FA4031 - Brand Promotion and PR 1

Lecturers with practical industry experience and supporting research will guide you through the module. Where possible, opportunities for engagement with industry though guest speakers and simulated mini briefs will stimulate a sense of agency, interaction and inspiration with current public relations and brand practices. Workshop sessions will be used to deliver information, engender skills, question issues and develop outputs. Students are encouraged to reflect on cultural practices, their own consumer experiences, and fashion promotion in action. Practical skills linked to analysis, project planning and implementation, strategic development, technical design/formatting and professional writing will be developed through timetabled sessions, self-directed and independent study.

You will source and engage with a range of material showing your ability to review and evaluate findings through enquiry-based, creative practice, demonstrating your understanding of functional, psychological, aesthetic and theoretical principles of Fashion Communication practice. Discussions with staff and alongside peers, will help you to respond to briefs, subsequently generating dynamic ideas. You will learn to present your findings using a range of personal, media and communication tools to engage a variety of audiences.

Discussion of concepts at stage points, as individuals or in small groups, supports the development of professional (oral, visual, aural, personal) skills and an opportunity to give and receive constructive feedback from tutors and peers. This focus on human-to-human interaction is a critical basis of this promotion focused module, and supports you in growing confidence in your opinions, in dialogue with academics and professionals.

An initial briefing will outline the goals of the module, alongside the structure of the sessions to follow. Workshops will be delivered by knowledgeable staff, often reflecting their own experience and research interests linked to the Fashion Communication sector. Where applicable, technical skills will be delivered by expert staff, providing demonstrations and support for students across their process. Methods for effective communication (analysis, strategic development, planning, writing and design) will be discussed within workshops, with tutorials aimed at further developing your final submission. Further group work in the form of practice and discussion will assist your development in terms of knowledge, understanding and your overall communication skills.

Further support regarding academic writing will be provided via the University Library.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:
1. Demonstrate the ability to conduct research through a variety of methods; analyse the information, and begin to formulate independent judgements.

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:
2. Communicate concepts and/or solutions to branding and PR considerations.
3. Record and annotate research and development through the use of prescribed documentation formats.

Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):
4. Take responsibility for your own work, reflect on your own learning, make constructive use of feedback, and maintain professionalism across the module.
5. Demonstrate a robust awareness of ethical and responsible considerations in your practice.

FORMATIVE: Formative feedback will be delivered across the module. This can be verbal and/or textual and will be aligned to workshop activities.

SUMMATIVE
Presentation 20%
Strategy Pitch Presentation
Presentation of final campaign concept (LO2)

Portfolio 80%
Portfolio including research and analysis of chosen brand, and subsequent conceptual development of promotional strategy. (LO1,3,4,5)

N/A

N/A

This module introduces you to public relations (PR) and the principles, practices and theories of brand promotion and communication. It teaches you how to decode the PR industry, to understand tools and techniques of PR and its place, value and function in the management of brands, individuals and stakeholders. You will be taught how to analyse a brand and its promotional PR and social activities. You will focus on an emerging/grassroots/diverse business, charting current touchpoints, tools, media channels and content that are being utilised and work to produce outputs that evidence your understanding and application of such considerations. This will showcase your growing knowledge of how PR functions in fashion and the importance of engaging with and influencing a range of consumer, media and brand audiences through a range of content, channels and touchpoints. Following this analysis, you will further consider and deliver potential PR and Brand strategies, focusing on growing the chosen business in an ethically underpinned and considered way. This module will give you a solid grounding in PR and brand promotion and prepare you for work placements in associated parts of the fashion industry.