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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Master of Arts: Creative Brand Leadership 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
90621  Master of Arts: Creative Brand Leadership 
ORIGINATOR
The Independent Institute of Education (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
Master's Degree  Field 03 - Business, Commerce and Management Studies  Marketing 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  180  Not Applicable  NQF Level 09  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Registered-data under construction  EXCO 0324/24  2024-07-01  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

Registered-data under construction

The qualification content is currently being updated for the qualifications with the status “Registered-data under construction” or showing “DETAILS UNDER CONSTRUCTION” to ensure compliance with SAQA’S Policy and Criteria for the registration of qualifications and part-qualifications on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) (As amended, 2022). These qualifications are re-registered until 30 June 2027 and can legitimately be offered by the institutions to which they are registered.

 

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.  

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
Purpose:
The purpose of this qualification is to produce graduates with the expertise to evolve and build their careers in Creative Brand Leadership and also to promote postgraduate study. This qualification will provide learners with the knowledge, skills and competencies identified by industry as critical for senior brand management and brand business leaders, to be able to contribute to the development of brand leadership knowledge at an advanced level. The qualifying learner will be well-prepared to direct and contribute to the innovation of sustainable brand strategies. This qualification will prepare learners to continue their leadership, business, brand, marketing and communications strategy studies.

Rationale:
The qualifying learners must demonstrate self-direction and originality in planning, problem solving and advancement of knowledge through scientific research. This qualification engages individuals and teams in making sense of complex situations to develop meaningful and sustainable brand strategies; therefore the field requires both research input and advanced professional expertise.

Scientific research is required to ensure brand leadership in a way that builds brands with original and meaningful purpose and sustains stakeholder relationships. Advanced professional expertise in brand leadership through research is required to ensure strategic development of brands and the achievement of triple bottom-line performance in the modern market place.

This level of education is required to produce specialists who are able to take the lead in brand building within developed and developing economies. This can only be achieved through scientific enquiry into creative brand leadership to inform advanced systemic, strategic and design thinking theories and models. Scientific enquiry in this field is necessary to position individuals and teams to make shared sense of complex situations and to design and implement innovative and sustainable brand strategies.

Career opportunities for the qualifying learner exist in/as:
  • Chief Executive Positions.
  • Chief Brand Officer/Director.
  • Brand Manager.
  • Strategic Planner.
  • Corporate Research Director/ Manager.
  • Brand Auditing.
  • New Business Development.
  • Communication Director/Manager.
  • Corporate Social Investment Director/Manager.
  • Corporate Social Responsibility Director/Manager.
  • Marketing Director/Manager.
  • Strategic Brand Consultant.
  • Brand Contact Strategist.
  • Brand Designers (Identity and Corporate Identity).
  • Brand Research and Development. 
    		•

    LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
    It is assumed that learners who access this qualification have met the entry requirements and are competent in English as the language of teaching and learning.

    Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
    The learner can be given access to the qualification through RPL and can achieve this qualification through RPL. The institution's RPL policy and Academic Credit and Qualification Completion policy guide this process. Skills, knowledge and experience in respect of competencies acquired through informal and non-formal learning are assessed in the RPL process.

    Access to the Qualification:
    Learners who wish to enrol for this qualification must have completed a Bachelor of Arts Honours: Brand Leadership or cognate qualification. 

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    The qualification comprises a dissertation which consists of 180 Credits at NQF Level 9. 

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    The qualifying learner will be able to:
    1. Identify and solve advanced problems in brand building and leadership through the development of branding strategies against a background of highly specialised and unpredictable markets.
    2. Conduct independent scientific research to inform the design and development of creative brand leadership strategy in an academically appropriate manner.

    Critical Cross-Field Outcomes:
    All the Critical Cross-Field Outcomes are addressed in this qualification. 

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Associated Assessment Criteria For Exit Level Outcome 1:
  • Relate organisational change and development to the impact on Creative Brand Leadership design.
  • Evaluate Creative Brand Leadership in the context of ethics, laws and regulations relevant to shared value creation for competitive advantage.
  • Demonstrate the ability to apply complex and advanced concepts and approaches to Creative Brand Leadership strategies and policies to solve complex problems.

    Associated Assessment Criteria For Exit Level Outcome 2:
  • Identify a research problem related to Creative Brand Leadership.
  • Propose a plan to conduct research to resolve the problem in an academically appropriate manner.
  • Carry out research by collecting and analysing data and presenting the results.
  • Communicate research findings effectively to share new insight into Creative Brand Leadership.

    Integrated Assessment:
    The Master of Arts: Creative Brand Leadership is awarded for successful completion of a dissertation. The research proposal must be approved by at Research Committee prior to the learner commencing work on the research dissertation. This Committee is responsible for assessing the validity and relevance of the proposed research. The summative assessment comprises the evaluation of the research dissertation. This dissertation will be assessed by an internal as well an external assessor. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    The launch of the Masters qualifications with Brand Leadership/Management as the primary focus seems to be increasing. For example, the DePaul University offers a Master's degree in Brand Management which focuses on the management of existing brands, planning, development, launch and management of new brands, as well as the assessment of brand equity.

    The London Graduate School of Management offers a Master of Branding aimed at providing learners with the core skills in Branding along with an awareness of current issues in leading and developing brands in complex organisations.

    The Master's in Luxury Brand Management offered by the European Business School of London recognises that luxury and prestige companies' top executives need a specific kind of business expertise to ensure that their brand building excels in a highly competitive international business environment. A leading brand requires innovation and creative potential with insight into the history and culture of an organisation to position it to achieve excellence. The qualification therefore focuses on developing innovative and creative brand leaders that will provide guidance and support to luxury and prestige companies.

    The focus on Brand Management is contextualised in the study of business, marketing and or communications. Examples of this include the Master's in Marketing and Brand Management offered by the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH), as well as the Master's in Brand Management and Communication offered by Instituto Europeo di Design Milan (IED Milan).

    The study of Brand Management in context of a particular industry or category such Master's qualifications are professionally focused on developing knowledge and skills in a specialist or niche industry or category. Examples of this include the Master of Science in Applied Corporate Brand Management offered by Brunel University.The focus of this qualification is to identify brand building as the most valuable asset of an organisation and how to use this asset to increase sales in specialised industries.

    This Master of Arts in Creative Brand Leadership demonstrates a synergy with international Master's qualifications in its critical understanding of brand building and management in business. The proposed qualification furthermore demonstrates an alignment with international Master's qualifications in addressing specialist or niche areas in brand building. Learners have the opportunity to explore, in the development of their dissertation and prototype, a particular research topic in a particular domain of Creative Brand Leadership. This lends itself to possible industry and category focus, for example, Creative Brand Leadership in the mobile communications industry. The proposed qualification focuses on Creative Brand Leadership that contributes to local and global social, cultural and economic development, enabling learners to focus in specialist areas.

    Conclusion:
    The launch of a Master of Arts in Creative Brand Leadership will introduce the first postgraduate qualification in Brand Leadership in South Africa. Furthermore, the focus on Creative Brand Leadership is unique in that it addresses a particular imperative - the innovation of brands with shared stakeholder value for society, the organisation and the environment. 

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    This qualification allows for both horizontal and vertical articulation possibilities.

    This Qualification articulates horizontally with the following qualifications at NQF Level 9:
  • A Master of Business Administration.
  • A Master of Administration.
  • A Master of Commerce: Business Administration.
  • A Master of Technology: Business Administration.

    The Qualification articulates vertically with the following qualifications at NQF Level 10:
  • A Doctor of Business Administration.
  • A Doctor of Administration.
  • A Doctor of Science: Business Administration.
  • A Doctor of Technology: Business Administration. 
    		•

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    Masters dissertations will use integrated moderation and will be moderated by one internal and one external moderator. The reports of both moderators will be considered and compared by the Research Committee and a third moderator may be appointed if the Committee is not satisfied that there is adequate consistency between the reports. If the Research Committee finds that a third moderator must be appointed, he or she must meet the same criteria specified for moderators of the research Master's Degree. 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    Assessors assessing a learner in this qualification must be holding a relevant qualification at NQF Level 10 and with appropriate experience in the field. 

    REREGISTRATION HISTORY 
    As per the SAQA Board decision/s at that time, this qualification was Reregistered in 2015. 

    NOTES 
    N/A 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS 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. The Independent Institute of Education (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.