The creation of OPM (Online Program Management) courses has seen the development of many subjects without the traditional textbooks. This has given UTS staff an opportunity to construct their own ideas, concepts and frameworks for their online students. One example has resulted in a version being shared with industry.
An introduction to Marketing
The Graduate Certificate in Marketing and Digital Strategy is an OPM course aimed at students who don’t have a marketing background but want to understand the basics of marketing and digital marketing.
In one core subject, Customer Centric Marketing, it was known that it would not only be a foundations subject, but the students would either not have previously studied Marketing or not studied for many years – and few would have studied a course that is 100% online. So, it was important to present an introductory marketing management framework to clearly guide the content for the students.
A less linear model
Rather than repeating well-worn textbook frameworks, a new model was created. It was based on some previous ideas from marketing education, but followed a more circular process. This ongoing review of marketing campaigns contrasts with the linear process often used in the literature.
This model can:
- help with the understanding of the basic elements of the marketing management process
- identify the importance of the customer (target audience)
- illustrate that a manager should be customer-centric when planning marketing-related activities and doing business in a changing environment
Currently the subject is running for the third time, and it was felt that the concept should be seen by more than the online students, so a simple diagram focusing on the ‘A’s in a marketing management framework was identified.
- Audience – the customer or the target audience is at the centre of marketer’s focus
- Aims – setting out the objectives or goals for strategy formation/planning
- Allocate – distribute the resources by identifying activities/tactics and budget to undertake the plan
- Action – the process of implementing the plan
- Audit – conducting some research to monitor if the aims were met.
- Affects – the factors in the society or the marketing environment which have an influence on the planned marketing activities.
This diagram has recently been published by Smart Company, which is an online publication for businesses and entrepreneurs.
This is an example of how the OPM courses at UTS are not only teaching business subjects, but developing new ideas with the potential to have real impact in the future.
For another look at how an OPM was developed, read about how FASS joined forces with the PGLD team to design The Master of Education (Learning and Leadership) (MEdLL) in our three-part OPM in Motion series.
Thanks, Amanda, I’ll look into this.
Another option to private publishing is to licence our OPM materials as OER – this could result in them being picked up and used at other institutions.