Students

MKTG3008 – Marketing and Customer Insights

2026 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff UC
Husain Akareem
husain.akareem@mq.edu.au
4ER, Room: 241
Monday 02:00pm - 03:00pm
Lecturer
Darren Kim
darren.kim@mq.edu.au
4ER, Room: 237
Monday 03:00pm - 04:00pm
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)   

Late Submission Penalties If you submit your assessment late, 5% of the total possible marks will be deducted for each day (including weekends), up to 7 days. Submissions more than 7 days late will receive a mark of 0. Example 1 (out of 100): If you score 85/100 but submit 20 hours late, you will lose 5 marks and receive 80/100. Example 2 (out of 30): If you score 27/30 but submit 20 hours late, you will lose 1.5 marks and receive 25.5/30.

Extensions

Automatic short extension: Some assessments are eligible for automatic short extension. You can only apply for an automatic short extension before the due date. Special Consideration: If you need more time due to serious issues and for any assessments that are not eligible for Short Extension, you must apply for Special Consideration. Need help? Review the Special Consideration page for further details. 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.

 

*Please see the assessment details on the iLearn page.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due Groupwork/Individual Short Extension AI Approach
Professional practice: Customer recommendation report 40% No 02/10/2026 Individual Yes Open AI
Professional practice: Strategic data visualisation 20% No Week 12 & 13 (in-class presentation) Group No Observed
Skills development: Business data insights 40% No 04/09/2026 Individual Yes Open AI

Professional practice: Customer recommendation report

Assessment Type 1: Professional task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 19 hours
Due: 02/10/2026
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open AI

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
  • Work readiness

Deliverable(s): Written report [maximum 1500 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: Strategic data visualisation

Assessment Type 1: Presentation task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: Week 12 & 13 (in-class presentation)
Weighting: 20%
Groupwork/Individual: Group
Short extension 3: No
AI Approach: Observed

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(s): 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: Reflection task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 04/09/2026
Weighting: 40%
Groupwork/Individual: Individual
Short extension 3: Yes
AI Approach: Open AI

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
  • Work readiness

Deliverable(s): Reflective written report [maximum 1500 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
  • Academic Success 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.

3 An automatic short extension is available for some assessments. Apply through the Service Connect Portal.

Delivery and Resources

RECOMMENDED READING AND RESOURCES

  1. https://www.tableau.com/en-gb/resources
  2. https://orangedatamining.com/docs/
  3. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/excel
  4. Nussbaumer Knaflic, C., 2015. Storytelling with data: a data visualization guide for business professionals. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2, pp.165-185.
  5. Nussbaumer Knaflic, C., 2019. Storytelling with data: let's practice!. John Wiley & Sons.
  6. 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 access to the Internet and word processing software.
  • Software which will feature in the unit: Orange (data mining), Tableau (visualization), MS Excel (data analyses & visualization).

DELIVERY FORMAT

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

Unit Schedule

Week

Topic

Analytical tool

Assessment

Week - 1

July 27/30

Introduction to Market Insights & Analytics

Installation and Introduction of: Tableau & Orange.

 

 

Week - 2

Aug 03/06

Guidelines for result interpretation, managerial recommendations & academic writing

 

 

Week - 3

Aug 10/13

Insights & analytics in Entertainment (Disney) industry using text analysis (exploratory)

ORANGE

A1 – discussion (in-class)

Week - 4

Aug 17/20

Insights & analytics in online pet industry using image analytics (exploratory)

ORANGE

 

Week - 5

Aug 24/27

Insights & analytics in the automobile industry using correspondence analysis

 

A2 Q&A

ORANGE

 

Week - 6

Aug 31 / Sep 03

Insights & analytics in online retail industry using CLV

MS EXCEL

A2 – discussion (in-class)

 

A1 Submission Due:

Sep 04 (11:55pm)

- Skills Development: Business Data Insights [Reflection task]

Week - 7

Sep 07/10

Insights & analytics in retail industry using Relationship marketing (R- Recency, F – Frequency M- Monetary)

MS EXCEL

 

Week - 8

Sep 14/17

Insights & analytics in energy industry using forecasting

MS EXCEL

 

Semester Break

A2 Submission Due: Oct 02 (11:55pm)

- Professional Practice: Customer Recommendation Report [Professional task]

Week - 9

Sep 05/08

Insights & analytics in travel accommodation industry using data visualization

Tableau

A3 – discussion (in-class)

 

 

Week – 10

Sep 12/15

Insights & analytics in the Aviation industry using data visualization

Tableau

 

Week – 11

Sep 19/22

Guidelines for groupwork & presentation tips

A3 Q&As

 

 

Week – 12

Sep 26/29

Data visualization presentation

 

 

A3 – Presentation (in-class)

Week – 13

Oct 02/05

Data visualization presentation

 

 

A3 – Presentation (in-class)

 

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 https://students.mq.edu.au/support/technology/service-desk. 

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 2026.04 of the Handbook