Australian Marketing Institute upcoming events

Stop presenting, start influencing: speaking skills every marketer needs (07 April 2026)

Tue, 07 Apr 2026 02:30:00 GMT

Marketing has a problem. But it’s not a credibility problem. Or an us-them problem. It’s a communication problem. This webinar will help you fix that.

You're great at marketing. But if it feels like people aren’t paying attention or acting on your insights, there’s a good reason.

Being a great marketer isn’t enough.

This session will teach you what every marketer needs to know about presenting.

This is NOT about presentation skills. How to improve your slides or stop saying ‘um’. It’s about how to make executives take you seriously so you get the funds, make the impact, stop defending and show up as the leader you already are.

Given by a marketer who has done your job, spoken on the TEDx stage and now sits on boards and coaches C-level executives how to improve their communication skills: this is the session you wish you’d attended five years ago.

What you will learn

Why executives tune out marketing and what to say instead, to get their attention.
The four questions they’re really asking (and how to answer them quickly).
How to rehearse for hostile questions — including the scary ones.
The invisible work where influence actually happens.
How to stop asking for permission and start commanding the room.
And you’ll come away with practical tips you can use immediately.

Who should attend? Marketers who…

Do strong work, but can’t get sign-off;
Are preparing for promotion and ready to command the room;
Have high-stakes presentations coming up;
Currently present to executives, boards or leadership teams; and
Want to be the one they respect, quote and listen to.

Whether you're defending a budget or pitching a strategy, looking for ways to get into a leadership role or have lost your sparkle: this will inspire, inform and leave you with actionable tips.

“Marketing doesn’t win through activity. It wins through influence.”

What past attendees say:

“So many excellent tips. Really well presented.”

“Gina is insightful and shared so much valuable information. Excellent energy.”

About the presenter:

Gina Balarin
International Communications Expert & Presentation Coach

Gina Balarin is a presentation coach with decades of experience in marketing around the world — both as a marketing practitioner and marketing leader. She's worked with Fortune 500 companies and startups on high-stakes communication, and now brings that expertise to help marketers speak with the authority they deserve. Gina doesn't teach you to present like everyone else. She teaches you to present like a leader.

*This course qualifies for 4 CPD points under the AMI’s Certified Practicing Marketer program.

Brand strategy in a post-digital world: what still matters and what must change (15 April 2026)

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 02:30:00 GMT

Build Brands That Endure in a Digital World

Brand strategy is being challenged like never before. AI, platforms, performance media and creator economies have changed how brands are built, experienced and scaled. Yet the fundamentals still matter.

This practical, thought-provoking webinar reframes brand strategy for the modern era, helping marketers understand which principles remain timeless, which must evolve, and how to apply brand thinking in a world dominated by data, digital channels and AI-driven decision making.

Many organisations are investing heavily in digital, AI and performance marketing — but without a clear brand strategy, these efforts often fail to compound long-term value.

In this session, you’ll revisit the origins and foundations of branding, then explore how brand strategy must adapt to today’s fragmented, algorithm-led and experience-driven environment. Drawing on real-world examples and contemporary frameworks, this webinar equips marketers with practical tools to build relevance, differentiation and commercial impact in a post-digital world.

Whether you work in brand, digital, growth or leadership roles, this session will help you reconnect strategy to execution with real world brand to business outcomes.

Topics covered

The origins of branding and why they still matter
The core foundations of effective brand strategy
How digital transformation has reshaped brand building
The shift from brand control to brand experience
Modern brand strategy approaches for a new world
The role of AI, platforms and data in shaping brands today

What you will learn

Which brand fundamentals are timeless — and which are outdated
How to adapt classic brand strategy frameworks for the digital age
How strong brands drive performance, not compete with it
How to align brand strategy with digital, AI and growth initiatives
Practical ways to future-proof your brand in a fast-changing market

About the presenter:

Tara Lordsmith

CEO & Co-Founder, The Accelerants

Chair, Marketing Advisory Board – Deakin University

Tara Lordsmith is a highly regarded marketing leader, advisor and former CMO, with deep experience building and transforming brands across FMCG, services, technology and complex organisations. As CEO and Co-Founder of The Accelerants, Tara partners with CMOs and CEOs to drive commercial growth through brand, strategy and digital acceleration. She is a frequent keynote speaker, former AMI Marketer of the Year, and Chair of the Marketing Advisory Board at Deakin University. Tara brings a rare blend of strategic rigour, real-world execution and future-focused thinking — helping marketers navigate the intersection of brand, digital and AI with confidence.

*This course qualifies for 4 CPD points under the AMI’s Certified Practicing Marketer program.

Next Horizon Thinking (21 April 2026)

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 02:30:00 GMT

If your strategy cycle feels more like an annual ritual than a growth engine, it’s time to lift your gaze. Next Horizon Thinking helps leaders cut through market noise, spot the next wave of opportunity, and make smarter strategic choices before disruption makes them for you.

When markets shift, competitors evolve, and growth slows, most organisations respond by tightening budgets and refining plans. It feels productive. It rarely changes outcomes.

Next Horizon Thinking is designed for leaders who need a clearer view of what’s coming next and a sharper way to decide where to focus. This session brings a disruptor’s perspective to strategic planning, helping teams reframe uncertainty, challenge stale assumptions, and identify new pathways to growth that go beyond incremental improvement.

Topics Covered

Annual strategic planning that produces decisions, not documents.
Market sensing that turns dislocations into opportunities, not distractions.
Competitive clarity that anticipates innovative entrants and sharpens your point of difference.
Future direction that creates a vision leaders can align behind and teams can execute against.
Leadership alignment that reduces friction, accelerates priorities, and strengthens accountability.
Strategy discipline that separates budgeting from strategy so resources follow choices, not habits.

What you will learn

How to recognise when you are planning, not strategising
How to diagnose disruption drivers and convert them into strategic options
How to make sharper strategic choices, including what to stop doing
How to align leaders around a clear direction and executable priorities
How to shift from reactive decision-making to future-focused advantage

About the presenter:

Ashton Bishop
Strategist, keynote speaker

Three-time Speaker of the Year for the world’s number one CEO network, Ashton is a strategist, entrepreneur, and high-impact keynote speaker. He helps leaders outsmart competitors. He helps teams cut through market noise. He helps organisations turn strategy into results.

Ashton has spent more than 20 years driving million-dollar campaigns for billion-dollar brands, and he works where strategy meets reality. Not theorising. Doing. Every framework is pressure-tested in the market, and built to drive action.

His style is no-BS and high-energy. Expect rock-solid strategy. Expect interaction. Expect live problem-solving. Expect a touch of improv, and a room that stays sharp and moving.

As the founder of Step Change, Ashton works hands-on with Australia’s leading brands, and challenger businesses. He turns bold ideas into action, and action into momentum.

When Ashton takes the stage, it’s not just a talk. It’s the moment strategy clicks. And action starts.

*This course qualifies for 4 CPD points under the AMI’s Certified Practicing Marketer program.

Predatory Marketing (23 June 2026)

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 02:30:00 GMT

In tight markets, the biggest advantage isn’t spending more. It’s saying the right thing to the right customer, at the right moment. Predatory Marketing shows leaders how to sharpen their message, reclaim lost ground, and win share in crowded, competitive markets.

As competition intensifies and attention fragments, most marketing becomes noisier, more expensive, and less effective. Organisations keep asking how to satisfy customers, while stronger competitors quietly ask a more confronting question: whose money should we be taking?

Predatory Marketing reframes marketing as a strategic weapon, not a communications function. This session challenges traditional thinking and equips leaders with a sharper mindset for standing out, creating relevance, and competing against bigger, better-funded players without trying to outspend them.

Topics Covered

Competitive positioning that clearly defines who you are fighting for and who you are willing to ignore.
Messaging discipline that tightens focus, sharpens value, and cuts through complexity.
Value propositions that compete head-on and force customers to choose.
Marketing mindsets used by high-performing challengers, category leaders, and breakout brands.
Practical approaches for taking market share in mature, crowded, or declining categories.

What you will learn

What predatory marketing really is, and why it wins in crowded categories
How to spot where competitors are exposed, and turn that into a smarter play
How to sharpen your value proposition so customers instantly see your value and actually share it
How to tighten your messaging so it cuts through noise and forces a clear choice
How to turn your positioning into a practical set of market moves you can execute fast

About the presenter:

Ashton Bishop
Strategist, keynote speaker

His style is no-BS and high-energy. Expect rock-solid strategy. Expect interaction. Expect live problem-solving. Expect a touch of improv, and a room that stays sharp and moving.

As the founder of Step Change, Ashton works hands-on with Australia’s leading brands, and challenger businesses. He turns bold ideas into action, and action into momentum.

When Ashton takes the stage, it’s not just a talk. It’s the moment strategy clicks. And action starts.

*This course qualifies for 4 CPD points under the AMI’s Certified Practicing Marketer program.

AI Shockwave (04 August 2026)

Tue, 04 Aug 2026 02:30:00 GMT

AI is already reshaping how value is created, decisions are made, and markets are won. The real risk is not acting too early. It is acting without clarity. The AI Shockwave helps leaders cut through noise and focus on what actually matters now.

AI is no longer a future consideration. It is actively changing how organisations operate, compete, and grow. Yet many leaders are caught between hype, fear, and fragmented experimentation, unsure where to place their bets or what to prioritise.

The AI Shockwave is a practical, business-led session designed to help leaders understand the real shifts underway and what they mean for strategy, marketing, and execution. Rather than tools and tactics, this keynote focuses on the decisions, trade-offs, and leadership moves required to protect and grow market share as AI reshapes the competitive landscape

Topics Covered

The hidden shifts in customer behaviour, competition, and value creation driven by AI adoption.
How AI is changing the economics of marketing, productivity, and decision-making.
Separating meaningful AI opportunities from distractions and shiny objects.
Strategic choices leaders must make now to stay relevant as AI capability accelerates.
How to build organisational confidence and momentum without betting the business.

What you will learn

The five critical AI shifts quietly reshaping marketing
How to identify where AI can create real advantage in your organisation
What leadership mindset is required to move early without moving blindly
How to focus effort on actions that protect and grow market share

About the presenter:

Ashton Bishop
Strategist, keynote speaker

His style is no-BS and high-energy. Expect rock-solid strategy. Expect interaction. Expect live problem-solving. Expect a touch of improv, and a room that stays sharp and moving.

As the founder of Step Change, Ashton works hands-on with Australia’s leading brands, and challenger businesses. He turns bold ideas into action, and action into momentum.

When Ashton takes the stage, it’s not just a talk. It’s the moment strategy clicks. And action starts.

*This course qualifies for 4 CPD points under the AMI’s Certified Practicing Marketer program.

Outsmart vs Outspend (29 September 2026)

Tue, 29 Sep 2026 02:30:00 GMT

Growth does not come from spending more. It comes from knowing where to focus, what actually works, and how to make your marketing earn its keep. Outsmart vs Outspend shows challenger businesses how to drive growth by making smarter marketing decisions, not louder ones.

Many organisations invest heavily in marketing yet struggle to see meaningful returns. Activity increases, budgets grow, but impact remains unclear. The problem is rarely effort. It is focus, integration, and strategic discipline.

Outsmart vs Outspend is designed for leaders who want marketing to perform, not just look busy. This keynote breaks down how effective marketing actually works, how to align brand and demand, and how to ensure every dollar works harder by serving a clear strategic purpose

Topics Covered

Marketing systems that align brand, communications, and activation rather than treating them as separate efforts.
Strategic diagnosis that identifies the real problem before tactics are deployed.
Integrated marketing approaches that build awareness, consideration, and action in the right sequence.
Brand as a commercial asset that drives preference, pricing power, and long-term growth.
Targeted sales activation that converts demand rather than chasing it.

What you will learn

Why all four Ps of marketing must work together to deliver real impact
How to diagnose marketing performance before committing budget and activity
Why distinctiveness matters more than differentiation in competitive markets
How to balance brand building and sales activation for sustainable growth
How to focus marketing investment on what actually drives demand and conversion

About the presenter:

Ashton Bishop
Strategist, keynote speaker

His style is no-BS and high-energy. Expect rock-solid strategy. Expect interaction. Expect live problem-solving. Expect a touch of improv, and a room that stays sharp and moving.

As the founder of Step Change, Ashton works hands-on with Australia’s leading brands, and challenger businesses. He turns bold ideas into action, and action into momentum.

When Ashton takes the stage, it’s not just a talk. It’s the moment strategy clicks. And action starts.