Rachel Abastillas

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Rachel Abastillas

Occupation	Digital strategist, brand storyteller, project manager
Based in	Los Angeles, California
Experience	8 years
Specialties	Organic social, paid social, influencer and creator partnerships, brand strategy, content development, events
Sectors	Lifestyle and hospitality, consumer goods, creators and entertainment, government and nonprofit
Known for	Paquito the Cat (2M+ followers);Delicious Times dinner series
Website	racheltortillas.com

Rachel Abastillas is a first-generation Filipina American digital strategist and brand storyteller based in Los Angeles. Over eight years, she has built social, influencer, and content strategies for luxury lifestyle brands, public sector clients, and a 2M+ follower creator brand, turning market insights into stories people want to follow.

Background

Rachel was raised between California, Saudi Arabia, and the Philippines. Growing up as a third-culture kid meant constantly figuring out how to belong in new places, which has fueled her passion for community building.

Career

Rachel started in research and editorial roles, including as a researcher for the Department of Homeland Security and a staff writer for 730DC. She pivoted into digital marketing in 2019 at Merrick Towle Creative, where she led social strategy for 30+ luxury lifestyle and hospitality brands, built 35+ platform playbooks across Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, managed nano- to macro-influencer partnerships, and planned brand events and local partnerships.

She currently serves as Manager of Digital Content at The Hatcher Group. There she leads a cross-functional team of 8 to 10 across digital, multimedia, and production, and owns editorial calendars, social guidelines, and integrated campaigns for high-profile public sector clients.

Outside the 9-to-5, she leads brand strategy and creative direction forPaquito the Cat, growing a pet account into a 2M+ follower lifestyle brand across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.

Approach

Rachel treats every brand as a community first to understand audience demographics and psychographics. Using market insights and best practices, Rachel builds informed editorial calendars and digital marketing campaigns to build an integrated and engaged audience. Her process starts with social listening and audience research, moves into platform-native creative briefs and playbooks, and closes the loop with monthly KPI reporting that feeds the next round of ideas.

With creators and influencers, she favors real, personal relationships over transactional briefs, which tends to produce content that feels organic rather than sponsored. She is just as comfortable translating technical, high-stakes material into approachable content as she is building buzz for a luxury lifestyle brand.

Selected work

Paquito the Cat: Brand strategy and creative direction for creator Andrea Sosa and her cat Paquito, growing a 2M+ audience from pet content into a lifestyle brand.
Wallace on Sunset: Agency work for Essex, growing Wallace on Sunset's social following and converting it into website traffic.
Federal Agency: Digital content and creative direction for integrated campaigns, from editorial calendars to social media guidelines.
Vía Volcán: Brand identity and packaging for Vía Volcán coffee, from label to social presence.

Community

Rachel founded and hosts Delicious Times, a Los Angeles dinner series that brings 15+ guests together each month, plus quarterly bake sales for bigger crowds. It doubles as her real-world lab for event planning, partnerships, and building community IRL.

Postcards

A frequent traveler, Rachel photographs beaches, deserts, cities, and everyday moments, from Guadeloupe and Costa Rica to Saudi Arabia, Morocco, India, and the Philippines. See the postcards.