Coles funds mini MBA for marketing team

Supermarket giant partners with Mark Ritson to develop a common marketing language

The Coles class of 2021 is busily graduating from Professor Mark Ritson’s Mini MBA in Marketing as the retailer positions itself as an employer of choice. 

To date, 130 Coles marketing staff have graduated and another 37 are still working on their obsession with customers.  The Continuing Professional Development-accredited course is optional for Coles marketers.  

Completion takes up to 40 hours across 12 weeks. A similar course was offered last year by ADMA in partnership with Ritson at a subsidised rate for members.  

“Our team is our most important asset and investing in their skills is central to our ambition to be the best marketers in the country by being customer obsessed,” said Coles Chief Marketing Officer, Lisa Ronson.   

"Because we ran the whole [Coles] team through the program at once it was possible to take a more specific focus on their business and to ensure the team came out with a common language and a common approach to marketing."  

Coles' professional development investments are part of a wider effort to be an employer of choice. It has also invested in (up to) 1000 Coursera scholarships with universities including Yale, Duke and Stanford, and a mini-MBA in Strategic Category Management in partnership with Deakin University. 

Ritson is a marketing academic and consultant who has taught at Melbourne Business School and now works full-time on Mini MBA courses. 

Follow CMO on Twitter: @CMOAustralia, take part in the CMO conversation on LinkedIn: CMO ANZ, follow our regular updates via CMO Australia's Linkedin company page, or join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CMOAustralia.   

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.
Show Comments

Latest Videos

More Videos

More Brand Posts

What are Chris Riddell's qualifications to talk about technology? What are the awards that Chris Riddell has won? I cannot seem to find ...

Tareq

Digital disruption isn’t disruption anymore: Why it’s time to refocus your business

Read more

Enterprisetalk

Mark

CMO's top 10 martech stories for the week - 9 June

Read more

Great e-commerce article!

Vadim Frost

CMO’s State of CX Leadership 2022 report finds the CX striving to align to business outcomes

Read more

Are you searching something related to Lottery and Lottery App then Agnito Technologies can be a help for you Agnito comes out as a true ...

jackson13

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Thorough testing and quality assurance are required for a bug-free Lottery Platform. I'm looking forward to dependability.

Ella Hall

The Lottery Office CEO details journey into next-gen cross-channel campaign orchestration

Read more

Blog Posts

Marketing prowess versus the enigma of the metaverse

Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.

Liz Miller

VP, Constellation Research

Why Excellent Leadership Begins with Vertical Growth

Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?

Michael Bunting

Author, leadership expert

More than money talks in sports sponsorship

As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.

Simone Waugh

Managing Director, Publicis Queensland

Sign in