Corporate Brand Management MSc | Brunel Business School

Corporate Brand Management MSc | Brunel Business School

Course Overview

In today’s business landscape, brand is everything. But what exactly is brand and how do we manage it for the best possible outcome? Brunel’s Corporate Brand Management MSc examines the importance of branding, corporate identity, image and reputation.

You will study a wide-range of brands (e.g. product, service, personal, company) from a variety of cultures and sectors (private, public and not-for-profit) including start-ups, SMEs, and multinationals. You will also study how corporate branding is key to an organisation’s overall marketing strategy.

Brunel Business School was the first school to introduce a specialised MSc in corporate brand management back in 2007. The Corporate Brand Management MSc is taught by an enthusiastic team including Professor John M.T. Balmer, who is highly regarded in the corporate brand domain, as well as renowned brand specialists Dr Sharifah Alwi and Dr Yousra Asaad, amongst others.

You have the option of taking either a year-long or six to twelve week work placement, depending on your needs, to help you enhance your skills and boost your career prospects while you study. We were one of the first business schools to offer postgraduate degrees with placement and the feedback has been that this is incredibly useful as you can put your learning into practice immediately. It’s also a great way to make business contacts with the possibility of a job offer from your placement employer once you’ve graduated. Find out more on our work placements page.

Accredited by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), this course offers the option to study the CIM Certificate in Professional Marketing alongside your degree. Find out more on our accreditations and exemptions page.

Topics covered on the degree include corporate and product brand identity, corporate and product brand image and reputation, corporate marketing, and corporate communications. You will also study marketing communications and strategy from a corporate branding perspective.

You can explore our campus and facilities for yourself by taking our virtual tour.

Course content

This exciting course will give you a sound basis in the fundamentals of corporate brand management. Optional modules allow you to explore areas such as business ethics, entrepreneurship, consumer behaviour, diversity in the workplace, and international management.

Researching and writing a 12,000 word dissertation is an integral part of the course. Your dissertation should focus upon empirical research into a management problem or issue of your choice to be agreed with your tutor, who will support you in your research. The dissertation must be submitted by the end of the academic year.

Optional modules are indicative and available subject to numbers.
This course can be studied 1 year full-time, 16 months full-time with placement or 2 years full-time with placement, starting in September.

Year 1

Compulsory

MG5547 Marketing Communications

Understanding process, theory, social impact and ethics of marketing communications.

MG5615 Understanding Business and Management Research

Quantitative and qualitative methods in management research. Understanding research reports and utilising this information to improve quality of work and decision-making in complex management problems.

MG5619 Advanced in Corporate Branding

MG5584 Applied Corporate Branding

This module focuses on application of corporate branding theories to practice. In order to provide students with skills for critical evaluation of current cases and strategies of contemporary corporate brands.

MG5585 Strategic Corporate Marketing

This module focuses on corporate marketing. It examines the philosophy and management of corporate marketing at strategic level and considers its historiography. The dimensions of the corporate marketing mix are examined in the strategic context of key, corporate-level constructs/theories relating to corporate branding, corporate identity; organisational identity, corporate communications; corporate image and reputation, stakeholder theory along with corporate social responsibility.

MG5586 Strategic Corporate Brand Management and Consulting

This module focuses on strategic corporate brand management and consulting and deals with the applied aspects of the territory (the management of change in corporate branding contexts). It examines key normative models such as corporate brand alignment and the six conventions of corporate brand management among others and will examine the strategic nature of corporate brand management in the context of mergers, acquisitions, takeovers and franchise arrangements.

MG5510 Dissertation

Researching and writing a 12,000 word dissertation is an integral part of the course. Your dissertation should focus upon empirical research into a management problem or issue of your choice to be agreed with your tutor, who will support you in your research. The dissertation must be submitted by the end of the academic year.

Optional

MG5565 International Management

Examining the trends that impact international business. Focus on international management challenges in and the effects of globalisation on particular countries and regions. Analytical tools, techniques and models of negotiation, communication, and conflict resolution in international contexts. HR in international organisations.

MG5591 Global Diversity Management

Training and development activities for diverse workforces with different socio-economic backgrounds, interests, beliefs, value systems.

MG5592 Entrepreneurship

Studying the nature of entrepreneurship and its importance in society. Analysis and understanding of the psychological and behavioural characteristics of the entrepreneur. Overview of the major theories in the field (psychological theory and cognitive theory) as well as the main approaches to entrepreneurship.
This course has a placement option. Find out more about work placements available.
Read more about the structure of postgraduate degrees at Brunel

Careers and your future

Putting your learning into practice through our six to twelve or year-long work placement options, as well as the opportunity to study for your CIM Certificate in Professional Marketing alongside your degree will give you a career boost when entering the graduate world.

Graduates of this degree can look forward to a wide range of career opportunities within a variety of sectors. In particular this degree will help prepare you for roles in: Brand Management; Brand Marketing; Corporate Communications; Advertising and PR

Some of the well-known names who value Brunel Corporate Brand Management graduates include British Airways, London Borough of Harrow (Local Council), Amer Sports, Street Market Ltd, Radley Yeldar, L'Oreal, Brand Union, McCann Ericson, OWL, Grey Group, The Daily Mail Group.

UK entry requirements
 
A 2:2 (or above) UK Honours degree or an equivalent internationally recognised qualification, in a related or non-related subject. Work experience will not be required.
Applicants with a 3rd class UK Honours degree, or an equivalent internationally recognised qualification, will be considered if they can demonstrate a minimum of two years full-time, post-qualification, work experience in Marketing and Branding, at a senior level.

EU and International entry requirements

If you require a Tier 4 visa to study in the UK, you must prove knowledge of the English language so that we can issue you a Certificate of Acceptance for Study (CAS). To do this, you will need an IELTS for UKVI or Trinity SELT test pass gained from a test centre approved by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and on the Secure English Language Testing (SELT) list. This must have been taken and passed within two years from the date the CAS is made.

English language requirements

• IELTS: 6.5 (min 6 in all areas)
• Pearson: 58 (51 in all subscores)
• BrunELT: 65% (min 60% in all areas)
• TOEFL: 92 (min 20 in all)

You can find out more about the qualifications we accept on our English Language Requirements page.

Should you wish to take a pre-sessional English course to improve your English prior to starting your degree course, you must sit the test at an approved SELT provider for the same reason. We offer our own BrunELT English test and have pre-sessional English language courses for students who do not meet requirements or who wish to improve their English. You can find out more information on English courses and test options through our Brunel Language Centre.

Please check our Admissions pages for more information on other factors we use to assess applicants. This information is for guidance only and each application is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Entry requirements are subject to review, and may change.

Fees and funding

2020/21

UK / EU

£10,440 full-time

More information on any additional course-related costs.
See our fees and funding page for full details of postgraduate scholarships available to Brunel applicants.
Fees quoted are per year and are subject to an annual increase.

Teaching and Learning
 
Teaching includes lectures, informal small study groups, and individual or group presentations using a laptop and digital projector.

A particular feature of the course is the use of case studies to contextualise contemporary theory and practice. Class presentations offer the opportunity to gain valuable presentation experience as you apply theory to practice.

Should you need any non-academic support during your time at Brunel, the Student Support and Welfare Team are here to help.

Assessment and feedback
 
Modules are usually assessed by individual assessment or by examination in May.

Coursework and examinations give you a chance to demonstrate critical and constructive thinking and reasoning. Your dissertation is a 12,000 word document that will show your ability to conceive, design and execute a major project, which confidently substantiates your chosen line of enquiry.
Read our guide on how to avoid plagiarism in your assessments at Brunel.