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From ambitious start-ups to established names, one in-house team turns creative into customers.
TRUSTED BY NZ BRANDS
Join the businesses already seeing real results with Refined
UGC content NZ
UGC content is creator-style, phone-shot video that looks like it came from a customer, not a brand. Refined scripts it around strong hooks, films and edits it in-house in Auckland, and delivers variations ready to test on Meta and TikTok, measured on return on ad spend.
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WHY REFINED
A growth team with a production studio inside it.
We started Refined because businesses kept being sold the same recycled packages by agencies they never actually spoke to. So we built the opposite: a Kiwi-owned team in Grey Lynn where the strategists, media buyers, developers, shooters and editors sit together, and you talk to all of them.
Everything in-house
Strategy, film, photo, websites and paid media from one team. Creative is built around what the data says, not handed over by a separate studio.
Direct access
You work with the people doing the work. No account managers passing messages along.
Bespoke, not packaged
Every plan is scoped to your market and margins. If a channel will not pay its way for you, we say so before you spend.
Reported live
Enquiries, orders and return on spend in Refined Analytics as they happen, with a weekly report that says what we did and what we are changing next.
LET'S TALK UGC
Ready for ads that look like content and sell like ads?
Request a free UGC strategy. We will look at your products, reviews and current ads and tell you honestly which concepts to test first.
How we report
You always know what is happening, and why.
No black box and no monthly PDF that arrives too late to act on. Refined Analytics shows spend, return by ad, orders and revenue as they happen, and you hear from the people doing the work.
Refined Analytics
One live dashboard across UGC, ads, search, email and site, tied to revenue rather than views.
Tracking done first
Server-side tracking and conversion APIs set up before campaigns go live, so the numbers can be trusted.
Direct line
Your strategist, media buyer and producer are the people on the call, not an account manager relaying notes.
Reporting cadence
Live
Always on
Refined Analytics dashboard
Spend, enquiries, orders, return by channel and campaign
Weekly
Performance report
What moved, what we changed, what is being tested next
Monthly
Review call
Results against plan, creative review, budget decisions
Quarterly
Roadmap reset
Priorities for the next quarter, new channels, new shoots
Measured on revenue · Reported by the people doing the work
FAQ
UGC content questions, answered straight
What New Zealand brands ask us before starting a UGC ad programme.
What is UGC content?
UGC (user-generated content) is content made by customers or creators rather than by the brand itself. UGC-style ads recreate that look and feel: phone-shot, talking to camera, natural and unpolished. Our UGC-style videos are scripted, filmed and edited by Refined, so they are produced ad content, not organic posts from your customers.
Why do UGC-style ads work so well?
They look like the content people already watch from friends and creators, so they feel less like an interruption. A strong hook in the opening seconds, a relatable person and a clear reason to buy suit Meta and TikTok feeds well. Results still depend on your product, offer and testing, so we treat every ad as something to learn from.
Do you provide the creators, and do we need to send you products?
We can arrange creators or on-camera talent to suit your brand and audience as part of a project, or film with you and your team if you prefer. For product-based ads we need the product in hand to film unboxings and demos, and we agree samples and logistics with you during planning.
What is the difference between UGC and influencer marketing?
Influencer marketing pays a creator to post to their own audience, so you are mainly buying their reach. UGC-style ads are made for you to run from your own ad accounts, so you control the targeting, budget and testing. Many brands use both, but UGC ads are built for ongoing performance testing rather than one-off posts.
Can UGC ads run on Meta and TikTok?
Yes. We film and edit in vertical formats that suit Facebook and Instagram Reels and Stories as well as TikTok, with captions for sound-off viewing. If we also run your Meta ads, the creative and the campaign testing are planned together.
Can you use our real customer reviews in the scripts?
Yes, and they are one of the best sources for scripts because they show the words, objections and results your customers actually talk about. We base scripts on reviews you have the right to use and keep every claim accurate. We never present a scripted creator as a real customer.
How many variations of each ad do we get?
The number of variations is agreed in your plan, based on your budget and how much testing your ad spend can support. Concepts are delivered with different hooks so the platforms can find the strongest opening, and winners shape the next round of creative.
What is a UGC creator?
A UGC creator is someone paid to make content in the style of a real customer, such as unboxings, demos, reviews and talking-to-camera videos, for a brand to use in its own ads and social channels. Unlike an influencer, a UGC creator is not hired for their audience, so the content runs from the brand's accounts, not theirs.
How much does UGC content cost in New Zealand?
It depends on how many concepts and hook variations you need, whether creators or on-camera talent are arranged or your own team is filmed, product samples and logistics, and how often you want fresh creative. We quote before anything is filmed, so you know what is included upfront.
What does a UGC agency do?
A UGC agency turns customer research into ad concepts, writes the scripts and hooks, arranges creators or talent, then directs and edits the videos for each platform. Refined also runs the Meta and TikTok campaigns, so every hook is tested and judged on the return it earns, not the views it gets.
Measured onReturn on ad spend, not views
OwnershipKiwi-owned and operated
StudioGrey Lynn, Auckland
ReportingLive in Refined Analytics
The problem
Most UGC is bought as a batch of clips and judged on nothing.
New Zealand brands pay creators for a handful of videos, run them once and never learn which hook sold. Here is what usually goes wrong, and how we run it differently.
What usually goes wrong
- –Creators briefed on the product, not on the customer's objection
- –One hook per concept, so the platform has nothing to test
- –Scripts that overclaim and get ads rejected or trust lost
- –Content that lands in a folder, never in a structured test
- –No link between the video and the orders it produced
What we do instead
- ✓Research reviews and objections before a word is scripted
- ✓Write several hooks per concept and film them all
- ✓Keep every claim accurate and every creator clearly a creator
- ✓Launch in a structured Meta and TikTok test we run ourselves
- ✓Track return on spend by ad in Refined Analytics
Selected work
Creator-style content that feels native.
Real homes, real customers and phone-first edits built to sit naturally in the feed. Tap any film to watch it with sound.
3x
Proferlo online revenue growth after 60 days
UGC + shoots
Creator content, professional social shoots and always-on posts
Watch
Watch
WatchWhat is included
Everything a UGC ad programme needs, from creators to testing.
Research, scripts, creators, filming, editing and the ad testing itself sit in one Grey Lynn studio, so creative and performance are planned together.
Research and hooks
Product, audience and customer-review research turned into scripts with multiple hook variations.
Testimonial, unboxing and demo formats
Problem-solution, unboxing, demo and testimonial-style concepts matched to your product and offer.
Creators and talent
Creators or on-camera talent arranged to suit your brand and audience, or filmed with your own team.
Phone-style filming and editing
Shot and cut to feel native in a feed, vertical, with captions for sound-off viewing.
Meta and TikTok ad testing
We run the campaigns, so hooks and concepts are tested in a structure that finds the winners.
Refresh and iterate
Winning hooks become the next round of concepts, so your creative keeps improving.
How it works
Six steps from customer reviews to ads that pay.
The same framework on every UGC programme, scoped to your product, offer and ad budget. Nothing is filmed without a test plan.
01
Research
Your product, audience, reviews and objections, mined for the words customers actually use.
02
Scripts and hooks
Concepts and formats chosen, then scripts written with several hook variations each, approved by you.
03
Creators
Creators or talent arranged to suit your brand, with products and logistics agreed for demos and unboxings.
04
Shoot
Phone-native filming that feels like the content people already watch, directed for natural delivery.
05
Edit
Vertical, captioned, ad-ready edits with each hook variation exported for Meta and TikTok.
06
Test and refresh
Launched in a structured test, tracked by ad in Refined Analytics, with winners informing the next round.
What it costs
Priced on concepts and variations. Quoted before anything is filmed.
No packages and no surprises. Your quote is built from how many concepts and hook variations you need, whether creators are involved and how often you want fresh creative, so you know what is included upfront.
Request a strategyConcepts and variations
How many concepts and how many hooks per concept your ad spend can usefully test.
Creators and talent
Whether creators or on-camera talent are arranged, or your own team is filmed.
Products and logistics
Samples, shipping and set-up for unboxings and demos.
Refresh cadence
How often you want new creative to keep ads fresh as audiences tire of them.
“Blown away. We did not expect the quality to be that good.”
Gorran Marusich, Managing Director, Kiwi Sheepskins
Read the case study“Refined took our business to the next level. Their ability to orchestrate content, performance and strategy simultaneously in one unified approach is exactly what modern marketing should look like.”
Allen Li, Director, Proferlo Furniture
Read the case studyUGC-style ads in New Zealand
What good UGC content looks like for a New Zealand brand.
UGC-style ads work because they look like the content people already watch: a person talking to a phone, a box being opened, a problem being solved on a kitchen bench. They feel less like an interruption, so they earn attention a polished advert cannot. But the format is only half the job. The other half is the hook, the script, the testing structure and the accuracy of every claim. Refined makes UGC-style ads from a growth agency in Auckland, so the research, the creative and the Meta and TikTok campaigns are run by the same people and measured on return on ad spend.
Start with the customer's words
The best UGC scripts are not written, they are found. We read your reviews, support emails and comments to find the objections customers raise, the words they use to describe the product and the moments they talk about. Those become the hooks. A script built on a real objection, answered honestly in the customer's language, outperforms one built on a brand message almost every time. We base scripts on reviews you have the right to use, keep every claim accurate and never present a scripted creator as a real customer.
Several hooks, one concept
Meta and TikTok decide very quickly whether a video is worth showing, and the opening seconds decide it. So every concept is filmed with several hooks: a question, a bold claim, a visual, a problem statement. Same body, different openings. That gives the platforms something to test and gives you evidence about what your audience responds to. Winning hooks become the starting point for the next round, so the creative compounds rather than resets.
Creators who feel real because the direction is
We arrange creators or on-camera talent to suit your brand and audience, or film with you and your team if that is more honest for the product. Filming is phone-native and directed for natural delivery, not performance. Proferlo Furniture's UGC-style ads were built this way, alongside lifestyle content, paid media and search in one programme, and the business saw 3x online revenue growth after 60 days. Kiwi Sheepskins paired creator-style social content with a lifestyle and product shoot.
Tested, not posted
UGC content that lands in a shared folder has done nothing yet. Because Refined runs your Meta and TikTok campaigns, every concept and hook is launched in a structured test with budgets, audiences and placements planned alongside the creative. Captions are on, formats are vertical, and each variation is tracked by ad so we know which hook, which creator and which format earned the return, not just which one got views.
Refreshed on evidence, reported live
Ads tire as the same people see them repeatedly, so a UGC programme is a cadence rather than a project. The results of each round are visible in Refined Analytics as they happen, and they shape the next round: more of the hooks that converted, new concepts for the objections that are still costing sales, and retired creative before it drags the account down. You see the return by ad, and the next brief is written on that evidence. If you do not get results, you do not pay.
Selected work
Creator-style content we have made for New Zealand brands.
Proferlo Furniture — UGC-style ad
Kiwi Sheepskins — social content
Proferlo Furniture — creator-style content
On set — Refined crew
Kiwi Sheepskins — lifestyle content