Our Industry Profile takes a look at some of the professionals working across the advertising, adtech, marketing and media sector in Australia. It aims to shed light on the varying roles and companies across the buzzing industry.
Mikayla Hopkins: Head of Marketing at Tracksuit.
Time in current role:
I joined the Tracksuit family in late 2021, becoming employee number four! It was just me, the two co-founders (Connor and Matt), and our Head of Sales, Hamish. Fast forward three years, and I’m amazed at how much everyone has grown, both personally and professionally. I’ve learned more in these three years than the rest of my career combined. And what’s even more exciting? It feels like we’re still just getting started. The journey ahead is going to be something special.
How would you describe what the company does?
At Tracksuit, we make brand health tracking easy for marketers and agency leaders. Our platform helps them answer the big question: “Is what we’re doing actually working?” On the surface, we’re a brand health tracking SaaS platform. But what really makes us unique is our intuitive, beautifully designed interface, our affordable pricing, and our commitment to always-on tracking. We’re not just about the tech, though—we’re invested in building a community of marketers and agency leaders who think deeply about long-term brand growth and effectiveness. In other words, we’re here for the long game, not just the short win
What do you do day to day?
The startup life keeps things interesting—no two days are the same! One day I’m trying on Tracksuit merch samples (yes, we have comfy tracksuits), and the next, I’m deep in strategy sessions or giving media interviews. As Head of Marketing, I lead a team of 15 brilliant minds across brand, product marketing, and demand generation. I love being part of the strategic conversation, shaping our growth across Australia, New Zealand, the USA, and the UK. While we’re a B2B company, we carry ourselves with the energy and vibe of a B2C brand—and that’s very much by design
I’m also on the board of another SaaS company named aglow, who are leading the beauty membership movement. It’s exciting to be able to put my Tracksuit tracksuit to the side and apply my experience under another model and world-class team.
Define your job in one word:
Storyteller
I got into my industry because:
I’ve always been fascinated by the power of communication. The two-way relationship between a brand and its audience, the way a brand speaks to its audience, the impact it has, and how it can create lasting connections and a sense of identity —it all feels meaningful to me.
My background is in B2C ,working in the beer and beauty industry, but when the opportunity to apply those principles to a B2B SaaS company came up, I was tempted by the challenge. In the world of SaaS, there’s a lot of sameness. Tracksuit deliberately creates a brand experience that is different.
What’s the biggest challenge you face in your role?
Balancing stakeholder needs while driving growth can be tricky. But the real challenge is ensuring we never lose sight of the customer. At Tracksuit, marketing isn’t just about shiny campaigns; it’s about working cross-functionally with Customer Success and other teams to make sure our customers have an incredible experience that genuinely makes them smarter and that allows them to build long term sustainable success (for their companies and their careers).
What’s the biggest industry wide challenge you’d like to see tackled?
The continued shift towards short-term sales tactics, despite evidence showing this is the wrong approach. This "convert at all costs" mentality is really skewing things too far towards short-termism, which can devalue brands and hurt long-term commercial potential.
I can understand the pressures that are driving this - the immediate measurability and alignment with revenue goals that comes from things like Google and Facebook advertising is really alluring. It provides that direct response backbone that marketers need to communicate effectively with the C-suite.
But this doesn't have to be a binary choice between short-term and long-term. As Tom Roach eloquently argued, it's a false dichotomy. Marketers have two crucial jobs - converting today's demand and building tomorrow's. The key is finding the right balance between short-term wins and long-term brand equity.
It's a tricky balance to strike, for sure. There's a time and place for short-term tactics, but they can't come at the expense of nurturing that vital long-term brand strength
Who has been a great mentor to you and why?
Definitely my mum. Whenever I’m having a "menty B", she’s the one who calms me down and reminds me of the simple truth: we don’t always get to choose what happens to us, but we do get to choose how we react and show up. It’s her way of grounding me and putting things in perspective, and it works every time.
On the professional side, I have to shout out Emily Kramer from MKT1. She’s hands-down one of the best B2B marketers out there, and I’m incredibly lucky to have her in my corner. She keeps things simple and helps me stay focused on what matters most.
Words of advice for someone wanting a job like yours?
Get comfortable being uncomfortable. In a fast-growing startup, you’ll have days where you feel like you’ve got nothing under control, and others where you feel ‘in-flow’ and like you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.
If I wasn’t doing this for a living, I'd be:
I’d probably be a barista in a tiny seaside town in Italy. Preferably during off-season, on the coastline of Cinque Terre.
My philosophy is:
Stay ambitious, be kind and give more than you take. I always think about Maya Angelou's advice “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
My favourite advert is:
Hands down, the John Lewis Christmas ads get me every year (I’m not even based in a country where they show it, but I make sure to hunt it down and watch it). But, if we’re talking sheer creativity, Old Spice’s 'The Man Your Man Could Smell Like' was a game changer. It had everything—humour, a shirtless guy on a horse, and, most importantly, it actually sold soap.
Music and TV streaming habits: what do you subscribe to?
Spotify is my go-to. I put myself to bed with trashy, sugary conversations (I’m too embarrassed to mention the titles, so I’ll keep it blank) and true crime. As for TV, I tread lightly around Netflix and I’ll always watch anything released by HBO (or anything rated above 7.8 on IMDB).
Tell us one thing people at work don’t know about you?
I’m not sure! I honestly need to be a little more demure and keep some cards closer to my chest. My colleagues know everything. I’m not achieving ‘mysterious’. Like, ever.
In five years time I'll be:
Spending more time with my cats and my partner, hosting better dinner parties and building the world’s best brands.
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