‘It was an amazing experience’: Rebel Sport’s head of creative announces departure
Zoe Phillips, head of brand and creative at rebel Sport, has departed the retailer after three and a half years to take on a new role as head of brand at an Australian medical cannabis company.
Phillips announced the news via LinkedIn on Tuesday night, sharing thanks to the rebel team for “the opportunities and milestones [they] nailed”, as well as “the friendships made along the way”.
“My background was in agencies, so rebel was my first foray on the client side,” Phillips told Mumbrella. “And it was an amazing experience to work within a brand itself, and have access to lots of the information that agencies just don’t get access to – which makes for better campaigns.”
Phillips
Phillips spearheaded rebel’s new creative direction since her appointment mid-2020, after the business underwent a large restructure.
“I’m most proud of building the rebel brand and creating that brand strategy. When I joined, rebel had just gone through a pretty big restructure and it didn’t really have it’s own brand personality, so taking it from being just a store to a destination was one of my proudest moments,” she told Mumbrella.
“There was a team of three when I joined, and I built it up to a team of 18 at one point. We basically built an internal agency, we hired on a creative director, art director, copywriters, we built an internal photography studio, brand strategist, content directors and more.”
Her new venture will see her take the role of head of brand at Australian medical cannabis company, Montu.
“Montu is focused on helping make cannabis, medical marijuana, more accessible to those who need it, especially for pain management and 130 other chronic conditions,” Phillips explained.
“They have a telehealth service, a delivery service, help educate healthcare professionals and patients alike, on the subject, have their own tech tools, and more. They’re focused on improving quality of life and providing options outside of traditional pharmaceuticals.”
The company’s cause, which Phillips said it close to her heart, is much more than a career decision: “It’s a personal commitment too.”
Her father Peter Phillips, a well-known British artist described as an originator of pop art, has been using medical marijuana to help with pain management from eight fractures in his back.
“He went on CBD oils which helped him mentally and physically, making him less anxious and eased the pain,” she told Mumbrella.
“Seeing how it has helped my dad changed the way I viewed cannabis – it took the stigma away for me.”
Mumbrella has contacted rebel for comment.
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Lauren McNamara is a journalist at Mumbrella, covering the creative and PR beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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