Students

MKTG3008 – Marketing and Customer Insights

2025 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff UC/Lecturer
Husain Akareem
husain.akareem@mq.edu.au
Contact via Email
4ER, Room 241 (level 2)
Monday 1:30pm-2:30pm
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
MKTG2002
Corequisites Corequisites
MKTG2017
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

The digital revolution has created an enormous volume of data about markets, customers and the business environment which marketers have sought to incorporate into their strategic decision-making. Yet, raw data on its own adds very little to the strategic decision process. Marketers need to understand how to organise and analyse available data to generate actionable insights. Such insights are useful in anticipating future consumer needs, identifying trends, forecasting market conditions, gauging competition and making informed predictions about an ever-changing environment. Marketers then utilise these insights to build compelling narratives and to provide actionable recommendations for important marketing decisions.

In this unit students will investigate appropriate data, data sources and analytic techniques required to generate input for key marketing decisions regarding markets and customers. Students will assess suitable data analysis techniques and evaluate generated output to develop insights and determine potential marketing decision options. Additionally, students will appraise these key options by estimating likely impacts and integrating these impacts with practical organisational issues.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Utilise data sources and variables to investigate marketing problems/opportunities.
  • ULO2: Apply models/frameworks to generate marketing insights from data.
  • ULO3: Synthesise insights and communicate recommendations to marketing decision-makers.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty (written assessments) 

 Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.  

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Professional Practice: Strategic Data Visualisation 20% No Aug 15, 2025
Skills Development: Business Data Insights 40% No Oct 10, 2025
Professional Practice: Customer Recommendation Report 40% No Nov 07, 2025

Professional Practice: Strategic Data Visualisation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Aug 15, 2025
Weighting: 20%

 

The purpose of this assessment is for you to demonstrate your ability in applying advanced data visualisation techniques to critically analyse and address complex marketing problems.

You will apply visualisation techniques to analyse marketing data, uncover meaningful patterns and trends, and present actionable insights to inform data-driven marketing strategies.

Skills in focus:

  • Discipline knowledge
  • Critical thinking and problem solving
  • Collaboration and communication skills
  • Digital skills

Deliverable: Group presentation [maximum 10 minutes] - group assessment

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Utilise data sources and variables to investigate marketing problems/opportunities.
  • Synthesise insights and communicate recommendations to marketing decision-makers.

Skills Development: Business Data Insights

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Oct 10, 2025
Weighting: 40%

 

The purpose of this assignment is for you to demonstrate your ability to apply a range of analytical tools to business data to identify key business problems and opportunities.

You will complete tasks that showcase your analytical skills in solving business problems and delivering actionable managerial insights.

Skills in focus:

  • Critical thinking and problem solving
  • Discipline knowledge
  • Communication skills
  • Digital skills

Deliverable: Reflective written report [maximum 1000 words] - Individual assessment

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Utilise data sources and variables to investigate marketing problems/opportunities.
  • Apply models/frameworks to generate marketing insights from data.
  • Synthesise insights and communicate recommendations to marketing decision-makers.

Professional Practice: Customer Recommendation Report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 19 hours
Due: Nov 07, 2025
Weighting: 40%

 

The purpose of this assessment is for you to demonstrate your ability to apply a range of analytical tools and frameworks to understand key marketing concepts, identify marketing issues, and develop evidence-based recommendations for marketing decision-makers.

You will propose evidence-based solutions that reflect a strong understanding of business issues and communicate clear, actionable recommendations to marketing decision-makers.

Skills in focus:

  • Discipline knowledge
  • Critical thinking and problem solving
  • Communication skills

Deliverable: Written report [maximum 1000 words] - Individual assessment

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Utilise data sources and variables to investigate marketing problems/opportunities.
  • Apply models/frameworks to generate marketing insights from data.
  • Synthesise insights and communicate recommendations to marketing decision-makers.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

RECOMMENDED READING AND RESOURCES

  1. Tableau Visualization: https://www.tableau.com/en-gb/resources
  2. Orange Analytics: https://orangedatamining.com/docs/
  3. R & RStudio for Data Analysis: https://education.rstudio.com/learn/beginner/
  4. MS Excel for Data Analysis: https://support.microsoft.com/en-au/excel
  5. Nussbaumer Knaflic, C., 2015. Storytelling with data: a data visualization guide for business professionals. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2, pp.165-185.
  6. Nussbaumer Knaflic, C., 2019. Storytelling with data: let's practice!. John Wiley & Sons.
  7. https://www.storytellingwithdata.com/

Additional recommended readings and resources will be provided on iLearn.

TECHNOLOGY NEEDS

  • Students will need to have access to a personal computer with internet connectivity and word processing software.
  • Software which will feature in the unit: Tableau, Orange, R, & MS Excel.

DELIVERY FORMAT

  • 3 hours per week, consisting of 1 hour of online lecture and one 2-hour tutorial each week.
  • The timetable for classes can be found on the University website at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au

*Please refer to iLearn for more details.

Unit Schedule

Please refer to iLearn for more details.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Academic Success

Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2025.05 of the Handbook