Bringing Strategy to Life: QA’s Experience with Digital Markstrat

This case study was written by Samuel Wright (BSc, MA, SFHEA), based on his experience implementing the Digital Markstrat Simulation in QA's Digital Marketing Programme. 

About the Module and Context

QA Ltd is a leading UK-based training provider that partners with universities and employers to deliver Degree Apprenticeships (programmes of learning for those in full-time employment). These programmes are delivered remotely, with students located across the UK logging in to attend live online workshops throughout the calendar year.

During students’ final year on QA’s BA (Hons) Digital Marketing programme, they embark upon a module titled Strategic Marketing, which involves taking a higher-level look at an organisation’s digital marketing decision-making to determine how longer-term objectives can be achieved.

Many students on the programme are nearer the start of their careers, and so have minimal exposure to strategic decision-making. Therefore, Southampton Solent University (who partner with QA to deliver the Digital Marketing programme) recommended integrating Digital Markstrat into our final year Strategic Marketing module.

This provided students with the opportunity to:

• Improve their diagnostic skills
• Exercise judgment in strategic marketing situations
• Apply creative thinking to devise appropriate solutions

Implementation and Delivery

QA’s Strategic Marketing module takes place over 10 weeks, with the Digital Markstrat simulation running from Weeks 2 to 8.

During their first online workshop on the module:

• Students watch a video introduction to Digital Markstrat (based on a slideshow provided by StratX).
• They are assigned to teams.

These teams then arrange to meet each week (outside of the module’s regular workshops) to:

• Make decisions for each weekly Decision Period
• Review the outcomes from the previous Decision Period

Over seven weeks, students complete seven Decision Periods within the simulation, enabling them to see the longer-term ramifications of their strategic choices.

The regular module workshops that run in parallel equip teams with the knowledge of strategic concepts (such as positioning maps) that can then be applied within the Digital Markstrat Simulation.

Learner Experience and Engagement

Digital Markstrat has enhanced the learning experience on QA’s BA (Hons) Digital Marketing programme by growing and cementing a sense of community amongst students.

At QA, we pride ourselves on crafting highly engaging online learning experiences (and these are consistently well-regarded by our students). However, a reality shared by all providers of remote learning is that it can be challenging to create a community when students’ learning takes place entirely online.

Therefore, at QA we consistently look to encourage student collaboration in innovative ways, and the Digital Markstrat simulation has further enabled us to achieve that goal.

• The competitive dimension means that students feel compelled to meet in their teams regularly and liaise with one another throughout the weeks of the simulation.
• This good-natured competition has fueled student engagement with both the simulation and the learning material from the Strategic Marketing module.

The end-of-module assessment involves students writing a critical reflection about their experiences within the simulation. They apply marketing theory to better understand the outcomes (including their experiences of teamwork) and outline actionable ways to apply their learning in their workplaces.

Learning Outcomes and Impact

In addition to enabling students to meet the learning outcomes of the Strategic Marketing module (around improving diagnostic skills, exercising judgment, and applying creative thinking), participation in the Digital Markstrat simulation also prompts students to develop soft skills in:

• Time-management
• Communication
• Leadership

A significant outcome has been that a number of students who aren’t particularly academic have flourished on this module. The hands-on learning brought to life many of the strategic concepts covered during the workshops, and students who sometimes struggled with theoretical modules achieved some of their highest marks in the assessment for Strategic Marketing.

Reflections and Insights

Our experience of using Digital Markstrat has been very smooth, and I continue to be impressed with how the team at StratX make themselves available to offer support and to answer any questions tutors have about the simulation.

The simulation itself has been very well received by students, with many reporting that QA’s Strategic Marketing module is their favourite final year module. They value how it brings concepts to life and helps to foster a sense of community and friendly competition.

We therefore continue to incorporate Digital Markstrat into the module.

Speaking as an educator, I would actively encourage others within the industry to seriously consider incorporating the use of StratX’s simulations into their programmes of learning (whether those are online or in-person). These simulations provide an approximation of real-world strategic decision-making that is rarely seen within a classroom environment, enabling students to learn from experience and develop actionable insights that can enhance practice within their work contexts.