Welcome to the first instalment of #HumansofAKIN, where we shine the spotlight on our AKIN fam! From personal hobbies to professional accomplishments, we'll share the stories and insights that make them stand out.
We're thrilled to kick off this series with Wei Shern, our Content Lead who brings a wealth of industry knowledge and experience to the table. From his unique quirks to his charming personality, Wei Shern is a fascinating person to get to know. Join us as we delve into his role at AKIN and discover more about him on a personal level!
Who is Wei Shern?
1. Could you give us a short introduction of yourself?
Hey there, I’m Wei Shern and I’m all about branding and advertising. When I’m not at work, you can usually find me doing a few things I enjoy - like playing a game of mahjong (oops! can I say this?), getting in a good sweat with a workout, finding any excuse to avoid the sun while grabbing lunch, or catching up on some anime! I'm also a bit of a casual gamer and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is hands down the best game in my opinion. And of course, I love cuddling with my cat.
2. What do you enjoy most about your job and why?
I enjoy the part where my teammates and I get together to brainstorm creative ideas. There’s something so rewarding about seeing an idea spring to life out of nowhere to solve a marketing or business problem for our clients.
3. What are your initial thoughts and challenge(s) when analysing a new project?
When analysing a new project, my initial thoughts will be to understand the brief and its objectives. Thereafter, I consider the branding or marketing challenges and nuances, which can help give me greater clarity of the situation and formulate my thoughts. In my experience, the hardest part is often coming up with solutions from the get go. However, I would still strive to provide the right solutions that best meet the project's objectives.
What are his perspectives on the real world?
1. What, in your opinion, are three effective strategies for building a successful brand?
Consistency in branding and visuals, having a clear sense of purpose with a well-defined mission and vision, and building a strong community with shared values are three qualities that are particularly important. This can help foster greater engagement among your audience, which is especially relevant and essential in today's context.
2. With ChatGPT's* growing prominence, what do you think will be the impacts on the consumer market?
Innovative ideas often come from the willingness to experiment and try new things, and exploring approaches to see what works best. With platforms like ChatGPT, there’s immense potential to open up a whole new world of possibilities. For example, integrating ChatGPT into a unified commerce chatbot could enhance the shopping experience by providing relevant replies and suggestions that are tailored to each individual customer. This, in turn, could help create a more personalised shopping experience. An area of challenge is the consideration of human intelligence and moral compass to nuance sensitive topics.
*ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence language model developed by OpenAI. It uses deep learning techniques to understand natural language and generate human-like responses to text-based questions or prompts.
Quick-fire questions!
1. What is your favourite thing to do in the office?
Going to the toilet to skive (kidding)! I feel taking mini breaks throughout the day helps me to be more productive.
2. Would you rather stay in a lodge up in the Swiss Alps or a penthouse in NYC?
Penthouse in NYC. I’ve always been more of a city person and I tend to gravitate towards the hustle and bustle of the city vibes.
3. Describe AKIN in three adjectives!
Authentic, empathetic and honourable.
Thanks for your responses, Wei Shern! Catch him in the office if you need some branding tips or talk to him about the latest episode of Bleach.
Keep an eye out for the next feature to discover more about the individuals who make up the AKIN fam.
Interview by Alexis Kong and Derick Ng.
