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AI‑First Marketing Strategy: Executing Intelligent Systems for Growth

Redefine how marketing is designed, led and scaled in an AI-driven world
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8 weeks, Online

4–6 hours per week

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AI‑First Marketing Strategy Program: Architect Intelligent Systems

The Kellogg Executive Education AI‑First Marketing Strategy: Executing Intelligent Systems for Growth program is an eight-week online experience that expands marketers’ ability to create, personalize and act at scale. You will learn to build marketing systems that operate continuously, adapt in real time and drive measurable growth. Seize the opportunity to move beyond fragmentation and build integrated, AI-powered systems that strengthen customer engagement and unlock a true competitive edge.

This program enables you to architect this shift through the Intelligent Marketing Operating System (I-MOS) framework, developed by Professor Mohanbir Sawhney, a globally recognized authority in AI, marketing and business innovation. I-MOS defines what to do and shows how to apply AI across your marketing system. By learning to apply AI across connected workflows and align intelligence, decisioning, execution and governance, you build the capability to design high-performing marketing systems that continuously evolve. The program prepares you with a clear blueprint to translate AI capability into coordinated action, enabling you to run marketing as a unified system that delivers returns tied to your marketing investments.

Architect the Future of Marketing With I-MOS

The I-MOS framework serves as the core architecture for how modern marketing systems can be built and governed. It structures marketing into connected workflows supported by shared memory, specialized services, orchestration and governance, providing a clear foundation for how decisions, execution and control can work together.

With I-MOS, you will architect marketing with precision at every level. You will define system structure, orchestrate workflows and embed control to build a disciplined, scalable function engineered for sustained performance.

65%

of CMOs believe advances in AI will dramatically transform their role within the next two years​.
Source: Gartner

What Will You Learn in the Kellogg AI‑First Marketing Strategy Program?

Key Program Takeaways

  • AI-native systems: Design connected, AI-native marketing systems that drive continuous learning, coordinated action and compounding performance.

  • Customer prioritization: Prioritize the right customers using sensing workflows, shared memory and signal-based ideal customer profile (ICP) and positioning.

  • Decision intelligence: Design decision logic that aligns customer state to the right message, journey and content system.

  • AI governance: Define how generative AI and agentic AI operate across marketing workflows within compliance and governance guardrails.

  • Marketing measurement: Measure marketing impact to demonstrate business value and return on investment (ROI).

  • AI agent deployment: Design and deploy AI agents within marketing systems.

How Is the AI‑First Marketing Strategy Program Curriculum Structured?

This program offers a structured journey that redefines how marketing is designed and led at an organizational level. The curriculum has been developed by Professor Mohanbir Sawhney and co-developed by Krithika Radhakrishnan. It brings together customer signals, strategy, execution and governance into a unified approach that evolves continuously. This is enabled through an operating architecture of shared memory, specialized services and orchestration that runs underneath these workflows. As you progress, you will develop the perspective to orchestrate marketing decisions across the organization and lead transformation with clarity and lasting impact.

Understand why marketing must evolve into a connected system rather than isolated tools and campaigns, and build the foundation for the I-MOS along with the vocabulary and mental model that guide the rest of the program. This module focuses on:

  • Seven marketing workflows and system design

  • Four-part architecture: shared memory, services, orchestration and governance

Build a continuous listening capability that replaces episodic research with always-on signal systems. Learn how AI transforms signals into decision-ready insights. This module focuses on:

  • Behavioral, qualitative, intent and environmental signals

  • Signal triangulation for deeper insight

  • Agentic signal service and shared memory

Translate customer understanding into a clear ideal customer profile, positioning and messaging architecture. Move from static segments to signal-based targeting. This module focuses on:

  • ICP model: Fit × Readiness − Friction

  • Signal-based segmentation and targeting

  • Positioning and messaging architecture

  • Personalization as a strategic choice

Reframe creative operations as a scalable system powered by AI and brand DNA. Move beyond prompts to structured content architectures, transforming content into modular building blocks that AI can assemble in real time. This module focuses on:

  • Brand DNA coding and modular content systems

  • Gen AI for scalable content creation

  • Content assembly and system design

  • Governance zones for creative control

Design marketing as a continuous system of journeys, decisioning and execution. Connect customer states, triggers and actions across channels. This module focuses on:

  • State-based journey design and next best actions

  • Orchestration across channels and content systems

  • Discovery in AI-powered answer engines

  • Marketing–finance interface and resource allocation

Understand how to design and deploy AI agents within marketing systems. Balance automation with control using structured frameworks. This module focuses on:

  • Individual agents, workflows and agentic services

  • Economics of error and autonomy levels

  • Agent design: persona, triggers, inputs and actions

  • Escalation rules and kill-switch conditions

Shift to incrementality — incremental return on ad spend (iROAS) — to isolate true marketing impact. Move beyond dashboards to design measurement systems that drive continuous improvement. This module focuses on:

  • Incrementality and iROAS

  • Marketing mix modeling (MMM), multi-touch attribution (MTA) and causal inference

  • Experimentation and measurement systems

  • Dynamic budget allocation

Embed governance into marketing systems while leading organizational transformation. Manage risk, compliance and long-term evolution. This module focuses on:

  • Consent, bias, audit trails and risk controls

  • Kill-switch protocols and runtime governance

  • Regulatory considerations in AI marketing

  • Organizational transformation and future ecosystems

Key Program Features

Expert faculty

Expert faculty

Gain strategic guidance from renowned Kellogg faculty with deep expertise in AI-native marketing, operating system design and organizational transformation.

Future-focused curriculum

Future-focused curriculum

Engage with a curriculum focused on redesigning marketing as an AI-powered operating system that connects workflows, decisioning and governance.

Exclusive marketing playbook

Exclusive marketing playbook

Build an AI-first marketing playbook that integrates customer intelligence, journeys, content systems, measurement and governance into one connected architecture.

AI-focused assignments

AI-focused assignments

Apply AI within structured workflows to design signal systems, decision logic, modular content and agent-enabled marketing operations.

 Peer learning

Peer learning

Collaborate with global marketing leaders to exchange perspectives on system design, AI transformation and scaling marketing performance.

Industry-inspired cases

Industry-inspired cases

Analyze real-world transformations to understand how organizations move from fragmented campaigns to integrated, AI-native marketing systems.

Proven tools and frameworks

Proven tools and frameworks

Utilize structured frameworks and practical tools to design connected marketing systems, apply AI across workflows and translate strategy into execution.

Self-paced learning

Self-paced learning

Access recorded sessions that provide flexibility while enabling you to build a connected, AI-led marketing system.

Seamless Learning, Anywhere

Learn With AI Tutor

Get instant replies to your questions about program content from our AI Tutor. Find the information you need to learn more confidently and move through topics and key learnings.

How Does the AI‑First Marketing Strategy Program Prepare You to Drive Real-World AI Impact?

AI-First Marketing Playbook

The AI‑First Marketing Strategy program culminates in an AI-first marketing playbook that transforms strategy into a connected, execution-ready operating system. Built progressively throughout the program, it enables you to design an integrated marketing model for your organization or a selected brand.

You will move from diagnosing your current system and defining customer strategy to designing journeys, content systems, agent-enabled workflows, measurement and governance. Each module adds a practical component, from defining your ICP to specifying AI agents and making data-backed decisions.

By the end of the program, you will have a cohesive, executive-ready blueprint to transform marketing into an AI-native operating system.

Live Session with Faculty

The AI-First Marketing Strategy program explores how AI is transforming modern marketing and driving sustainable growth. The live session covers in-demand topics at the intersection of AI and marketing, including building AI-powered marketing systems, integrating intelligence across workflows and leveraging generative AI to enhance customer engagement, improve decision making and deliver measurable business outcomes.

Note: Live session details are not final. They are subject to change and may evolve based on faculty insights.

Ready-to-Apply Frameworks

Through the AI‑First Marketing Strategy program, you will develop a structured approach to AI-driven marketing by using proven frameworks that help you diagnose systems, make decisions and design connected marketing architectures. These frameworks enable marketing professionals to move beyond isolated AI tools and build scalable, AI-powered strategies.

  • I-MOS 

  • Seven Marketing Workflows

  • Four-Part Operating Architecture

  • The Maturity Journey

  • Continuous Sensing Capability 

  • Jobs-To-Be-Done  

  • The Insight Gap

  • Signal-Based Segmentation

  • ICP Criteria

  • Positioning and Messaging Architecture

  • State-Based Journey Model

  • Next-Best-Action Decisioning

  • Creative and Agentic Systems

  • Agentic AI Spectrum

  • Agentic Workflow and Agentic Service

  • Economics of Error

  • Autonomy Boundaries and Kill-Switch Protocol

  • Incrementality and iROAS

  • MMM 

  • MTA 

  • AI-Augmented Causal Inference

Tools You Will Use

The AI‑First Marketing Strategy program includes practical tools that you will leverage to translate strategy into execution, enabling the real-world application of AI across workflows. These tools help you apply AI to core marketing tasks, drive customer engagement and operationalize an AI-driven marketing strategy.

  • Journey Orchestration Service

  • Content Brief (Content-to-State Mapping)

  • Modular Content Architecture

  • Brand DNA Specification and Brand DNA Coding

  • Content Assembly Service

  • Individual Agent Specification

  • Experimentation and Measurement Service

  • Governance Controls (Consent, Claims Integrity, Audit Trails and Runtime Monitoring)

  • 30-60-90-Day Migration Roadmap

Note: This AI tool is platform-agnostic and operates independently of any operating system or third-party platform.

Industry-Inspired Case Studies

L’Oréal

L’Oréal

Starbucks

Starbucks

Coca-Cola

Coca-Cola

Unilever

Spotify

CDW

CDW

David’s Bridal

David’s Bridal

Yelp

Yelp

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley

Who Is the AI‑First Marketing Strategy program For?

Senior marketing leaders

Make AI investments compound, connect marketing to revenue and confidently defend impact while leading organization-wide transformation through a high-performing marketing system.

Mid-level marketing professionals

Grow into more strategic roles, use AI in their work and take on greater responsibility across teams and marketing initiatives.

Marketing operations and marketing technology leaders

Overcome tool sprawl, poor data flow and manual bottlenecks by building integrated systems that enable scalable, AI-driven marketing.

Analytics and customer insights leaders

Move beyond dashboards to drive decisions, strengthen the link between measurement and budget allocation and improve customer engagement through closed-loop systems.

Agency and consulting professionals

Move beyond tactical AI adoption and fragmented recommendations to guide clients in building integrated, AI-powered marketing systems.

Meet the AI‑First Marketing Strategy Program Faculty

Mohanbir Sawhney

Mohanbir Sawhney

McCormick Foundation Chair of Technology | Clinical Professor of Marketing | Director of the Center for Research in Technology & Innovation

Professor Mohanbir (Mohan) Sawhney is the McCormick Foundation Professor of Technology, Clinical Professor of Marketing, and Director of the Center for Research in Technology ...

Hear From the Program Faculty

“The frontier in marketing is not using AI to do the same work faster. It is redesigning marketing around AI, so that sensing, deciding and acting become one continuous loop of intelligence. That is the next frontier in marketing, and this is the program that will take you there.”
Mohanbir Sawhney
Mohanbir Sawhney
McCormick Foundation Chair of Technology | Clinical Professor of Marketing | Director of the Center for Research in Technology & Innovation

What Credentials and Outcomes Will You Gain From the AI‑First Marketing Strategy Program?

Pathway to Becoming a Kellogg Executive Scholar

Participants who successfully complete the AI‑First Marketing Strategy: Executing Intelligent Systems for Growth will accrue points toward becoming an esteemed Kellogg Executive Scholar, a unique credential that provides the opportunity to customize your pathway to achieve your professional development goals.

Kellogg Executive Education’s expansive program offerings allow you to build a variety of competencies focused on practical application. More than learning to lead, the path to becoming a Kellogg Executive Scholar is about leading through learning.

Why Kellogg Executive Education?

Kellogg Executive Education empowers business leaders to foster growth in themselves, their teams and their organizations. Our renowned faculty, consisting of the world’s best researchers, educators and practitioners, provides practical insights that participants can apply as soon as they return to work. By providing a collaborative immersive environment for our executive development programs, we serve a variety of businesses and executives from a myriad of industries and geographies.

Example image of certificate of participation that will be awarded upon completetion of the program

Certificate

Upon successful completion of the program, Kellogg Executive Education grants a verified digital certificate of completion. This program is graded as a pass or fail; you must receive 80% to pass and obtain the certificate of completion.

After successful completion of the program, your verified digital certificate will be emailed to you in the name you used when registering for the program. All certificate images are for illustrative purposes only and may be subject to change at the discretion of Kellogg Executive Education.

Note: This online certificate program does not grant academic credit or a degree from the Kellogg School of Management.

FAQs

What is the AI-First Marketing Strategy program from Kellogg Executive Education?

The AI-First Marketing Strategy: Executing Intelligent Systems for Growth is an eight-week online program designed for marketing professionals and marketing leaders to help them redesign how marketing operates in an AI-driven environment. Unlike a typical artificial intelligence marketing course, this program focuses on building connected AI systems that integrate:

  • Intelligence

  • Decisioning

  • Execution

  • Governance

Participants learn to move beyond standalone AI tools and design AI-powered systems that enhance customer engagement and improve marketing performance.

Is an AI in marketing course worth it?

The value of an AI in marketing course depends on your role and goals. If you are navigating a rapidly evolving digital marketing landscape, this AI training for marketers offers a structured way to apply artificial intelligence across marketing processes and workflows. The AI-First Marketing Strategy program will enable you to advance using AI for marketing, integrate AI-powered tools and improve marketing performance through system-level thinking and continuous optimization.

Which is the best AI course for marketing?

The best AI marketing course is one that aligns with your strategic goals and enables real-world application. AI-First Marketing Strategy: Executing Intelligent Systems for Growth from Kellogg Executive Education focuses on designing connected AI systems rather than isolated use cases. It integrates:

  • Predictive analytics

  • Real-world case studies

These help marketing teams build scalable, AI-driven marketing systems across the customer journey.

Is the AI-First Marketing Strategy program from Kellogg Executive Education worth it?

The AI-First Marketing Strategy program from Kellogg Executive Education delivers value for marketing professionals and leaders seeking to integrate AI into core marketing efforts and lead transformation. This AI marketing program combines:

  • Structured frameworks

  • AI-powered tools

  • Applied learning

These help participants design systems that improve campaign performance, strengthen customer engagement and create a sustained competitive advantage.

Can this AI marketing program help me advance my career?

Career outcomes depend on individual goals. You will complete this AI learning journey with the ability to lead AI-driven transformation across your marketing teams. The AI-First Marketing Strategy program builds your capabilities in:

  • Applying AI tools

  • Improving marketing performance

  • Driving strategic growth

These capabilities enable you to take on more impactful leadership roles.

What education or background is needed for this AI marketing course?

This AI marketing course is designed for:

  • Experienced marketing professionals

  • Marketers

  • Marketing leaders across industries

No formal technical background in machine learning or artificial intelligence is required. The AI-First Marketing program focuses on enabling participants to apply AI effectively within business and marketing contexts.

How should I choose the best AI marketing program?

Choosing the right AI marketing program depends on your goals and desired outcomes. The AI-First Marketing Strategy program from Kellogg Executive Education stands out by enabling participants to:

  • Integrate AI tools

  • Design connected AI systems

  • Execute AI-driven marketing strategies

These capabilities span the full customer journey, rather than focusing just on isolated applications.

How can I advance my career in AI for marketing training?

Advancing in today's environment requires combining marketing expertise with AI technologies and data-driven decision making. This AI training for marketers and leaders helps you to strengthen:

  • Marketing analytics

  • Marketing processes

  • Marketing campaigns

By building these capabilities, participants can embed AI into workflows and decision systems to drive more effective marketing performance and support strategic growth.

Why take an AI marketing course from Kellogg Executive Education instead of relying on experience alone?

While experience builds context, a structured artificial intelligence marketing course provides a comprehensive approach to AI in marketing. The AI-First Marketing Strategy training program combines:

  • Faculty expertise

  • Peer learning

  • Applied frameworks

These help professionals gain new skills, drive innovation and stay ahead in an increasingly AI-powered business environment.

How does Emeritus support accessibility for learners?

Emeritus is committed to making high-quality education accessible and affordable to individuals, companies and governments around the world. If you have questions about accessibility or would like to discuss available support options before enrolling, please contact accessibility@emeritus.org. For more information about our accessibility practices, please review our Accessibility Policy here.

Didn't find what you were looking for? Write to us at learner.success@emeritus.org or Schedule a call with one of our Program Advisors or call us at +1 315 502 3308 (US) / +44 128 291 1923 (UK) / +65 3129 4131 (SG)

Flexible payment options available.

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