AMI ANZMAC Insights University of Wollongong
Today’s consumers are navigating unprecedented levels of disruption, from climate change and natural disasters to rising living costs, economic instability, and social change. In this environment, “resilience” has become a common theme in business and policy, often positioning consumers as self-reliant individuals who must continually adapt.
However, this framing overlooks the limits and costs of resilience - emotional strain, fatigue, and inequity - and the crucial role organisations can play in supporting consumers through disruption.
This webinar challenges the dominant “resilient consumer” narrative and introduces the concept of forward-looking collective responsibility: a more sustainable and ethical approach that calls on businesses, governments, and institutions to share accountability for consumer well-being. Drawing on recent Australian ethnographic research, we explore how marketing can evolve to help consumers and communities not just bounce back but move forward together.
Topics Covered:
- The consumer resilience narrative: How marketing and policy have framed resilience as an individual trait — and why this matters for your organisation.
- The hidden costs of resilience: What happens when consumers are continually expected to adapt, and how this can affect trust, loyalty, and brand relationships.
- Rethinking responsibility: The ethical and strategic risks of overemphasising self-reliance, and how organisations can meaningfully share responsibility for consumer well-being.
- From resilience to collective responsibility: Practical examples of how businesses and community organisations can collaborate to mitigate disruption and support vulnerable consumers.
- Marketing implications: How to design strategies, communications, and customer experiences that reflect empathy, fairness, and long-term sustainability.
What you will learn:
By attending this session, marketing professionals will:
- Understand how the “resilient consumer” narrative shapes marketplace expectations and behaviour.
- Recognise the emotional and social costs of resilience - and their implications for brand trust and engagement.
- Learn how to embed forward-looking collective responsibility into marketing strategy, CSR, and brand storytelling.
- Gain practical insights on how to support consumers through systemic disruption while maintaining commercial integrity.
- Discover how businesses can contribute to fairer, more sustainable marketplace ecosystems that benefit both consumers and organisations.
About the presenter

Nadia Zainuddin
Senior lecturer in Marketing, University of Wollongong.
Nadia is a behavioural and social change researcher at the University of Wollongong, Australia, and currently serves as President of the Australian Association of Social Marketing (AASM). In this leadership role, Nadia advocate for social marketing as a powerful force to address complex societal challenges.
Nadia’s work advances social marketing as a strategy for positive behaviour and social change—integrating marketing principles with cross-sector approaches to benefit individuals, communities, and society. She leads and collaborate on research addressing issues affecting marginalised groups, including women, older adults, people with disabilities, culturally diverse communities, and those in precarious work.
Nadia is also a Founding Associate Editor of the Journal of Social Impact in Business Research, a Detailed Assessor for Marketing at the ARC, and serve on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Services Marketing. I’ve chaired the International and World Social Marketing Conferences and guest-edited special issues for the Journal of Social Marketing.
Nadia holds a Visiting Research Fellowship at Coventry University’s Centre for Business in Society and was previously a Visiting Scholar at the University of Glasgow
Please note that the recording of the webinar is available to watch on demand for AMI members only. Please contact membership@ami.org.au if you wish to hear more about AMI membership benefits.