Women to Watch 2020: Karrie Lam, South China Morning Post

Karrie Lam

Vice president, sales and marketing solutions
South China Morning Post
Hong Kong

It’s not easy to be in the news business where intense digital competition and the rise of ad blocking has led publishers to fight for every bit of revenue they can get. So in 2018, when Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post needed someone to spearhead their branded content business in global markets, the stakes were high. They chose Lam, who had headed up marketing solutions for SCMP since 2014 and had a strong background with top 4As creative networks like Ogilvy, Grey and FCB. Critically, Lam also possesses an entrepreneurial bent that had seen her join a startup hotshop called SelectNY as its general manager for Hong Kong and Shanghai back in 2012.

Lam helped SCMP establish its own dedicated creative ‘Morning Studio’ with a team of top branding strategists, designers, journalists, and producers to come up with strong, engaging content and other marketing solutions for commercial partners. Under Lam’s leadership, the Studio came to life earlier than expected, the team achieved a 50% annual growth in branded content revenue across the market with a profit margin of 40-60% despite the global pandemic and social protest movement in Hong Kong. Within 18 months, Morning Studio gained global recognition across multiple award shows for native advertising and branded content campaigns.

Colleagues and clients alike praise Lam’s abilities as a strategic visionary and motivational leader. A  luxury brand clients describes Lam as “one of the strongest business leaders I have come across” who “defines women leadership for our generation.” Passionate about transformation, Lam is able lead new initiatives forward by uniting her diverse team together with a strong team spirit and work ethic through a variety of recognitions, incentives and compliments while also relying on their input and advice along the way.

“She has built very strong teams in high spirit always,” one colleague told Campaign Asia-Pacific, while predicting that Lam, with her combination of self-motivation and team effort, will continue to reach new peaks in her career.