Mark Ritson
Mark Ritson is a world-renowned marketing professor, brand consultant, and author with over two decades of experience in the field. He earned a PhD in Marketing and spent 25 years teaching MBA students at top business schools including London Business School, MIT Sloan, and Melbourne Business School. Alongside academia, he worked as a high-profile consultant – serving for 13 years as in-house brand expert for LVMH (the world’s largest luxury group) and advising numerous global brands. Ritson has established himself as one of the world’s best-known marketing voices, celebrated for blending deep research with real-world insight.
Career Highlights
In the marketing press, Mark Ritson made his mark as an influential columnist. He wrote a weekly column for Marketing Week for nearly 20 years, where his no-nonsense analysis won multiple accolades. He was named PPA’s Columnist of the Year a record seven times in the UK. Judges have praised Ritson’s writing as “authoritative, provocative, riveting” and backed by rigorous research– a style that often challenges industry hype and emphasises fundamental marketing principles. Beyond Marketing Week, Ritson has published in scholarly outlets like Harvard Business Review and MIT Sloan Management Review, and he is a sought-after keynote speaker at marketing conferences worldwide.
In 2019, Ritson stepped away from academia (leaving his Associate Professor post at Melbourne Business School) to focus on training full-time. He has since devoted much of his energy to professional education and thought leadership in marketing. Ritson’s frank, witty delivery and deep expertise have made him a popular teacher for marketers at all levels – from young professionals to CMOs – earning him a reputation as an educator who can bridge marketing theory and practice in memorable ways.
The Mini MBA in Marketing
One of Mark Ritson’s most notable achievements is the creation of the Marketing Week Mini MBA programs. The Mini MBA is an online course that condenses the core of an MBA’s marketing curriculum into an intensive 10-week program. Ritson conceived the Mini MBA to offer a top-tier marketing education to those who might not have the time or resources for a traditional MBA. There are now two versions of the course – one in Marketing and a follow-up in Brand Management – reflecting Ritson’s emphasis on both general marketing fundamentals and deeper brand strategy.
The impact of these courses has been substantial. As of 2025, nearly 20,000 marketers worldwide have completed one of Ritson’s Mini MBAs, and about 95% of those graduates say the course made them a better marketer. The program is MBA-level and accredited by the CPD Standards Office, built on Mark’s award-winning teaching frameworks. Participants praise its practical blend of “diagnosis, strategy, and tactics” – a strategic marketing model Ritson champions – delivered through engaging video lectures and real-world case studies. Ritson remains the face and instructor of the Mini MBA, personally teaching the modules and hosting live Q&A sessions for students every cohort. The success of the Mini MBA underscores Mark Ritson’s influence as a marketing educator and his commitment to raising professional standards in the industry.
Mark Ritson and The Marketing Meetup
Mark Ritson has been an active contributor to The Marketing Meetup community, generously sharing his expertise through special talks and webinars:
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Marketing During a Pandemic (2020): At the onset of COVID-19, Ritson joined a TMM webinar to discuss marketing in a crisis, offering his perspective on how brands should navigate the pandemic’s challenges – themarketingmeetup.com. His seasoned insights helped marketers understand where to focus when “normal” playbooks no longer applied.
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Marketing for Small Businesses (2023): In this record-breaking Marketing Meetup session, over 2,000 attendees tuned in live to hear Ritson’s tips for smaller brands – themarketingmeetup.com. He stayed up until 2 AM (broadcasting from Australia) to present 10 practical strategies that help small businesses grow with limited resources – from adopting continual market orientation to smart “small brand” tactics against larger competitors – themarketingmeetup.com. The event’s huge turnout and lively audience engagement (emoji-filled chat and all) showed how resonant Ritson’s advice is for the marketing community.
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“Ten Questions” Q&A – Mini MBA Special (2022): Mark sat down with The Marketing Meetup for an hour-long Q&A session dedicated to his Mini MBA programs – themarketingmeetup.com. In this candid forum, he answered participant questions about the course content, what inspired him to create the Mini MBA, and how marketers can apply its lessons after finishing. Ritson explained that the Mini MBA covers everything from a first-year MBA in Marketing “without the huge time and financial investment,” emphasising market orientation and strategic thinking over buzzwords – themarketingmeetup.com. Nearly 1,000 marketers attended live, and the discussion ranged from career advice for graduates to Ritson’s take on marketing trends, making it an invaluable resource for anyone considering the course.
Further Resources: The Marketing Meetup team has also documented insights from Mark Ritson’s teachings in our content. We’ve published comprehensive, firsthand reviews of Mark Ritson’s Mini MBA in Marketing – themarketingmeetup.com and the Mini MBA in Brand Management – themarketingmeetup.com on our blog. These in-depth reviews cover the structure, experience, and key takeaways from each course, providing an honest look at what marketers can expect. They serve as a useful research aid for anyone evaluating Ritson’s programs. (For a quick overview, 95% of Mini MBA alumni report feeling significantly more confident and effective in their marketing roles post-course – themarketingmeetup.com – a strong endorsement of its value.)
In sum, Mark Ritson’s blend of academic rigor and real-world savvy has made him a leading authority on marketing. Whether through his award-winning columns, his Mini MBA courses, or his engaging Marketing Meetup talks, Ritson continues to influence and inspire marketers around the globe – always calling it like he sees it, and backing it up with insight and evidence – marketingweek.com. His professional journey from professor to practitioner to provocateur is a testament to the impact that passionate teaching and sharp thinking can have on an industry.
Mark Ritson’s talks with The Marketing Meetup:
Nine of The Best Marketing Events in the UK – 2026
Navigating the explosion of events for marketers can be overwhelming. To streamline your choices, we’ve curated nine standout events in the UK for 2026 – ranging from massive industry conferences to smaller, niche gems. Each of these events delivers real value,...
The State of Marketers Report 2025
How Are Marketers Doing? The State of Marketing Professionals in 2025 Behind marketing is marketers. That much is obvious. But in trying to understand the effectiveness of our profession, the research we most regularly see turns to the tools of our trade, rather...
The most useful email we’ve ever sent (now a blog post)
Two years ago, we sent an email. And then... we sent it again. Why? Because it had the biggest response we've ever seen. People forwarded it, bookmarked it, and sent us the kindest replies. It was, quite simply, a big ol' list of marketing gold – and it turns out,...
What is alt text and why does it matter?
alt text: small words, big impact. We asked Ettie Bailey-King, inclusive and accessible comms educator, and founder of Fighting Talk, to share her top tips for writing better alt text. Why? Because alt text might be one of the most overlooked parts of marketing… but...
I love to swim
By El, our Events superhuman... and wild sea-swimming profesh. I, LOVE, to swim. Over the past few years, it's become a central part of my life - a draw, an aspiration, a glimmer, a necessity. Countless surveys have shown that stress and overwhelm are becoming all too...
What are the top podcasts for marketers?
We asked our community for their top marketing podcasts; here’s what they shared. Real recs from real marketers.
What is vibe coding and why might it matter for marketers?
Folks can now code without coding. What could go wrong? (Or right?) Welcome to the wild world of vibe coding.
Behind the Scenes with the Uncensored CMO – What goes into producing a world-class podcast?
Every so often, I invite myself along to someone’s office and become the proverbial fly on the wall to see what I can share with our community. The latest person kind enough to allow me through their doors was Jon Evans and the team from the Uncensored CMO – the show...
Seven tips on how to grow a LinkedIn company page like a pro
While personal profiles often steal the spotlight, LinkedIn Company Pages are a powerful tool for building brand awareness, engaging with your audience, and driving business growth. But how do you grow a LinkedIn Company Page effectively, especially when the platform...
How can challenger brands can steal market share from industry giants?
Challenger brands thrive by leveraging agility, differentiation, and smart strategic moves to gain a foothold in competitive markets. While conventional wisdom suggests smaller brands have an advantage due to agility, the reality is more complex. Larger companies...
Date | Time | Speaker | Name | Location | Get yo' space |
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19 Mar | 09:00 - 17:00 GMT | lots of wonderful speakers from the TMM community 💜 | The Marketing Meetup Conference 2026 | London | Sign up here |
14 Oct | 09:00 - 17:00 BST | Movable Ink, /create brings together world-class marketers to step into the future of marketing | Think Summit by Movable Ink | London, South East and East England | Sign up here |
14 Oct | 09:30 - 10:30 BST | Anna Carina Berkman, Founder at Markitect | How to best prompt AI in 2025 | Online | Sign up here |
15 Oct | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Andrew Cock-Starkey, Founder at Optimisey | TMM IRL: SEO – What to Do When You Can’t Do It All | Milton Keynes | Sign up here |
15 Oct | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Nick Padmore, Head of Language at Definition | TMM IRL: The five words that are ruining your marketing | Fleet | Sign up here |
16 Oct | 09:00 - 16:30 BST | Coworking, Cake & Gus Bhandal | Cowork Crew: The Three Cs of LinkedIn Success | Northampton | Sign up here |
16 Oct | 18:00 - 20:00 BST | Kate Attlee, Owner and Founder at Sabzi | TMM IRL: Newquay | Newquay | Sign up here |
17 Oct | 09:00 - 16:30 BST | Coworking, Cake & Community | Cowork Crew London | London | Sign up here |
21 Oct | 13:30 - 14:30 BST | Emelie Hurlbert, GTM enablement at OpenAI; Danielle Spielmann, Global Brand Manager at Zurich Insurance; and Nick Padmore, Head of Language at Definition | Tone of voice in the time of AI | Online | Sign up here |
21 Oct | 14:00 - 15:00 BST | Peter Weinberg, Co-Founder at Evidenza | How AI is impacting market research | Online | Sign up here |
23 Oct | 18:30 - 21:00 BST | Chima Mmeje, Senior Content Marketing Manager at Moz | Sip & Search Free SEO Meetup: AI Automation Party at BrightonSEO UK (Fringe Event) | Brighton | Sign up here |
28 Oct | 14:00 - 15:00 GMT | with Movable Ink | The Marketing Meetup x Movable Ink – The School of AI | Online | Sign up here |
28 Oct | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Dan Wiggins, Founder at RedCore Digital | TMM IRL: SEO vs GEO – Separating Strategy from Speculation | Liverpool | Sign up here |
4 Nov | 14:00 - 15:00 GMT | Ryan Lisk, Founder of Hybrid Legal | AI & The Law: What marketers need to know | Online | Sign up here |
4 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Elle Kendall, Marketing and Comms Manager at Green Valley Industrial Supplies Ltd | TMM IRL: Your Feed is Failing. Broken Algorithm? Or Just Bad Content? | Norwich | Sign up here |
5 Nov | 18:15 - 19:45 GMT | Louise Brogan, LinkedIn consultant | TMM IRL: Raise Your Visibility on LinkedIn – a masterclass | Dublin | Sign up here |
6 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Jonny Tooze, Entrepreneur & Advisor at Pimms Associates | TMM IRL: Climbing Mount LinkedIn | Guildford | Sign up here |
6 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Nick Crawford, Founder at Twist Consultacy | TMM IRL: From Dogs to Giraffes – Marketing models with a twist | Northampton | Sign up here |
7 Nov | 09:00 - 16:30 GMT | Coworking, Cake & Joe Glover | Cowork Crew: How to build a bare minimum marketing strategy | Cambridge | Sign up here |
11 Nov | 17:30 - 20:00 GMT | Kirsty Ostell, MD at O Agency and Michele Gettins, CMO at iamproperty with Natasha McDonough, Founder & MD at MMC Research | TMM IRL: Market research – Using the Power of Customer Insights to Fuel Campaigns | Newcastle | Sign up here |
11 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Speaker to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Manchester | Manchester | Sign up here |
11 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Zoe Hanson, The Podcast Lady | TMM IRL: Podcasting for Business | Southampton | Sign up here |
11 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Heather Pownall, Founder at Heather's Media Hub | TMM IRL: It’s not the tech, it’s the strategy – how to turn a podcast into marketing gold | Fife | Sign up here |
12 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Speaker to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Portsmouth | Portsmouth | Sign up here |
12 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Alex Hamilton-Wright, Chair of the Board at The Marketing Meetup and The Keynote Club | TMM IRL: Presenting design – lessons from the theatre of war | London | Sign up here |
13 Nov | 09:00 - 16:30 GMT | Coworking, Cake & Glen Stout | Cowork Crew: How to make your website visitors say: “shut up and take my money”Cowork Crew: Inside-Out Personal Branding | Reading | Sign up here |
13 Nov | 18:30 - 20:30 CET | Amin Ebadi, founder at Tartare AI | TMM IRL: Data in Marketing – It’s Not the Tech, It’s the Culture | Geneva | Sign up here |
17 Nov | 18:00 - 20:30 GMT | Panel presenters to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: a community-led panel discussion | Ashford | Sign up here |
18 Nov | 17:00 - 19:00 EST | Mohamed Hamad (He/Him), Founder at Third Wunder | TMM IRL: How to Build a Cycle of Growth with a New Marketing Framework | Montreal | Sign up here |
18 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Emily Mellor and Paul Taylor, Co-founders at DUO | TMM IRL: The value of collaboration in the branding process | Leeds | Sign up here |
18 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Speaker to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Cambridge | Cambridge | Sign up here |
19 Nov | 17:30 - 20:00 GMT | Kate Sikora, Managing Partner at Noble Performance; and Dominic Baliszewski, Co-Founder at Yours Sincerely | TMM IRL: What a Difference a Year Makes – Search in 2025 and the Road Ahead | Bristol and Bath | Sign up here |
20 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Speaker to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Birmingham | Birmingham | Sign up here |
20 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Speaker to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Nottingham | Nottingham | Sign up here |
20 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Bex Fisher, Partnerships & Events Manager at Hattingley Valley Wines Limited | TMM IRL: Service with a Smile – The Secret Weapon in Marketing | Winchester | Sign up here |
26 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Speaker to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Exeter | Exeter | Sign up here |
27 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Natasha Jones, Commercial Director at Fairfields Farm | TMM IRL: Creative collaboration and B2B marketing | Ipswich | Sign up here |
27 Nov | 18:00 - 20:00 GMT | Speakers to be confirmed! | TMM IRL: Lancashire | Lancashire | Sign up here |