40 Under 40 2024: Shannen Lois Dillian Uy, Spark It

Shannen Lois Dillian Uy

Managing director
Spark It
Philippines 

Shannen Lois Dillian Uy became a managing director at the ripe age of 30 but it didn’t come with ease. Having joined Spark It, a Philippines-based PR agency, over seven years ago, she was one of the agency’s pioneering members and used the opportunity to contribute to the company’s rise to what’s now a household name.

Currently, she oversees strategy-driven PR and influencer campaigns for a healthy roster of top-tier MNC clients, including Lazada, Watsons, Reckitt, Unilab, Samsung and Starbucks. Being a small agency of 60, Uy often rolls up her sleeves to drive lead generation and secure critical wins via pitches. The agency has also cultivated a string of local influencers—Mimiyuuuh, Brigiding, Viñas DeLuxe, the Barrettos, and Sam YG—who have become synonymous with Spark It’s success.

Uy has not only contributed to YOY growth for the agency—48% in the previous year to be precise—she’s also maintained long-term relationships with key clients like Samsung and Watsons and maintained a retention rate of 80%. The company’s performance at Campaign’s own PR Awards Asia has also been inspiring with Lazada’s Laz Beauty 100 Experiments campaign picking up a Gold in 2023 for Best PR campaign in the Beauty & Wellness category. She was also nominated for Young PR Professional of the Year in the same awards.

To allow for more progressive methods of measurement, Uy conceptualised a new system that would leverage data-driven insights and consumer truths at a time when many agencies were still using vanity metrics. Using markers such as reach, awareness and cost-efficiency, Spark It’s clients were able to access campaign performance accurately.

Outside of the agency, Uy is a founding member of the Creator and Influencer Council of the Philippines (CICP), where training and projects are offered to members with the aim of elevating the local industry. It’s evident that her care for the industry’s growth goes beyond the confines of Spark It as she’s helping to standardise influencer marketing metrics in the Philippines by initiating a project to release key case studies. If successful, this could eliminate vanity metrics nationwide which often discredit clients and creators alike.