A collaborative digital storytelling pedagogy for first year marketing education

Abstract

This paper presents a collaborative initiative involving educators (online and in-class), disciplinary researchers, digital media and learning designers, and an industry-based specialist to co-design a digital storytelling approach for a core first-year marketing course across five programs. Professionally relevant, industry-aligned curriculum is now a standard expectation among students, practitioners, and academics. However, first-year courses are typically theory-heavy, making it difficult for students to connect abstract concepts to real-world practice. To address this, we used a digital storytelling pedagogy to teach marketing students through work-simulated scenarios that place students at the centre of a fictional marketing team. The narrative structure was embedded across fully online and hybrid formats using a range of digital resources. This design enables students to engage with realistic professional challenges, apply theoretical knowledge, and build foundational problem-solving skills. A within-subjects research design was used to evaluate the impact of storytelling on student learning outcomes. Findings show that this approach creates more meaningful and engaging learning experiences, enhances the practical relevance of early tertiary education, and demonstrates the potential of digital storytelling as a bridge between theory and professional readiness. This work contributes to pedagogical innovation in marketing education and highlights the value of cross-functional collaboration in curriculum design.