Postgraduate MA
Promotional Media
Explore the impact of technological development and cultural change on promotional media and prepare for a successful career with the opportunity to make a real impact.
Explore the impact of technological development and cultural change on promotional media and prepare for a successful career with the opportunity to make a real impact.
If you want to jump into an exciting career in a rapidly expanding field, our MA promotional media course is the perfect fit for you.
Promotional media sits at the intersection of PR, marketing and advertising, meaning that you will be able to enter any of these fields equipped with the skills, knowledge and confidence to succeed. You won't just learn the theory however, you will make use of our industry-standard facilities and not only master promotional media, but also content production, so you'll have all the tools you need to shape your career according to your passions and interests.
When you study promotional media at Kent, you will be a part of our dynamic and diverse School of Arts. The school is an interdisciplinary community known for its excellence in research and teaching. Arts at Kent (including Media) was the only submission in the UK to achieve 100% ‘world leading’ assessments for both its impact and research environment in the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021. This means you will be receiving outstanding teaching for experts and industry professionals who are leaders in their field. In short, if you want to take the next step in your career, our MA promotional media course is a great way to get there.
An applicant is required to have a first or second-class honours degree.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
This course requires a Good level of English language, equivalent to B2 on CEFR.
Details on how to meet this requirement can be found on our English Language requirements webpage.
Examples:
IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component
PTE Academic 63 with a minimum of 59 in each sub-test
A degree from a UK university
A degree from a Majority English Speaking Country
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
We’ve created the most progressive approach to higher education, developing and modernising our curriculum. For 2025 our courses will be designed with you at their heart to deliver a top-class student experience and career outcomes.
The following modules are what students will typically study, but this may change year to year in response to new developments and innovations.
You take all compulsory modules and then choose either 'Dissertation Project: Promotional Media Campaign' or 'Dissertation'.
Media are indispensable tools for businesses and organisations in the creative industries to create awareness and promote themselves and their products, but how have new digital technologies altered the shape and forms of these promotional tools? How do promotional activities impact our culture and society? You’ll explore promotional media as an academic field of study, reviewing the development of promotional media in both historical and contemporary contexts. You’ll critically discuss their key current forms and examine different types of public relations, marketing and advertising practices in the media and culture industries. Alongside theoretical reflection and the critical analysis of key case studies, you’ll also apply your knowledge about promotional media in your own independent projects.
Audience research underpins work in promotional media. To reach an audience, you must know your audience. This module teaches you methods to research audiences in a systematic manner, in order to examine how audiences engage with media texts, technologies, practices, and institutions. You will develop a theoretical understanding of how different audience cultures and practices have emerged, acknowledging the intersections of identity which play key roles in conceptualising and researching audiences. You will engage with a range of approaches and learn to apply practical research and methodological skills to collect, analyse and evaluate data – in a variety of settings and circumstances. Your practical application of research skills will be grounded in your critical reflection on ethical research practice. By the end of the module, you will have developed skills to manage your own audience research project, analyse research data and produce recommendations.
Following on from ‘Theories and Contexts’, this module encourages you to build on your knowledge and reflective work on contemporary promotional media to design, create, and deliver your own small media campaigns. You will work within appropriate promotional media forms and styles, and strategically use particular media platforms to market a product or service. Through a series of professional workshops, you will learn the key creative and technical skills to deliver such content, including use of camera, video editing, and sound design, as well as experiment with how social media can be used to deliver and enhance promotional media content. Through the creation of promotional media campaigns, you will be able to demonstrate a sophisticated understanding of the core debates around the subject of public relations, marketing, and advertising.
What styles and forms are used in promotional media? You’ll refine the research, conceptual, and practical skills acquired in the modules you have done so far through a focus on the styles and forms used in promotional media. You’ll strategically choose and create marketing materials that deploy promotional media forms and styles to resolve promotional mini case-studies, with a particular focus on articulating a coherent brand proposition of an external client and tailoring style to corporate brands. You’ll also learn through an examination of real-world best practice and through the application of practical skills in written and audio/visual styles, and in different forms of promotional media, including writing short press releases, creating online blog posts, as well as completing short promotional business-to-consumer or B2C (e.g. for YouTube/TikTok) and business-to-business or B2B (corporate/industrial) videos. Alongside theoretical reflection, the critical analysis of key case studies and practical skill training, you’ll also practise professional skills in pitching, understanding clients’ visions, or working to set briefs.
How does the academic and professional field of promotional media operate within the commercial world? How does the branded professional put into practice their knowledge and skills of media theory, creativity, research, and contemporary practice?
By analysing and evaluating existing contemporary professional practice you will further develop a range of proficiencies necessary for working or researching within promotional media. Grounded in practice you will research, plan, and develop a series of projects with hypothetical or real audiences. You will develop your own branded digital footprint drawing upon your knowledge of media semiotics, communication theories, narratology, and cultural theories. You will refine your own professional portfolio in preparation for future post-MA opportunities.
What are the pressing issues within the study of promotional media – and media studies more broadly – today? This module will allow you to engage with a range of prominent and significant theoretical topics across media studies, including but not limited to: the semiotics of promotional media, media narratology and storytelling, media ethics, media in relation to conceptions of identity, gender and race, the stylistics of promotional media, colonialism, decolonisation and the media, and media in relation to the environment and sustainability. The topics focussed on will reflect the research interests of the academics delivering the module. You will engage with a range of critical and theoretical approaches to promotional media and explore their relevance and utility in terms of your own promotional media professional practice.This will include developing your skills in research, critical analysis and project planning.
Ever wondered what it takes to run a successful promotional media campaign? This module represents your chance to forge your own campaign, from working out initial aims and ideas, to carrying out market research, through to prototyping and testing the campaign, then reflecting and analysing the results.
The module provides you with a unique opportunity to fully explore how to carry out your own work of promotional media, tailored around your interests and skill set, and to industry standards. Within this module, you will develop your own media campaign, based around a topic of your choice, and enabled by a series of group workshops and individual staff supervision. Through the process, you will hone your market research skills, analytical skills, creative skills, as well as production skills.
Are you drawn to a particular area of theoretical enquiry within Promotional Media and the media and communication industries? Did you find certain topics you studied particularly appealing and would you like to find out more? Would you like to conduct original research and expand your academic writing skills?
This module represents your chance to conduct an original research project where you will choose your own topic, develop a question and methodology, and conduct research. You will be allocated a personal supervisor with suitable expertise who will guide you through this process, offering advice and guidance about how to conduct independent research. You will have the opportunity to communicate your work-in-progress with members of the department and your peers, before producing a piece of extended, original writing on a subject you are passionate about.
By the end of this module you will have first-hand experience in conducting independent research and developing an area of specialist expertise which will help you consider options for your future career and/or further study.
Assessment combines a variety of different methods, including short and long essays, critical analysis of textual and cultural forms and practices, reviews and reports, critical reflections, presentations, peer feedback and evaluation, reflexive writing, group work, creative production, research exercises and other tasks aimed at the assessment of specific skills.
For course aims and learning outcomes please see the course specification.
All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.
You'll benefit from our blend of practical and theoretical study, being uniquely placed to bring a 360 degree approach to whatever career you want to step into - giving you an edge in a competitive and exciting market.
Our programme embeds employability at every turn, our staff are also practicing industry professionals, so they are able to keep you in touch with all of the developments and changes in a dynamic and rapidly advancing sector. As well as this, you'll benefit specific industry talks from guests lecturers and some students will have the opportunity for a post-MA work placement interview at one of our industry partners - subject to stage 1 performance.
When you graduate, you'll be prepared to enter a career of limitless possibilities and infinite potential, whether your goals are in advertising, PR, social media, marketing or further afield, you will be able to have a real impact and effect change in the places you want to see it.
The 2025/26 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Tuition fees may be increased in the second and subsequent years of your course. Detailed information on possible future increases in tuition fees is contained in the Tuition Fees Increase Policy. If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Tuition fees may be increased in the second and subsequent years of your course. Detailed information on possible future increases in tuition fees is contained in the Tuition Fees Increase Policy. If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
You'll need regular access to a desktop computer/laptop with an internet connection to use the University of Kent’s online resources and systems. We've listed some guidelines for the technology and software you'll need for your studies.
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, as well as general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
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We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Next steps
Learn more about the application process or begin your application by clicking on a link below.
You will be able to choose your preferred year of entry once you have started your application. You can also save and return to your application at any time.
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Kent has risen 11 places in THE’s REF 2021 ranking, confirming us as a leading research university.
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