworks, we aim to understand how they enhance customer experience, boost business performance, and increase societal well-being.
Areas of focus include:
- branding and advertising
- digital and social media marketing
- international and cross-cultural marketing
- AI-consumer interfaces
- marketing strategy
- consumer behaviour
- corporate social responsibility
- luxury branding
- retailing
- influencer marketing
- sustainable and ethical marketing
Projects include:
- the impact of social media influencers on followers
- digital echo chambers
We operate across business to business, business to consumer, and consumer to consumer contexts, tackling real-life problems relevant to organisations of all types and sizes.
Informed by the latest research and current business practices, our undergraduate marketing courses are ranked top 10 in the UK (Complete University Guide 2024). Our postgraduate taught courses are ranked top 100 in the QS Business Master’s Rankings 2024: Marketing.
Through our teaching, we provide a balance of state-of-the-art knowledge and skills relevant for the professional world. Our graduates are in high demand for corporate placements and employment in both public and private sector.
Both staff and students collaborate with industry to solve real-life marketing problems.
Research and impact
Our ground-breaking interdisciplinary research is led by the Centre for Marketing Research. We focus on solving real-life marketing management challenges and influencing management and policy decisions to create positive, sustainable impact.
Publications, media and conferences
We publish in quality, high-impact journals including:
- Journal of Retailing
- Journal of Business Ethics
- Journal of World Business
- Journal of Business Research
- Industrial Marketing Management
- International Marketing Review
- Psychology & Marketing
We also publish in popular outlets such as WARC Exclusive, The Conversation, Adweek, European Business Review and Harvard Business Review.
We are often asked to comment on marketing issues in national media. We also make keynote speeches at academic and industry conferences worldwide.
Projects
Our team members are involved in many high-impact projects. These include:
State of Martech Report
We collaborate with Clevertouch UK, a leading marketing technology organisation, to publish the annual State of Martech Report. This has become a global industry standard.
Trust in Autonomous Systems (TAS) Hub
The University is a major partner in this £11.7m initiative funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). We have led and contributed to projects about citizen trust in autonomous vehicles, focusing on psychological, economic, legal and marketing management implications.
Digital retailing for older and rural consumers
With retailers increasingly transitioning towards digital shopping channels, we offer strategic insights to retailers and policymakers around the effects on older and rural consumers. Funded by the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise (NICRE).
Impact of social media influencers (SMIs) on emotion and wellbeing
This British Academy-funded project investigates how SMIs’ portrayal of idealised bodies and lifestyles might have negative consequences for young followers. Project outcomes are relevant to the SMI industry, brands that use SMIs, and policymakers.
Barriers to Covid-19 vaccine uptake
We worked with a local non-governmental organisation to investigate why Covid-19 vaccine uptake was much lower in Slough, an ethnically diverse Greater London borough, than the rest of the UK. We revealed that attitudinal roots influenced vaccine-hesitant behaviour, and messages from public bodies had the opposite effect to that intended. Findings were used to develop a novel health communication strategy for increasing vaccine uptake.
Other research projects have looked at:
- the impact of digital echo chambers on young people
- reducing food waste for sustainable consumption
- the psychological mechanisms that underpin consumer resistance to sustainable innovations
Work with external organisations
Our members act as non-executive directors, advisers and consultants for a variety of local, national and international organisations and policy bodies. These include:
- Southeast Cyber Resilience Centre (UK)
- VisitWiltshire
- Chartered Association of Business Schools
- Covid-19 Areas of Research Interest working group, organised by the UK Government's Office for Science and the Economic and Social Research Council
- Slough County Council
- Clevertouch Marketing
Education
Ranked top 10 in the UK for marketing (Complete University Guide 2024), our research and industry-informed academic curriculum puts us at the forefront of delivering specialist marketing courses. We were the first university in the UK to offer a Master of Science in marketing analytics.
Our industry-accredited undergraduate and postgraduate taught courses are delivered by renowned subject experts and award-winning academics. Several academics are visiting academics at other universities around the world and authors of popular subject textbooks.
Our courses cover:
- marketing
- marketing analytics
- digital marketing
- marketing management
Teaching balances delivery of a research-informed curriculum with career-relevant learning and skills development. Our academics have won student-nominated best lecturer awards.
Students gain real-world marketing experience through activities such as:
- company visits
- placements
- interactive simulations
- industry research projects
- marketing practice-based dissertations
- internships
Our graduates are in high demand for corporate, public sector and other jobs. This is reflected in our excellent graduate employability rates (89% for graduate prospects in the Complete University Guide 2024).
Working with industry
We have strong links with multiple industry partners, from local start-ups to multinational corporations (MNCs).
We also work closely with charities, governments and public sector organisations.
We engage with partners through activities such as:
- student placements
- bespoke market research
- consultancy projects
- PhD sponsorships
- collaborative research
- executive training
- workshops
- marketing practice-based dissertations
Major organisations we've worked with include:
- Samsung
- British Airways
- Adidas
- Ericsson
- YouGov
- WWF
- Premier League
- Kantar
We also have close ties with regional and national SMEs such as:
- Clevertouch Consulting
- Griffon Hoverwork
- Campfire
- Visit Wiltshire
- Southampton FC
- Here and Now 365
- Dohle Yachts
Contribute to research in the field of either business studies and management, by completing a PhD with us.
Research and business activities
Learn about the department’s research, industry partnerships and business services.
People
As one of the leading marketing departments in the UK with global recognition, we strive to make a positive societal impact through the triple helix of research, teaching and enterprise activities.
