About
“Don’t Panic!” is on the cover of my favourite fictional guide to the universe, and I rely on this motto daily in my dynamic role as Creative Strategist & B2B Channel Lead at TikTok in London, where I oversee and drive the strategy, creation, and management of B2B communication channels and social media platforms, ensuring a cohesive brand presence for one of the fastest-growing global e-commerce platforms. Before TikTok, I started and led the social media team at Our Grandfather Story, and earned my stripes at TBWA\ Singapore, Ogilvy, Shell, Singapore’s National Heritage Board, and more.​
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References can be found below, or on linkedin.com/in/kimberlyholilin.
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In my free time, I make memes to a semi-viral degree, play the clarinet with the ironically named Not A Clarinet Choir, sew new additions to my wardrobe to combat fast fashion, and do modern hand embroidery with the collective I co-founded, We Told You Sew. I also volunteer my time with Access Singapore, providing career exposure opportunities to disadvantaged youth in Singapore. I most recently sewed my own wedding dress, which will soon be featured on Vogue Singapore.
Education
Rhode Island School of Design
2018
Summer Institute for Graphic Design
Nanyang Technological University
2014 - 2018
BA (Honours) in Sociology
Minor in Creative Writing
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Notable Leadership Positions:
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Creative Director, School of Humanities and Social Sciences Student Council
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President, Fine Arts Production, Hall of Residence 8
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Editor, Hall of Residence 8 Magazine
Ngee Ann Polytechnic
2011 - 2014
Diploma in Mass Communication
Diploma Plus in Business
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Notable Leadership Positions:
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Welfare I/C, Ngee Ann Polytechnic Concert Band
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Student Leader, RED Camp
Skills
Copywriting
Social Media Strategy
Graphic Design and
Data Visualisation
Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator
Video Editing
Adobe Premiere Pro
Layout Design
Adobe InDesign
What Else?
We Told You Sew
Co-Founder
Access Singapore
Communications & Design Consultant
Not A Clarinet Choir
Creative Lead
Work
Creative Strategist & B2B Channel Lead
TikTok
Jul 2023 - Present
At TikTok's e-commerce division, TikTok Shop, I oversee and drive the strategy, creation, and management of B2B communication channels and social media platforms, ensuring a cohesive brand presence for one of the fastest-growing global e-commerce platforms. I manage a team of content creators and collaborate cross-functionally with teams across marketing, governance, logistics, and more, to deliver impactful, results-driven content.
Notable Achievements:
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Revamped Social Media Strategy: Achieved a 3.4x (185.6%) increase in engagement and a 5x growth in followers for the TikTok Shop merchant communications channel within 6 months through a reimagined content strategy.
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TikTok Shop Academy Walkthroughs: Launched 5 new educational series for TikTok Shop merchants, replacing outdated content with clear, digestible guides. These were also adapted for YouTube, broadening our outreach and improving merchant onboarding.
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EU Market Expansion: Played a key role in the creation and coordination of assets for the TikTok Shop EU launch campaign, collaborating with external agencies to support the platform’s expansion and drive seller acquisition.
Social Media Lead
Our Grandfather Story
Aug 2020 - Jan 2023
OGS focuses on authentic storytelling for Singapore and Southeast Asia, telling all kinds of stories from those for multi-national brands to the everyday individual. I built up a team of 7 from scratch, and now lead a team of content creators and social media executives to produce engaging organic & paid content across our social media pages, across Tiktok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
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I also co-host Something Private Podcast – one of Asia’s leading women’s podcasts, uncovering topics around identity, health, and community – with my colleague, Nicole.
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Notable achievements:
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Spearheading the social media strategy across new series launches, with more than 1.2 million views across each series (Series: Agree to Disagree; Eat The World; If This Isn’t Love)
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Written and directed several viral Tiktok videos which have garnered more than 300k views, leading to more than 50K followers across all Tiktok Channels
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Designed and led the strategy for OGS’ Instagram account, increasing follower interaction by 50% and surpassing 100k followers in 12 months
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Overseeing the tone of voice and copywriting of all content produced by Our Grandfather Story
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Successfully managed social media advertising campaigns across multiple platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, monitoring and optimizing performance metrics to drive engagement and reach
Clients:
Micron, Abbott Singapore, Wildlife Reserves Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board, Great Eastern, National Library Board
Content Creator
TBWA\ Singapore
Aug 2018 - Aug 2020​
As a hybrid content creator skilled in both art and copy, I conceptualised and crafted thumb-stopping content for digital platforms. This included weekly social content, creative briefs, insights and triggers, and more. I also ideated and wrote copy for larger advertising campaigns, including a brand film for Singapore Tourism Board.
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Awards:
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Silver, Most Creative, Social Media – MARKies AWARDS 2020
Client: Singapore Tourism Board
Campaign: Always On, Always Hungry -
2 Golds, 1 Silver – Marketing Excellence Awards 2019
Client: Manulife
Campaign: Museum of Claims
Notable Achievements:
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Ideated and executed viral posts on IKEA and Singapore Tourism Board Facebook Pages
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Clients:
IKEA, Tic Tac, Singapore Tourism Board, Standard Chartered, Singapore Airlines
Art Director (Intern)
Blak Labs
May - Aug 2016
Blak Labs is a creative micro-agency that specialises in collaboration, co-creation and creative care. We work in film, print, digital, outdoor, activation, experiential and even word of mouth.
As an art direction intern, my duties included:
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Conceptualising ideas and campaigns for the various client briefs
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Art direction - designing and creating layouts for advertisements, branding and promotional items materials for both above and below the line communications
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Mock-up tasks for client presentations
At Blak Labs, I was also given the opportunity to try my hand at copywriting for a handful of projects.
Clients:
DBS Bank, Maybank, TANGS (C.K. Tang Limited), Singapore Institute of Technology, Nestle MAGGI (Myanmar), Oramin-C (Myanmar)
Technology & Innovation Account Assistant (Intern)
Ogilvy Public Relations
May - Aug 2015
As a part of the Technology and Innovation team, my duties included:
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Daily media monitoring of client and relevant industry news
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Drafting materials such as press releases, media invites, pitch notes, etc.
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Strategic planning and brainstorming for story ideas
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Pitching to and following-up with the media, disseminating of press releases
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Scheduling, facilitating and attending of media interviews and briefing sessions
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Assisting in logistics and planning for client events
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Generating monthly/wrap-up media reports for clients
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Day-to-day liaising with clients, media and affiliates
Clients:
Canon, Twitter Singapore, Twitter Asia Pacific, WeChat International, Jawbone, Blackberry
Project Officer
National Heritage Board (Singapore)
Apr - Jul 2014
As a part of the Partnerships Division, my duties mainly revolved around the "Made in Singapore Preview Exhibition". This included:
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External and Internal promotion of the Exhibition
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Contacting and liaising with media
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Contacting and liaising with local brands such as Asia Pacific Breweries, RISIS and Khong Guan
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Collecting media clippings which featured the Exhibition
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Assisting in the logistics and planning of media events
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Assisting in the drafting and dissemination of media invites and press releases
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Assisting in the selection and curation of items for the Exhibition
Full list of brands included in the Exhibition:
Setron, Rollei, Axe Brand Medicated Oil, Chop Wah On, Tiger Balm, Three Legs Cooling Water, Khong Guan Biscuits, Boncafe, Tiger Brand Soya Sauce, Amoy Canning, Tiger Beer, Heng Long Leather, Kwanpen, Crocodile Apparel, Bibi & Baba, Diethelm Furniture, UIC Detergent, Blue Box Toys, Risis, Perfumes of Singapore
Communications Assistant (Intern)
Shell
Feb - Aug 2013
As a part of the External Affairs and Communications Department, I had duties in both internal and external communications for Shell.
Under internal communications, my duties included:
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Assisting in the logistics and planning of internal events, such as Townhall Meetings and Business Sharing Sessions
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Writing for the weekly internal newsletter
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Administrating the Shell Singapore staff intranet
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Assisting in country-wide communications
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Copywriting and designing posters and other collaterals
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Facilitating internal campaigns and competitions
Under external communications, my duties included:
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Assisting in the logistics and planning of external events, such as the Shell-IPS New Lens Scenario Public Lecture, and Shell Chemicals Groundbreaking Ceremony (An infographic I designed for the Shell Chemicals Groundbreaking Ceremony was picked up by The Straits Times and other local media)
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Assisting in Social Investment Activities (Corporate Social Responsibility) such as the Shell Eco-Marathon
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Managing the Shell Public Email
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Attending Crisis Communication training
Selected References
To see all the kind words my past co-workers have shared, please head to my LinkedIn page.
Video Journalist, Producer, and Host
Nicole and I worked together while at Our Grandfather Story
Kimberly is easily one of the most competent individuals I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. Having joined Our Grandfather Story at a pivotal time in the company’s growth, she quickly found her footing in her role as our social media lead, laying the foundation for many aspects of the organisation.
Her strength in design and communication saw the growth of our social media pages like Instagram and TikTok. She also single-handedly grew and groomed a team of talented social media executives under her. In all the projects we’ve worked on together, I’m constantly impressed by the quality of work and ideas she puts forth, which I know is attributed to her ambition, drive and passion for her work.
One extremely valuable thing Kimberly brought to our company that cannot easily be replaced is her energy. She is sharp, reliable, dedicated, and also an empathetic and reasonable leader. Good company culture is crucial for a company to flourish, and Kim is someone who naturally has the ability to rally and inspire people to do better.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that Kimberly is a key player in shaping the success that is Our Grandfather Story today, and I’m extremely proud to have had the chance to work alongside such a bright individual.
Associate Creative Director, Copywriter
I hope Kimberly learnt some things from me, because I definitely learnt things from her. Despite being relatively junior, she is knowledgeable beyond her years. She lives and breathes trends, pop culture, and shows natural creative flair, be it in her work or personal projects (like her embroidery projects). Over time she has also demonstrated a good attitude and great tenacity at work. For example, writing and re-writing the same piece of copy for an interminable number of rounds, and always showing a willingness to improve it.
Another thing - she is great with people, and gets along with everyone. I think she is perceptive and gets human beings. Every time I meet a young and capable person like Kimberly, I always hope for the same thing – that they might hire me in future.
Yuanheng and I worked together while at TBWA\ Singapore
Executive Director, Communications,
Asia Pacific
Vanessa and I worked together while at Shell
Kimberly was with the Shell Singapore communications team for 6 months, while a student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic. Kimberly had no trouble fitting in quickly into the team and was highly regarded by everyone. She was able to make good contributions early into her student attachment. She is very bright and has lots of initiative. We could trust her to deliver her work independently and to a high standard. She was also able to hold her own with others, including other staff and vendors. A major highlight was when she drafted an infographic to be used for the groundbreaking ceremony of a new chemicals plant, using a brief that we provided. Her draft was the basis and the core of which our own Production team in the Hague used for the final version (only slight tweaks were made). This infographic was used in all our collaterals and was very well received by all parties. It was even used by the Straits Times in their coverage of our groundbreaking ceremony.
Kimberly will be an asset to anyone who hires her. I would definitely welcome her back to Shell, should she wish to apply.