Advertising and Public Relations with Foundation Year BA (Hons)

On this module you will build knowledge of relevant theories to enable you to develop your own powers of persuasion. In the course of the module, you'll gain an understanding of the theory and principles of public relations, advertising, branding, and marketing.

During this module you will build your skills in analysing consumer behaviour and learn how to ground your creative concepts in consumer insight, developing your ability to create and deliver winning campaigns and strategies.

This year-long module covers the essentials for creating compelling work-- from concept to creative output. You learn how to use a range of industry software like Adobe Creative Suite, web design platforms, AI, and more. This helps you create your own personal brand for your portfolios and compete in student competition briefs, both assessments for the module.

During this module, you will develop your speaking and storytelling skills, with the aim of enhancing your understanding of how journalists work across various platforms.

On this module you will learn about archetypal story structures and how important they are to good communications, whether you are writing press releases, radio ads, digital videos, or social media posts. In this way, you will develop your writing skills across a range of media.

On this module you will learn how to deliver creative strategy that is rooted in insight from common types of consumer research. These include qualitative and quantitative data, consumer research, data presentation, data-led decision-making, USP, advertising objectives, target audience, strategy, proposition, tone of voice, and reach.

You will study the aesthetic principles that should inform how you create and assess creative work, particularly colour theory, typography and layout. During the module, you will also get hands-on experience of giving and receiving feedback, thereby enhancing your own work as well as that of others.

On this two-semester module you will look at how successful campaigns are structured. You will learn industry best practice in campaign development and apply your learning to live briefs from leading agencies and brands, as well as for student competitions.

This module gets you ready for industry experience in the second semester of your second year, with intensive coaching on LinkedIn profiles, CV development, and interview skills. Then, you are given time to engage in industry experience in areas that interest you, deepening your real-world knowledge and expanding your industry network.

In this module, you focus on the cutting-edge frontiers of creative communications (e.g. programmatic advertising, digital public relations and influencer marketing, augmented and virtual reality, AI, etc.) You also expand your own skills in communicating through a mix of creative projects about digitally led campaigns, start-up businesses, and industry thought leadership.

This super-module (40 credits in a single semester) focuses on getting you ready for the fast-paced world of advertising and public relations. You work on three projects during the semester, getting to choose whether to work in teams or as freelancers. These consist of briefs for live clients and/or competition briefs. By applying learnings from a mix of studio sessions, visits, and industry masterclasses, students on this module have seen their work come to life in the real world.

This year-long module helps you achieve your capstone work: a project on a topic of your choosing that you research and execute on. With one-to-one supervision, you develop a market research report showcasing your own consumer research skills, then develop the creative for an integrated campaign based on those insights.   

This module explores consumer fatigue with consumer culture and how brands or start-ups can address some of the key challenges facing society today-- the climate crisis and social justice in particular. You will engage in dynamic discussion sessions and class debates. You will also leverage techniques like design thinking to develop a campaign that helps change the world for the better.

This module is focused on industry-readiness in the form of your student show and your final portfolio. Final year students form their own student agency and stage every aspect of their final-year show from concept to fundraising to the actual event. In addition to growing real-world creative leadership skills, you also build your professional network through your efforts. This gives you a great head start as you graduate and embark in the advertising and public relations industry.