WAMA puts purpose vs profit on the debate floor for final breakfast of 2026
The WA Marketing Association (WAMA) is bringing its popular debate format back for its final breakfast of 2026, putting one of marketing’s most persistent tensions up for debate: purpose versus profit.
On Thursday 22 October, six WA marketing leaders will take to the stage at Fraser’s, Kings Park to argue two opposing sides of the motion:
The era of purpose-led marketing is over.
For years, brands have been told they need to stand for more than making money. But with tighter budgets, increased pressure to perform and marketers being asked to prove their impact on the bottom line, is purpose still earning its place at the table?
The debate will bring those competing perspectives to the floor, asking whether purpose remains a powerful driver of brands and business, or whether it’s time for marketing to put commercial outcomes firmly back at the centre.
Foodbank WA’s Kate O’Hara will return by popular demand to moderate the debate, keeping the arguments moving and, hopefully, the debaters in line.
The six debaters will be revealed over the coming week, bringing together a mix of WA marketing perspectives to make the case from both sides.
More than a discussion about purpose versus profit, the breakfast will explore a question many marketing teams are facing right now: when every dollar needs to work harder, how should marketers balance building brands people believe in with delivering the commercial results businesses need?
As WAMA’s final breakfast of the year, the event will also be one last opportunity for WA’s marketing community to come together before wrapping up 2026.
WAMA Debate: The era of purpose-led marketing is over
Thursday 22 October 2026
7:30am – 9:30am
Fraser’s Restaurant, Kaarta Gar-up / Kings Park