Most creative problems are business problems.

Brand, Creative & Growth
Sydney, AU

I've spent more than 19 years building brands across product, content, ecommerce and customer experience — from startup sportswear brands and global apparel companies to leading brand, creative and growth for an independent cycling brand.

Today I work at the intersection of creative strategy and commercial performance.

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01 Selected Work
Soomom Nov 2023 — Present

Building a cycling brand
from scratch

Brand, ecommerce, campaigns, community and growth.

Soomom campaign
Soomom — pier, morning
Soomom — orange base layer detail

When I joined Soomom, the business had a product but very little brand infrastructure. Over the following years I led the development of the brand identity, ecommerce experience, content strategy, seasonal campaigns, ambassador programme and lifecycle marketing systems.

Alongside the creative direction, the business helped drive +201% revenue growth while building a loyal customer community and a scalable marketing platform.

+201%Revenue Growth, FY24–FY26
4,378 → 11,300+Instagram Audience
11,073Customer Profiles
BrandEcommerce CampaignsContentAmbassador
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Russell Athletic2011 — 2018

Evolving a heritage sportswear brand

Balancing heritage and modernisation across apparel, campaigns and retail.

Russell Athletic is one of the oldest sportswear brands in the world. The challenge was maintaining heritage credibility while creating products and campaigns relevant to contemporary consumers.

The real work wasn't designing individual products. It was building a visual system that created consistency across hundreds of SKUs and every customer touchpoint — from in-store to ecommerce to catalogue.

Range DirectionTextile Graphics CampaignsRetailCatalogues
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Russell Athletic campaign
2XU2006 — 2009

Scaling creative
across global markets

Learning how creative systems scale across global markets.

2XU campaign

2XU operated across multiple categories, regions and retail environments. The challenge was keeping creative consistent while supporting local market requirements — and doing it at scale, season after season.

The most valuable lesson wasn't any individual campaign. It was learning how strong creative systems allow large organisations to scale without diluting brand consistency.

Art DirectionCampaigns LookbooksRetailGlobal Brand
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Mitch DowdFashion & Lifestyle

How you show something matters more than what you show

Classic repositioning: evolve the visual identity to reach a younger audience without losing the existing one.

The answer was almost entirely in the photography direction. Same product. Different world around it. Location, light, casting, styling — that shift in context did more work than any logo change could have.

Brand CreativePhotography DirectionCatalogues
Mitch Dowd campaign
Rothelowman — Reece building Melbourne
Designworks & Rothelowman2012 — 2015

Where I learned the brief is the work

Full-service creative agency, Melbourne. The lesson — which took a while to understand properly — is that a problem stated clearly is usually halfway solved.

Rothelowman taught me to translate complex, specialised work into communications that land with people who aren't experts in the field. That skill turns out to be useful in almost every situation since.

Brand IdentityPrint CampaignArchitecture
— Selected Results
+201% Revenue growth, FY24–FY26. Helped build the brand, ecommerce and creative systems from scratch.
+126% Email programme growth. Built Klaviyo into a meaningful lifecycle and retention channel through automated flows, segmentation and campaign strategy.
+158% Instagram audience grew from 4,378 to 11,300+ followers, FY24–FY26.
19+ Years Led campaigns, catalogues and product launches for global brands including 2XU and Russell Athletic across APAC and international markets.
02 What I've Built
Soomom
Cycling Apparel

Built the brand end-to-end — identity, Shopify store, seasonal campaigns, ambassador programme and content production. Owned the creative start to finish.

2XU
Performance Sportswear

Led creative across seasonal campaigns, product launches and global retail materials. Art directed photoshoots and managed visual output across digital, print and ecommerce.

Russell Athletic
Apparel & Sportswear

Seasonal textile graphics, apparel design ranges and retail campaign creative. Balanced brand heritage with contemporary market positioning.

Mitch Dowd
Fashion & Lifestyle

Brand creative, catalogues and ecommerce content. Evolved the visual identity to reach a broader retail audience through photography direction.

Designworks
Creative Agency

Agency-side brand identity, print and campaign creative across consumer and property clients. Built the discipline: briefs, timelines, client management.

Rothelowman
Architecture & Design

Marketing collateral and brand communications for one of Australia's leading architecture practices. Complex work, compelling stories.

Point of view

Most creative problems are actually business problems, and most business problems are actually communication problems.

03 Experience

Nov 2023 — Present

Soomom

Full-time · Hybrid

Head of Brand & Growth

Leading brand, creative and growth for Soomom Cycling Apparel — with ownership across performance creative, ecommerce, content, lifecycle marketing, customer acquisition and brand development. Working directly with the founder to connect creative strategy with commercial growth.

  • Own creative strategy across paid social, organic, ecommerce and product launches
  • Develop campaign concepts, hooks, copy and creative briefs — and use performance data to identify what works and iterate
  • Lead content production across photography, video, designers, creators and ambassadors
  • Built and manage Soomom's ambassador and creator programme across six countries
  • Own the Shopify ecommerce experience — merchandising, product launches, customer journey and CRO
  • Lead lifecycle and email marketing through Klaviyo — building automated flows, campaign strategy and customer retention
  • Work directly with the founder across brand, marketing, ecommerce and commercial growth

Nov 2021 — Nov 2023

Rothelowman

Full-time · Melbourne

Lead Designer

Led design and execution of national graphic requirements across multiple projects at one of Australia's leading architecture practices.

  • Managed EOIs, RFPs, presentations, photography and marketing collateral
  • Led social media assets and visual communications across diverse audiences
  • Implemented Digital Asset Management system via Open Asset
  • Streamlined design workflows and enhanced project efficiency

May 2021 — Nov 2021

Mitch Dowd Design

Full-time · Melbourne

Senior Graphic Designer

End-to-end graphic design for Russell Athletic apparel — print, embroidery, textiles, packaging, store design and digital assets.

  • Designed tee graphics, trims, tags and fashion/textile graphics for seasonal ranges
  • Led photoshoot coordination, art direction and budget management
  • Created catalogues, lookbooks, product shoots and promotional content
  • Provided technical direction and mentorship to junior staff

Apr 2018 — May 2021

Designworks Clothing Co.

Full-time · Melbourne

Designer — Marketing & Licensing

Marketing and licensing designer for Everlast, Russell Athletic, Lonsdale, Dunlop and other brands within The PAS Group portfolio.

  • Managed graphic design across multiple licensed sportswear brands
  • Produced seasonal apparel graphics, retail assets and digital content
  • Led photoshoots, catalogues and lookbooks across brands
  • Collaborated with Design and Marketing Managers on creative execution

Nov 2011 — Apr 2018

Russell Athletic

Full-time · Melbourne

Senior Designer

Six and a half years leading creative across the full range of Russell Athletic apparel — from concept through to product, retail and campaign delivery.

  • Designed tee graphics, textile graphics, trims and seasonal apparel ranges
  • Led photoshoot coordination, art direction and budget management
  • Created catalogues, lookbooks, product shoots and promotional content
  • Managed packaging, store design, point of sale and ecommerce assets
  • Supervised and mentored junior designers across the design process

2006 — 2009

2XU

Full-time · Melbourne

Designer

Early-career role at 2XU during the brand's formative years — working across core creative campaigns, product design and the launch of the CustomSpec sublimated business.

  • Designed across websites, print, digital and packaging
  • Worked closely with Creative Director to maintain brand standards
  • Played a key role in launching the CustomSpec sublimation business
  • Created graphic logos, icons, packaging and technical product features
04 About

I sit between
creative and commercial.

I've been doing this for more than 19 years. Long enough to know that most creative problems are actually business problems, and most business problems are actually communication problems.

I can build a brand from a blank page. I can read a revenue report and understand what it means for the brief. That combination is less common than it should be.

Agency-side and client-side. Agency teaches you speed and discipline. Client-side teaches you that the decisions that look creative from the outside are almost always commercial decisions first.

Right now — leading brand, creative and growth at Soomom in Sydney. Open to senior leadership roles across creative, brand and growth.

LocationSydney, Australia
Experience19+ Years
AvailabilityOpen to Senior Roles

Brands & Studios

Soomom 2023 — Present
Rothelowman 2021 — 2023
Mitch Dowd Design 2021
Designworks Clothing Co. 2018 — 2021
Russell Athletic 2011 — 2018
2XU 2006 — 2009
05 Contact

Let's
talk.

Open to senior leadership roles across creative, brand and growth — and interesting conversations. The best way to reach me is email.

Email troy@troyhowe.com
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/troyhowe
Location Sydney, Australia
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