Marian Makkar

Marian Makkar is a Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) of Marketing. She is also an award-winning researcher and educator. To foster change, she engages with industry, government, and communities.

Marian’s research program focuses on understanding and promoting consumer diversity and market inclusion at the intersection of identity, technology, branding, and institutions. She is deeply committed to making a difference by empowering communities and individuals to realise their potential and create sustainable impacts, which is evidenced by her 2024 College of Business & Law Research Excellence Award in Social Impact. Her passion lies in fostering positive change that transforms lives and strengthens communities, whether through academic research, collaborations with not-for-profits, or personal volunteer work.

Her research falls under consumer behaviour, specifically consumer culture theory (CCT), employing qualitative methodologies such as ethnography, netnography, in-depth interviews, observations, and projective techniques. She has published in leading international journals, including the International Journal of Research in Marketing, Journal of Business Research, European Journal of Marketing, Current Issues in Tourism, Journal of Fashion Marketing & Management, Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, and Marketing Intelligence & Planning. Her work has also been presented at premier academic conferences such as the Association of Consumer Research, Consumer Culture Theory Consortium, and Australian and New Zealand Marketing Academy Conferences.

Marian is driven by the belief that targeted actions can drive significant shifts at individual, group, and societal levels. She finds fulfillment not only in research outcomes but also in the process of building relationships and contributing to something larger than herself.

Non-academic experience

Before transitioning to academia, Marian worked with luxury brands as the Marketing Manager of Alfred Dunhill Limited in Dubai. Her career also includes public relations experience, managing FMCG, beauty, and luxury automotive brands across the Middle East, Africa, and New Zealand.

Beyond academia, she actively volunteers in community housing and food banks in Melbourne, and drives initiatives to supply donated clothes and food to orphanages in Fiji.