Marketing Strategy and Innovation

Module code: MN7013

Modern marketers are not only responsible for promoting products and services but increasingly play a key role in shaping value propositions, influencing product development, and guiding innovations to market. This module explores the dynamic intersection of marketing, innovation, and strategy, preparing you to develop and manage successful innovations in both B2B and B2C environments.

By completing this module, you will be equipped with a unique combination of knowledge and transferable skills across marketing, innovation, and strategy, including critical thinking, strategic decision-making, creativity, and commercial awareness. You will develop a strong understanding of how integrated marketing and innovation drive business success. This will enable you to navigate and lead effectively in dynamic and globally connected business environments.

Unit 1: Strategic Marketing for Innovation

This unit explores the strategic role of marketing in the development and successful commercialisation of innovative products and services. It examines how marketing supports innovation at every stage, from early development to market launch and throughout the product lifecycle.

You will analyse marketing strategies that drive adoption, including how to cross the chasm and achieve broader market acceptance across different adopter segments. The unit also highlights the critical relationship between marketing and innovation management, and why close collaboration between marketing and product development teams is essential. Additionally, you will work with the value proposition canvas, consider the role of marketing within various innovation models, gaining insight into how marketing contributes to innovation success in both traditional and emerging business contexts.

Unit 2: Innovation Management

This unit explores the strategic side of innovation management and examines how organisations turn ideas into impactful, market-ready solutions. You’ll work with frameworks such as Blue Ocean and Red Ocean strategies, Moore’s Technology Adoption Lifecycle, Technology Readiness Levels, and the chasm concept - tools used by real-world innovators to navigate uncertainty and seize new opportunities.

From disruptive tech to sustainable design, you'll explore a range of innovation types across industries, and discover how strategic planning and early integration with marketing fuels the journey from concept to commercial success.

Unit 3: Strategy and Internationalisation

This unit investigates how innovation is transforming contemporary marketing strategies and practices, with a particular focus on the role of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). You will explore how these innovations are reshaping market strategies and consumer engagement across various sectors.

The unit places emphasis on sustainability, data-informed decision-making, and the critical evaluation of innovative solutions. It also examines the challenges and opportunities involved in introducing innovations to international markets, preparing you to navigate and lead within a global, innovation-driven landscape.