Marketing
MSc Football Communications & Digital Marketing
The way football and sports fans consume media has meant the role of content creators and marketers have had to evolve, adapt, and in some instances merge.
Course Information
Attendance:
Full-timeStart Dates:
SeptemberDuration:
1 yearAttendance:
Part-timeStart Dates:
SeptemberDuration:
2 yearsCourse Overview
It is now essential to understand digital viewing trends, social media audiences and how to plan engaging and effective digital media coverage for an ever demanding fan base. The MSc Football Communications & Digital Marketing degree programme is designed for graduates and industry practitioners with a keen interest in football and sport.
Our Distance Learning degrees are taught by the same leading industry experts who teach our on–campus degrees with teaching delivered online via our dedicated platform GIS Collab which can be accessed anytime making this a flexible study option that fits around your existing commitments.
Each module typically has 6 live teaching sessions for you to attend, enabling you to interact and collaborate with academics and your peers. These sessions are also recorded.
Course Content
The programme leverages contemporary themes from marketing, such as digital marketing, public relations, fan engagement and multimedia journalism, to enable students to evaluate the relationships between these areas. Those with a particular interest and experience relating to the marketing and communications industry are particularly suitable for this programme.
No longer are fan bases constricted to the home country. International audiences are now a vital, and in some instances more important, base to tap into and engage with. Premier League football clubs are global brands within themselves, let alone their all-star cast of players. Social media videos and strong in-house story tellers help to promote the club and its merchandise.
Teaching Location
Study a degree from anywhere in the world, with flexible learning options to suit your schedule. With GIS, you’ll unlock access to a global network of students, alumni and industry professionals to maximise your opportunities and excel in the most exciting industry in the world.
Modules
There is a minimum number of students required to run the optional modules. Therefore, all optional modules may not run every academic year, the course team will decide on an annual basis which options will run based on student demand and academic factors in order to create the best learning experience.
Leadership is a fundamental element of both sport and business operating in a dynamic global arena. On this module you will review and conceptualise different approaches to leadership from both an applied and theoretical perspective to allow you to analyse critical incidents in order to judge organisational leadership performance. You will be able to apply leadership theory to examples from industry professionals who have experience of leading teams in a sporting setting. Cross-cultural leadership underpins many of the behaviours and skills discussed within the leadership framework, alongside diversity and inclusion, strategic leadership, communication and reflection. The module allows you to take responsibility for your own leadership development and effectiveness through the development of an e-portfolio and skills audit, alongside exposure to sports leaders from the global network of partners contributing to the live case studies.
This module will explore the importance, variation and motivation which influence football consumer behaviours. You will identify key factors which explore the changing nature of football consumer typologies, including the globalisation of fan engagement and the importance of customer relationship management and data analytics. This module explores and analyses the dynamic nature of football fan engagement and the online and offline tools being used to capture existing and new fans. Finally, the module examines the metrics and insights required to drive the business of football consumption.
As society becomes increasingly familiar with digital technology, digital marketing can no longer be considered an add-on to existing strategies. Instead, football organisations must now move towards a ‘digital-first’ approach in order to remain competitive and engage fans. Fortunately for marketers, the opportunities are everywhere. The world’s first computers filled entire rooms, with only a few basic functions. Now, with each passing year, we have exponentially more powerful computers on our desks, in our pockets and on our wrists. We now have 24/7 access to a million digital doorways, each of them teeming with data for us to consume – and all marketers need are the keys.
Within this module, you will be encouraged to critically evaluate the place of traditional marketing theories in an increasingly digital world. Are these theories still fit for purpose or must marketers find new ways to understand and engage with their customers? You will also have the opportunity to engage with relevant industry technologies in order to research, analyse and execute an effective digital marketing portfolio to drive fan engagement and achieve football orientated business goals.
This module will examine the key roles and responsibilities of sports journalists while developing the knowledge and practical skills required to work within an ever expanding and developing industry. It will prepare students to explore the potential of multi-platform news within a legal and ethical framework while examining the role and impact of sports journalism in society. You will be able to create content for a number of different platforms to share with key stakeholders and are encouraged to showcase your work in an in-house publication.
This module will equip students with the research skills to undertake a rigorous and critical professional project. It will support the development of an integrated understanding of theory and practice related to the analysis of selected organisational issues within the global sports industry. Students will learn to apply both theoretical and practical knowledge gained from both the taught element of the programme and their prior management experiences to a business/organizational issue. Through the assessment, students will deploy and utilize effectively appropriate research and/or problem solving processes throughout the planning and execution of a live business project.
Working in the global sports business as a manager, you will be called upon to work on new projects and within new or existing project teams, where some of the team may be based in other countries. This will test your ability as a manager and your team-working skills. You will be asked to work in a group and be given a consultancy project by a sporting organisation. Assigning roles to each team member, you will have to carry our research in order to investigate the current situation that the company finds itself in, and find the data that you need to inform your report. You will need to demonstrate a critical awareness of the current issues that face the sports organisation. You will then analyse this data and make your recommendations to the organisation.
Faced with a rapidly changing marketplace, you will learn how to manage customer relationships using a range of techniques and identify the information needed to develop a customer-focused approach to the management of sports fans. It is important to understand how to manage relationships with current customers, lapsed and potential. You will learn how to identify patterns of consumption and how CRM supports the overall strategic planning of a sporting organisation. The importance of pricing, social media and communicating with customers will be covered and how these are important in developing the CRM plan.
Meet your
Course Leader
Shana Doyle
Holly Hamilton
GIS graduate
Marketing Analyst at Aston Martin F1
Entry Requirements
- Undergraduate degree – minimum 2:2 (ideally a 2:1) or international equivalent
- Applicants with a 2:2 should have some experience of studying or working in business or sports related areas.
- English language qualifications: Applicants from non-majority English speaking countries will be asked for an English qualification which tests Speaking, Listening, Reading and Writing and will be asked to achieve an overall IELTS score of 6.5 (minimum of 6.0 in each section) or recognised equivalent.
Offers to applicants currently studying an undergraduate degree will be conditional on them going on to achieve the entry requirements on completion of their degree.
Applications that do not meet the standard entry requirements but demonstrate relevant education and/or work and/or life experience in the course subject area are welcomed.
Eligibility will be assessed on the basis of the information provided in the application – in particular the personal statement.
- Application form
- Evidence of highest academic and/or professional qualifications
- Evidence of relevant experience, where required
- 500 word personal statement
Applications made through the flexible entry route may require a course leader review. The course leader will determine whether a professional reference or task is required.
Scholarships
The Global Institute of Sport is proud to offer an extensive suite of scholarships to support outstanding students as they embark on their postgraduate study. From scholarships to aid our elite athletes, to attracting aspiring sports leaders, and scholarships which support inclusivity and diversity within the sporting industry, our scholarships are there to support students who want to make a meaningful difference to the future of the sporting world.
Career Prospects
The specificity of sport, with its high media coverage and numerous stakeholders, requires managers to have uniquely honed business skills and an in-depth knowledge of the football industry. The programme has been developed for those with aspirations towards senior positions within the core media and marketing departments of football and sports clubs and similar organisations. Graduates of the MSc Football Communications & Digital Marketing degree have gone on to work in roles for organisations such as:
- Marketing Assistant – EFL Trust
- Marketing Executive – MK Dons Football Club
- Partnerships Account Executive – Everton Football Club
- Senior Commercial Strategy Executive – Rangers Football Club
99 %
of our postgraduate graduates are either employed or in full-time study
79 %
are working or studying in sport
These discounts are open to any GIS, UCFB, Buckinghamshire New University, Vrije Universiteit Brussel and University of East London graduate who has received and accepted an offer to study at the Global Institute of Sport.
15% fee tuition discount on all Master’s programmes.
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