The '+A' hot-shop platform is designed to be an "incubator and accelerator for creative startups" to encourage internal entrepreneurship, while at the same time attracting external talent to join, according to the president of Leo Digital Network, Dalton Zheng (郑晓东).
Leo Digital Network is affiliated with Leo Group (利欧股份), established in 2014 when three agencies refused to sell themselves to a conventional advertising network.
'Jimmy+Amber' will be the first such hot-shop to be inaugurated under the new concept. The 'Amber' in the venture is Amber Liu (刘阳), CEO of Amber Communications (琥珀传播) as well as vice president of Leo Digital Network.
"Jimmy is my mentor and I am honoured to start 'Jimmy+Amber' with him, which is us exploring a new business model," said Liu.
Lam, one of the most recognised creatives in Greater China, known for his multiple and varied roles in Chinese advertising, exited DDB China last month. Zheng said Lam is a "great addition" to the core creative management team of Leo Digital Network and also effectively enhances the creative competence of the network.
Under the '+A' platform, each creative hot-shop that is set up in the future will receive an appropriate commission from the network based on a percentage of its annual revenue. "This distribution mechanism of the internet era will be implemented to motivate every team member and drive the growth of the business," explained Zheng.
"I believe that 'Jimmy+Amber' will command both respect and fear from our peers," added Lam. "Our clients will love us for our out-of-the-box business solutions but may also hate us for being candid".
.png&h=334&w=500&q=100&v=20170226&c=1)
