UGC creator, creative strategist and social media director. Singapore and the US.
I'm 33, I split my time between Singapore and the US, and I make ads for brands. Usually I'm the one in them. I've been on camera for about three years. Before that I spent ten years in digital marketing, including a few as marketing manager at the NBA, so I've also been the person writing the brief and checking afterwards whether the thing actually sold anything.
At home it's me, my wife, and our two year old son, with a daughter on the way. We've also got two cats, Luna and Solar, who end up in the background of more shoots than they should. I mention all of this because most of what I film is aimed at households like mine, and it helps to actually be one. When a brand asks me to talk about a router that keeps dropping, or a diffuser that has to be safe around a toddler and two cats, I'm not acting.
I shoot across most niches: finance, men's health, home tech, coffee, oral care, home fragrance, immigration, retail. If you can brief it, I've probably filmed something close to it, and if I haven't I'll tell you that too.
Brands I've worked with
I also shoot regularly for a financial advisory, an immigration consultancy and an SME lending platform in Singapore. Those three asked to stay unbranded, so their work is below without a name on it.
The work
Tap any video to play it with sound. Nearly every concept here was shot as three different hooks so the brand could test them against each other, so what you're seeing is one cut from each. Use the filters if you only want to see a particular category.
Before the camera
I was marketing manager at the NBA, running social across Australia and Indonesia, and later led social for Antom's UEFA EURO 2024 sponsorship as their in-house social lead. So I've sat in the meeting where someone says the creative isn't working, and I've had to go and figure out why.
What that means for you in practice: I'll read your brief and tell you what I think the hook is doing, I'll offer a couple of angles you might not have considered, and I won't be precious if you want to change all of it. I can also read your ad account results and cut the next round from what's actually performing, if that's useful.
Social media lead, Antom
A new brand with almost no social presence and no historical data to work from, activating as official payment partner of the Euros. Built the platform strategy from scratch across LinkedIn, Meta, YouTube and X, including the Gareth Bale campaign and the ticket sweepstakes.
Source: shinsocials.com case studies
Marketing manager, NBA
Two markets where generic highlight content was not landing. Built a separate approach for each: cross-sport athlete collaborations in Australia, and mega influencers across lifestyle, gaming, fashion and music in Indonesia.
Source: shinsocials.com case studies
Customers
"We have used Shin across almost all our clients and he has consistently been one of our top creators. Personable, executes the brief to a T, and most importantly, his ads consistently convert the best. Whenever we know we need an ad that will crush and impress a client, we work with Shin!"
"His sports marketing experience was instrumental, meaning he could quickly onboard and digest the sponsorship entitlements and ICP, processing them into a cohesive social plan. He took ownership of our social media strategy and execution, aligning the brand positioning for the tournament with the energy of the Euros. He had a few man of the match performances on the social accounts in his time here."
"Shin understood the product before he got on camera. He asked more about how the diffuser actually works, and whether it was safe around pets, than most people bother to, and you can tell in the cut we ended up running. He got the video done in less than two days. Super efficient and friendly. He edits extremely well as well, which is a bonus if you don't have an in house editor!"
"Ours is a sensitive category and a lot of creators either overplay it or get uncomfortable. Shin handled it like a normal conversation, which is exactly what we needed. He came highly recommended, was straightforward to work with, and super quick on turnarounds."
How I work
Get in touch
Send me an email with what you're running now and what you want to test against it, and I'll come back with the angles I think are worth shooting and what it would cost. Rate card on request, with usage and exclusivity priced separately so you only pay for what you need.
shinhen.takhel@gmail.com