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GRITT Marketing Foundations

A 12-week live-virtual program for marketing confidence and capability.

Marketing Foundations turns marketing responsibility into marketing capability. Built on core marketing strategy, the psychology of influence, and business value creation, twelve weeks of live coaching turn instinct into a repeatable system for planning campaigns, creating value, and proving what marketing spend actually returns.

You did not get a marketing degree. You got the marketing budget. This is where the two finally meet.

Fall 2026 Cohort · Now Enrolling.  12 weeks  ·  $950 per participant  ·  Only 16 seats
Dates
Monday, October 5 – Monday, December 21, 2026
12 weeks
Time
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM CST
Every Monday
Format
Live online
Recorded weekly, so a missed session never means falling behind
Includes
GRITT Marketing Playbook & toolkit
Plus 2 hours of 1:1 marketing coaching
Investment
$950 per participant
Cohort pricing
Seats
Capped at 16
Only 16 seats per cohort. Reserve early.
Questions before you enroll? Email Tom
Reserve Your Seat
Core Themes

Six threads run through every week.

Each theme takes a body of marketing knowledge and translates it into something you can apply to the campaign, ad, or event already on your plate this week.

Marketing Fundamentals & Structure

The strategy, segmentation, and positioning basics that make marketing decisions deliberate instead of accidental.

Understanding the Customer

Market research and buyer behavior fundamentals that ground decisions in evidence, not guesswork.

The Psychology of Influence

Cialdini's principles of persuasion applied directly to advertising, events, and sales collateral.

Value Creation & ROI

Building a defensible value proposition and quantifying what marketing spend actually returns.

Integrated Campaigns

Aligning advertising, events, and digital communication into one consistent plan.

AI-Enabled Marketing

Using AI tools wisely to support marketing judgment, not replace it.

How the 12 Weeks Are Built

Learn. Apply. Measure. Deliver.

Each week pairs a one-hour live session with practical application to a real campaign, ad, or event already on your plate, so every concept gets tested against real budget and real results before the group meets again.

Learn → Apply → Measure → Deliver
Phase 1 · Weeks 1–4

Foundation

Segment. Position. Anchor.
  • Marketing fundamentals: what marketing actually does (segmentation, targeting, positioning)
  • Understanding your customer: research and buyer behavior basics
  • Brand & positioning: what your business stands for, and why it matters
  • Marketing systems & tools: the stack you actually need
Phase 2 · Weeks 5–8

Influence & Value

Persuade. Prove. Defend.
  • The Psychology of Influence: Cialdini's principles applied to ads, events & sales collateral
  • Message & story: consistency across ads, events, and content
  • Creating business value: a value proposition that survives budget scrutiny
  • Quantifying ROI: proving what marketing spend actually returns
Phase 3 · Weeks 9–12

Application & Leadership

Integrate. Report. Ship.
  • Integrated campaigns: aligning advertising, events, and digital into one plan
  • AI as a marketing tool: using AI wisely without losing your voice
  • Reporting to ownership: translating marketing into numbers leadership trusts
  • Capstone: your 90-day Marketing Foundations plan, presented live
Participant Outcomes

Five things a participant can do differently by the last Monday of the program.

1

Understand marketing structure

Describe segmentation, positioning, and the marketing systems that support them, without the jargon.

2

Persuade ethically and effectively

Apply Cialdini's principles of influence to advertising, events, and sales materials.

3

Build a defensible value proposition

Create B2B value propositions and quantify ROI to defend marketing budget and priorities.

4

Run integrated campaigns

Align advertising, events, and digital communication into one coherent plan.

5

Use AI as a tool, not a crutch

Apply AI to marketing tasks while sustaining your own judgment and voice.

What Every Participant Takes Home

Four durable artifacts you keep past the last session.

Nothing about this program disappears when the last Monday ends. Every deliverable is designed to be used well into the next year of your marketing calendar.

Faculty

Led by a practitioner who has taught marketing at the graduate level.

Tom Bagwell
Tom Bagwell
Vice President of Learning & Development

Tom has 30 years of sales, marketing and operations experience in senior leadership positions. He is a three-time "Teacher of the Year" at Cal State East Bay, where he lectures on leadership, marketing, and organizational effectiveness for MBA programs. Tom holds a BA from UC Berkeley (Economics & History), an MBA from the University of Chicago (Finance & Marketing), and a Master of Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. A Certified Executive Coach and recognized Executive Scholar in Sales & Marketing Management at Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, Tom teaches marketing the way he practiced it: strategy first, psychology second, tools third.

Reserve Your Seat

Pay Below to Enroll.

Complete your registration inline. Only 16 seats per cohort, held on a first-come basis.

Prefer to talk first? Email Tom before you enroll.

Reserve Your Seat

16 seats. October 5 through December 21, 2026.

Mondays, 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM CST. $950 per participant. Enroll below or reach out to Tom with questions first.

Reserve Your Seat
Questions first? Reach out to tom.bagwell@grittbusinesscoaching.com