Building the Creative System Behind KOHO’s Next Chapter

4 -5 min read

KOHO is entering a stage where creative needs to work less like a service department and more like an integrated growth engine. A leaner, smarter, AI-enabled company needs a creative system that can connect brand, product, growth, lifecycle, content, social, events, and advertising without losing clarity.

I’m a creative and brand marketing leader who brings strategy, storytelling, design, campaigns, and customer experience together under one clear creative direction. My work sits at the intersection of creativity and business: developing the idea, building the system around it, aligning the people responsible for bringing it to life, and staying close enough to the work to protect its quality.

This page is a quick look at how I think about creative leadership, AI-enabled workflows, brand building, and business impact in a role like Executive Creative Director at KOHO.

Why KOHO

Financial services are emotional. People are not just choosing an app or a card. They are choosing who they trust with their money, habits, goals, and future.

KOHO already has a clear mission: make financial services better for every Canadian. The opportunity now is to turn that mission into a connected creative system across campaigns, product storytelling, lifecycle, content, social, events, and advertising.

That is what makes this role exciting to me: the chance to help build the creative engine behind KOHO’s next stage of growth.

What I Bring to KOHO

Creative leadership with business context

I bring the perspective of a creative and brand marketing leader, not just a designer. My work connects brand, campaigns, product storytelling, content, customer experience, and growth goals into one clear creative direction.

Experience building flexible creative teams

Running my own design and marketing agency has taught me how to build the right team around the work. I have hired and managed copywriters, photographers, videographers, producers, designers, and creative partners based on the needs of each project.

AI-native creative direction

I actively use AI as part of my creative process for strategy, ideation, writing, research, workflow design, and campaign development. My point of view is simple: AI should not make teams feel replaceable. It should make them more capable.

A player/coach approach

I can lead the vision, direct the team, and stay close to the work. I am comfortable shaping the strategy, giving creative feedback, building the system, and jumping into concepts, copy, design, or production when the work needs it.

Integrated campaign thinking

I think in systems, not one-off assets. Whether it is a brand campaign, product launch, event, video series, or social concept, I look at how the idea carries across channels and how each touchpoint supports the larger business goal.

Selected Work

Gumloop: AI-Native Creative Direction

A speculative creative direction for an AI company built around one belief: AI should not make people feel replaceable. It should make them feel more capable.

The work explored how an AI brand could feel more human, cultural, and memorable through campaign strategy, visual direction, messaging, experiential ideas, social content, and brand-world building.

Unpack the Gumloop Project

Lululemon: City Sweat Pop-Ups

A campaign concept designed to launch a new collection by bringing workout experiences into the city.

The idea turned everyday commuters and pedestrians into participants, outfitting them in the new collection and capturing raw moments of movement, confidence, and expression for a digital campaign powered by an IRL activation.

Unpack the Lululemon Project

Foley Dog Treat Company: Brand, Growth, and Product Marketing

An ongoing brand and marketing leadership role across product development, packaging, campaigns, ecommerce, retail support, email, content, and customer experience.

The work helped grow the company from a regional dog treat brand into a stronger national retail and direct-to-consumer business, with revenue growing approximately 3x and DTC sales increasing year over year.

Unpack the Foley Dog Project

Arazy Group: B2B SaaS, CRM, and Product Storytelling

Supported brand, content, CRM, landing pages, and growth initiatives for a SaaS company in the regulatory and medical device compliance space.

The work helped turn complex regulatory information into clearer customer-facing content across newsletters, landing pages, webinars, sales assets, HubSpot workflows, lead capture, and campaign operations.

Unpack the Arazy Group Project

How I Would Build the Creative Studio

A strong in-house creative studio needs more than talent. It needs a clear operating system.

At KOHO, I would focus on building the creative function around a few simple principles:

  • Clear briefs.

  • Sharp creative standards.

  • Fast, useful feedback.

  • Strong collaboration with growth, product, lifecycle, and product marketing.

  • AI-enabled workflows that help the team move faster without flattening the idea.

  • A flexible mix of in-house talent and external partners when the work needs more depth or speed.

  • Creative that stays connected to business outcomes like trust, awareness, acquisition, retention, product adoption, and long-term brand strength.

The best creative teams know how to move quickly without losing the idea. That is the kind of studio I would want to help build at KOHO.

  • I would start by listening closely.

    The first priority would be to understand KOHO’s business goals, creative team structure, current workflows, brand strengths, customer insights, product roadmap, and growth priorities.

    From there, I would focus on clarifying the creative vision, building the operating system, and connecting creative to impact.

    That means defining what great creative looks like for KOHO across brand, growth, product, content, lifecycle, social, events, and advertising. It also means establishing clearer briefs, review cadences, feedback standards, production workflows, AI-enabled processes, and ways of working with internal teams and external partners.

    The goal would be simple: help KOHO build a creative studio that moves quickly, thinks clearly, raises the standard, and makes the mission more visible across every customer touchpoint.

Let’s Build What Comes Next

KOHO is at the kind of stage where creative can become a real advantage: clearer storytelling, stronger systems, faster execution, and a brand that people trust, remember, and want to be part of.

That is the kind of creative organization I would be excited to help build.

Moe Akbar

Creative and Brand Marketing Leader

Vancouver, BC

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/moeakbar

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  • Over 10 years of industry experience.

  • Led marketing campaigns across national and international markets, driving measurable growth and visibility.

  • Supported the launch of multiple startups.

  • Advised on technology, marketing, and design through various board positions.

  • Partnered with non-profits to drive impactful fundraising campaigns.

  • Graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration, concentrated in Marketing.

  • Based in Canada, working remotely with clients and teams around the world.

  • Fluent in English and Arabic.

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Not everything fits in a portfolio.

The Creative Log is where I share the other side of what I do: the thoughts, sketches, experiments, and stories that don’t always fit into neat categories. It’s a space for behind-the-scenes moments, creative process, personal projects, and whatever I’m exploring lately.

@ creativelogstudio

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