[Registered Qual & Unit Std Home page] [Search Qualifications] [Search Unit Standards]
SAQA All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.
SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Higher Certificate in Digital Marketing Practice 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
117860  Higher Certificate in Digital Marketing Practice 
ORIGINATOR
Stadio (Pty) Ltd 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Higher Certificate  Field 03 - Business, Commerce and Management Studies  Marketing 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  120  Not Applicable  NQF Level 05  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Reregistered  EXCO 0821/24  2020-09-29  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

This qualification replaces: 
Qual ID Qualification Title Pre-2009 NQF Level NQF Level Min Credits Replacement Status
109771  Higher Certificate in Digital Marketing Practice  Not Applicable  NQF Level 05  120  Complete 

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
Purpose:
The purpose of this qualification is to prepare learners for careers in digital and social media marketing as well as for further Diploma or Bachelor's Degree studies in this field. Qualifying learners will add value to organisations by playing an important role in promoting, monitoring and maintaining a vigorous and active online presence for marketing and branding purposes to gain competitive market advantage and promote online visibility and outreach.

In this qualification the key competencies are: Corporate Social Media Administration and Digital Marketing Practice. The key competencies will enable qualifying learners to apply the ability to administer and employ digital platforms to promote and market businesses, brands, services and products to reach prospective clients and to maintain an active online presence, using various social media platforms, email campaigns, corporate websites with content-management platforms and digital media in general.

Along with the key competencies, supporting skills have been identified by industry experts as important to provide the fundamental understanding of the discipline within which this qualification is seated, and those include: Marketing Principles and Practices, Consumer Buying Behaviour, Digital Graphics and Brand Communication. All modules include practical work to provide adequate opportunity to apply theoretical principles. The Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Project requires the application of competencies gained throughout the qualification to provide academic coherence.

Rationale:
Globally, marketing practices and approaches are becoming continuously more reliant on reaching clients and prospective clients digitally. Effective and competitive digital marketing practice requires on-going engagement with various online platforms and applications, publication of new content and the monitoring and tracking of responses and interactions. Qualifying learners will work with marketing managers, brand managers and technical teams, and carry out the administration and upkeep of corporate and brand pages online, track and manage responses and campaign activities and post media and messages developed for marketing and branding campaigns. There is a need in industry for individuals with applied competence in carrying out digital marketing practice for organisations to establish and manifest their online presence and communication.

Career opportunities for qualifying learners exist in/as:
  • Digital Marketing.
  • Marketing.
  • Brand Communication.
  • Social Media Administration.
  • Social Media Practitioners.
  • Brand Reputation Building.

    Qualifying learners will be prepared to continue their studies in relevant fields at National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 6 or to apply for entry into Bachelor's Degree programmes in cognate fields. 
    		•

    LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
    Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
    The RPL policy provides processes and procedures by which RPL is conducted at the institution. These processes and procedures include:
  • Candidate profiling.
  • Selection.
  • Preparation for assessment.
  • Credit awarding.

    Learners who do not meet the minimum admission requirements of a particular qualification, could, under certain conditions, apply for admission based on Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL).

    Entry Requirements:
    The minimum entry requirements are:
  • Senior Certificate (SC).
    Or
  • National Senior Certificate (NSC).
    Or
  • National Certificate (Vocational) NC(V)) at Level 4. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    This qualification consists of compulsory modules at Level 5 totalling 121 Credits.

    Modules:
  • Academic Literacy, 6 Credits.
  • Brand Communication 01, 12 Credits.
  • Computer Literacy, 7 Credits.
  • Consumer Buying Behaviour 01, 18 Credits.
  • Design Practice 01, 16 Credits.
  • Digital Marketing Fundamentals, 18 Credits.
  • Digital Marketing Practice, 18 Credits.
  • Marketing principles and practices, 12 Credits.
  • Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Project, 14 Credits. 
    		•

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    1. Manage, administer and monitor all aspects of the organisation's social media pages and publish new content.
    2. Understanding of preferred communication methods and technologies of different market segments.
    3. Produce and manipulate basic graphic imagery.
    4. Present and communicate information reliably and appropriately in a business environment. 

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
  • Demonstrate a thorough understanding of modern digital marketing processes.
  • Manage, maintain and monitor various social pages and platforms for marketing and communication purposes.
  • Setup and run an email campaign.
  • Contextualise the role and scope of digital media in a modern business environment.
  • Analyse and interpret response and engagement patterns to online communication and campaigns to determine consumer patterns and preferences using various tools and techniques, including analytics platforms.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:
  • Demonstrate a basic understanding of consumer buying patterns and the manner in which consumers respond to various marketing communication.
  • Demonstrate a good understanding of consumer market segmentation for a specific market.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of different buyer stimuli for different products and services in selected market segments.
  • Analyse and select appropriate images and texts for an online platform that would most likely appeal to a given market for a given product.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:
  • Identify key functions and features of industry preferred software to edit images.
  • Use industry preferred software to make basic editorial changes to images.
  • Identify and compare the characteristics of different image types and formats in terms of their usability for the Internet and social media.
  • Convert, manipulate and resize images to meet requirements for web-based posts and articles for different social media and other platforms.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:
  • Effectively and professionally communicate information in a reliable and coherent manner in a business and online environment.
  • Use basic principles related to verbal and non-verbal communication to communicate information to an online audience.
  • Use a variety of technology-based tools to communicate information effectively.

    Integrated Assessment:
    Integrated Assessment is normal practice in this type of qualification and is essential to ensure that the purpose of the qualification is achieved in relation to the occupational focus carried by the qualifier and in terms of its propositional and declarative knowledge, vocational relevance, reflexive competency and critical cross-field learning outcomes.

    Successful learners will have undertaken an extensive process in which assessments progressively build the learners' integrated competency to a point where the learner is able to express - through a range of mechanisms measured against valid, reliable and transparent criteria - that they can operate effectively in an organisation, within the knowledge system specified by the qualification design (full nomenclature).

    Formative Assessment aims to support learners to achieve learning objectives and outcomes through regular assessment activities on which they receive feedback to direct their learning approach. Assessment activities are relevant to the module contents and specific learning objectives, and in this context may include a combination of tests, simulations, case studies, projects, tasks, assignments, presentations and group work that will test both their knowledge and ability to apply theory where relevant. Formative Assessment also serves to prepare them to effectively prepare for examinations (summative) and where possible, combines and juxtaposes subject content to provide integration of all subject matter across the qualification collectively. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    The qualification has been benchmarked against similar qualifications offered by foreign higher.

    Shenkar University - Israel - Bachelor of Design - Visual Communication:
    This qualification focuses on the visual transmission of messages via the creation of stimuli for the purpose of environmental manipulation. Students incorporate the internet, smartphones, tablets, and other digital interfaces as part of the learning experience.

    Parsons School of Design - New York - Certificate in Digital Marketing.
    This on-line certificate programme enables students to build bran-relevance in the digital age. Students focus on strategies and tactical approaches across a range of platforms, leverage social media, and reach new audiences to support businesses of all kinds.

    University of the Creative Arts - United Kingdom (UK) - Fashion Marketing and Communication.
    This One-year programme focuses on enabling creative thinkers to communicate messages effectively through social media, digital technologies, and creative PR practices. Students learn how to manage and generate brand appropriate campaigns and develop the ability to understand and derive strategies from future trend data.

    University of the Creative Arts - UK - Bachelor of Arts Marketing.
    This is a Three-year programme that culminates in the student's ability to develop bespoke marketing approaches that can be applied to a range of sectors by harnessing vital skills using software for communications development.

    Fashion Retail Academy - London - Digital marketing for Fashion Diploma.
    This one-year course focuses on the current marketing and digital communication needs of the fashion industry. Students create and implement marketing strategies using on and off-line mediums. Students understand available digital marketing strategies and channels and how best to utilize these whilst measuring impact on profitability.

    California State University - United States of America (USA) - Digital Marketing Certificate.
    This course focuses on developing the skills required to build and sustain digital marketing campaigns. Students develop an understanding of the digital marketing landscape and achieve competencies for the application of digital communication tools, marketing strategies, and tactics. Graduates of this programme are able to articulate best practices and future trends.

    Bournemouth University - UK.
    This university offers a number of programmes that align with the digital marketing space. These include:
  • Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Marketing Communications.
  • Master of Art Marketing Communications.
  • Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Marketing Communication with Digital Media.

    The above programmes aim to upskill students in the area of digital marketing communication concepts and practice. They enable students to develop insights into the latest techniques of digital marketing practices.
  • Short course in Digital Marketing and Branding.
  • Short course in Marketing Strategy and Social Media Management.

    The above short-courses help students to develop competencies to ensure content and digital marketing success via a focus on digital transformation with regards customer engagement and communication processes.

    Conclusion:
    Using these international comparisons, the institution has developed and structured its Higher Certificate in Digital Marketing Practice to reflect international educational developments in the field of on-line and digital marketing. The proposed qualification seeks to align itself with international trends whilst, at the same time, taking into account the unique needs of the South African digital marketing environment. 
    		•

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    This qualification offers the following articulation possibilities.

    Horizontal Articulation:
  • Higher Certificate in Business Management, Level 5.
  • Higher Certificate in Marketing and Communication, Level 5.

    Vertical Articulation:
  • Diploma in Marketing Communication, Level 6.
  • Bachelor of Commerce in Digital Marketing, Level 7. 
    		•

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    N/A 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A 

    NOTES 
    This qualification is now offered by Stadio (Pty) Ltd, and no longer by LISOF - effective 29 September 2020 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    When qualifications are replaced, some (but not all) of their learning programmes are moved to the replacement qualifications. If a learning programme appears to be missing from here, please check the replaced qualification.
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. Stadio (Pty) Ltd 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.