Zoe Phillips-Price and Kelly King speak to B&T about their roles, motivations, The Dolphins (NRL) partnership and marketing challenges and opportunities for the country’s leading medicinal cannabis business.
Montu, which provides medical cannabis products and services, is one of the hottest tech companies in Australia right now. They are the first business to win the Deloitte Tech Fast 50 two years on the trot. In 2022, Montu grew by 20,700 percent and in 2023 sales lifted 9,600 per cent.
A year ago, Kelly King joined Montu as PR director, while earlier this year former Rebel Sports head of brand and creative Zoe Phillips-Price joined the business to lead the Montu and Alternaleaf brands.
The pair are charged with shaping Montu’s brands and narrative. B&T caught up with them to find out more about their career, trends in marcomms, and what lies ahead for Montu and Alternaleaf.
Zoe Phillips-Price, Head of Brand at Montu and Alternaleaf
Briefly tell us about your career history.
For the first 20 years, I kicked off my career on Madison Avenue in true Mad Men style—rubbing shoulders with the legends at Grey, Saatchi, Dentsu, and Publicis. I worked on Fortune 500 companies from P&G, Canon, Nike, Adidas, Docusign, Paypal, Intel, Microsoft, and PlayStation. And along the way, I embraced my inner tech geek. At one point in my career, I ran my own agency before jumping to the “dark/light” side. I joined Rebel to build the internal brand team and transformed the brand to focus on gender equality in sports. By doing this, I enhanced the online and instore experience which centred on the transformative power of sport and the importance of balancing the physical and mental benefits through partnering with Lifeline. Now, I’m bringing my passion to build the Montu team as we’re in a period of accelerated growth.
What is your superpower?
Empathy. With a background in psychology, film, and business; I have a knack for finding the sweet spot where they intersect. I wish I could read people’s minds, but I do have an ability to read and guide people’s emotions. I naturally relate to people, understand human behaviour, and tell stories in a way that resonates. It’s like having a built-in radar for what makes people tick.
Why did you join Montu?
I’m a tech geek at heart with a passion for building brands and teams. My entrepreneurial spirit drives me to work with values-driven brands that can make a positive impact. Seeing the transformative power of brands firsthand, I was inspired to join a company that puts people first and truly “walks the walk”. Montu’s mission resonates deeply with me, especially having witnessed the positive impact of alternative treatment on my dad and close friends.
How was your transition from Rebel Sports into Montu?
It was bittersweet as I handed the baton over to the leaders within my amazing team to carry the torch forward. I built a talented team and am a very devoted leader. I’m incredibly proud of what we did and what the team continues to do. Professionally, the transition was fairly seamless—thanks to the shared values and goals between Rebel and Montu. At Rebel, we championed gender equality in sports and promoted physical, mental, and social health through partnerships with Lifeline, Mary Fowler, and the Matildas. Montu offers similar opportunities: to influence change as an industry leader. Building a brand is like building a relationship, it requires mutual respect, trust, and making each other better.
Alternaleaf’s parent company Montu has been named fastest growing tech companies in Australia. How has marketing supercharged that growth? Are there any campaigns you are most proud of and why?
It’s not a campaign, it’s the people. We’ve taken risks and aligned ourselves with partners who share our beliefs. Montu’s uniqueness lies in its people, values, products, services, and experiences. In particular, our technology and healthcare teams are all focused on enhancing the patient experience. Rather than a single campaign, I’m proud of our ongoing strategies and values-driven efforts. Supporting patient outcomes, government relations, community partnerships, and technology innovation is a collective effort from our 750-plus team. The journey has just begun. What I’m most proud of is yet to come.
As you’re seven months into the role, what challenges have you faced building a brand for a product you can’t advertise?
We’re not advertising a product; we’re promoting a service and a solution. It’s about providing alternative healthcare for patients who have been overlooked, dismissed and, in most cases, are at the end of their tether. All they want is their life back. Montu offers a network of doctors and nurses, a trusted and personalised service with compassionate care and innovative health technology that provides an unmatched patient experience. It’s not about medical cannabis—it’s about advancing healthcare and patient experience through innovation.
What key trends are you seeing in brand building?
Values-driven advertising: Brands who have moved too far from brand building, are now realising the need to transition back or falter. Brand marketing and performance marketing are not mutually exclusive; they benefit each other and need to work hand-in-hand—it’s not an “either/or” choice. Brand Authenticity: Brands need to prioritise brand actions and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) alongside top-of-funnel awareness activities. In a fragmented market with a sceptical audience, it’s crucial to “walk the walk”, not just “talk the talk”. Brands must embody their values from the inside out. I’m seeing more brands building internal teams to nurture and grow their brand authentically, with internal strategists and creative directors leading the charge. We do this at Montu and have built a brand team from 10 to 30+ to help move things forward in an aligned and considered way.
What exciting development in the industry (advertising, marketing, media) are you looking forward to in the coming year?
Without a doubt: AI advancements. While AI can’t replace the emotional and intuitive sides of brand building, it can be a powerful tool for making data more accessible to creatives and brand evangelists, keeping them in tune with the market in real-time. In the healthcare space, AI will revolutionise patient care, making doctors more efficient and medicine more personalised. The core of Montu is focussed on improving patient outcomes. I’m looking forward to seeing how the company and its suite of brands—Alternaleaf, Leafio and SAGED—further evolve and shape this landscape.
Kelly King, PR Director at Montu
Briefly tell us about your career history.
After graduating from my Communications degree, majoring in Journalism, I got into radio management and editorial policy at the ABC while doing my Master’s degree in Sydney. Over the next 10 years, I worked in corporate communications in the fintech space and then private equity on the technology side for Pemba Capital. A few years ago, I moved to New Zealand and pivoted to the public sector. I worked as a Senior Advisor and Press Secretary where I honed my risk, crisis and reputation management lens across the political landscape. In early 2023, I moved back to Sydney to be closer to family. I joined Alternaleaf and now head up Montu to build out PR for the parent company and its suite of brands.
What is your superpower?
Synthesis. I can quickly digest enormous amounts of complex information, summarise and contextualise it for different audiences and purposes. It helps immensely in time-critical situations during a crisis, and means I can make quick and effective decisions while communicating context to those who need to know the relevant details.
Why did you join Montu/Alternaleaf?
For the challenge, the opportunity and the vocation! Montu and Alternaleaf are shaping the industry in Australia and it’s a fascinating sector. It’s exhilarating to be at the intersection of emerging legal frameworks, contradictory legislation, technology and patient advocacy. On the PR front, there’s a monumental challenge when it comes to breaking the barriers around stigma, discrimination and bias. The tide of public opinion is starting to turn which is exciting to see.
What challenges did you face moving from government to the private sector?
I love to work at speed. The speed at which decisions—from entire project and campaign pivots—are executed is staggering, but one of the key reasons I wanted to move back to the private sector. What I relished working in the public sector was the sense of purpose, and ‘making a difference’ in the community. At Montu I’m in a role that combines both the speed and innovation with true vocation, is incredible. The reason I get out of bed every day is: the fundamental belief I have in what we do across patient advocacy, accessibility, and fighting for social change to combat stigma and discrimination.
Tell me about the Alternaleaf and Dolphins partnership, the so-called ‘Tape Gate’. What was the PR strategy for this? How was the partnership shaped? And what have you learned so far from the campaign?
This unfortunately, wasn’t our doing. The incident was not organised or controlled by us. The taping over of the Alternaleaf logo was at the direction of the NRL, and was only notable as it came about with short notice ahead of the game in question. For the launch announcement, the PR approach for the Dolphins NRL partnership was to align our mutual values for community wellbeing. We secured a Channel 9 primetime TV slot, which was picked up by all major outlets and syndicated across Australia. It’s newsworthy for the fact it was a world-first for an organisation like ours to sponsor a high-profile sports team. One of the key factors we reinforced in this campaign was alignment on perspective and messaging. I know I speak on behalf of the broader Montu team when I say how much of a privilege it is to have a great relationship with the Dolphins NRL team. The way we communicated and worked together through the ambiguity of the partnership was immensely rewarding.
What are some of the corporate and consumer PR challenges that a medical cannabis company like Alternaleaf faces in the Aussie market?
The fact we operate in the most highly regulated industry in Australia, and the frameworks and guidelines which underpin what we can say and do are all comparatively new, but none of that part of the challenge is surprising. The surprise is around ‘copycat’ brands that regularly lift messaging, terminology, and even our branding. Regardless of this, we continue forging ahead, leading by action rather than lip service when it comes to patient rights, positive outcomes and advocacy.
What’s next on the horizon for Montu and Alternaleaf?
We’re continuing our work to shape the industry narrative and leading by example when it comes to advocating for change at the highest levels of government. We have phenomenal talent (with whom I have the privilege to work) and continue to grow our teams and diversify the ways in which we represent our industry. We look forward to becoming even more visible, more vocal, and more present across mainstream discussions both within and beyond the media landscape. You’ll just have to tune in and see what’s next!
What exciting development in the industry (advertising, marketing, media) are you looking forward to in the coming year?
The increasing integration of traditionally tangential aspects of the marketing industry into PR. The industry is shifting away from splashy, guerilla-style campaigns and becoming considered, deliberate, and data-led to build brand trust, credibility and advocacy. I’m excited about the continued rise of gamification, leveraging the convergence of social User Generated Content (UGC) with news and announcements. Clever, cross-brand collaborations are on the horizon. Lastly, Montu and Alternaleaf are planning in-person activations and events in a post-Covid world. Reconnecting with our community is critically important and I can only hope it will continue through the coming year and beyond.
