Po Yi Joins Venable as Partner in Firm's Top-Ranked Advertising and Marketing Practice

Former Chief Advertising Counsel at American Express, Po Yi helped lead the brand's innovative sponsorship programs with top entertainers, major sports properties, fashion houses; created marquee, loyalty-building events for card members and fans

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Venable LLP

Jun 25, 2013, 11:47 ET

NEW YORK, June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Adding a major talent to its top-ranked Advertising and Marketing group, Venable LLP announced that Po Yi, formerly Vice President and Chief Advertising Counsel for American Express and an authority on branded content, sponsorship, media integration, and digital and social media marketing, has joined the firm as a partner in the New York office.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130625/NY37983)

During her five-year tenure at American Express, Ms. Yi was responsible for supporting one of the country's most innovative and successful sponsorship programs and played a key role in expanding American Express' presence in digital and social media. Among her chief responsibilities was negotiating and managing alliances with premier entertainment, sports, social media and technology brands. She helped bring to life American Express' popular sponsored programs including live streamed concerts with top musical acts and exclusive access to fashion, film and sports events. Additionally, she was an instrumental part of executing American Express' iconic advertising campaigns over the past five years.

She served as chief counsel to the Chief Marketing Officer and Global Advertising and Brand Management group, as well as to the company's New Member Marketing and Consumer Card Marketing groups. Her duties included:

Working with American Express' creative advertising team to develop branded campaigns;
Overseeing legal aspects of all marketing for consumer cards;
Advising on marketing and advertising programs in social, digital and traditional media;
Managing sweepstakes, contests and promotional games;
Managing competitor advertising challenges; and
Advising on market research and competitive intelligence across the company.

Prior to her tenure at American Express, Ms. Yi was a partner at Loeb & Loeb.

"Po Yi is a tremendous addition to our group. As the point person at American Express, she negotiated and structured sponsorship and digital media programs with market-leading brands in entertainment, fashion, sports, hospitality and other areas. Her experience forging strategic sponsorship and branded content deals adds a compelling dimension to our group's capabilities," said Jeffrey Knowles, chair of Venable's Advertising, Marketing and New Media practice.

"Today every brand struggles to cut through the noise, reach consumers and build loyalty," added Mr. Knowles, one of the nation's leading advertising attorneys. "Deals like the ones Po crafted at American Express are especially effective at accomplishing those goals. Her experience and relationships will be invaluable to companies developing branded initiatives and user-based communities."

At Venable, Ms. Yi joins one of the top-ranked practices in advertising and privacy law – the two groups won the Chambers USA Award for Excellence in successive years. US News & World Report named Venable the 2011-2012 Advertising "Law Firm of the Year." Legal 500 named Venable a "Top-Tier Firm" for advertising and marketing in 2013. Venable's Privacy and Data Security practice has been ranked first tier by both Chambers USA and Legal 500. The firm's clients include leading retail brands, direct marketers and associations for the advertising and marketing industry.

"I've long known Venable as a stand-out firm for advertising, marketing and privacy work – including its relationships with the top industry associations, consumer brands and direct marketers," Ms. Yi said. "The depth of its advertising practice gives Venable a serious advantage at a time of an unprecedented convergence of media platforms, which is creating new opportunities for branding products and services.

"Brands today are hyper-aware of the need to create unique experiences for their customers," she added. "The holy grail for marketers is finding the right kind of content and programs that strengthen the bond with customers. For that you need to create content that is relevant and fun, with a potential for commerce. I have a leg up in understanding how to best to execute branded content initiatives."

Having worked principally for a single client the past five years, Ms. Yi added, "I now have an opportunity to harness my skillset in working with multiple clients on brand and sponsorship-related matters. I'm excited about the prospect of becoming the go-to person at the go-to law firm in this space."

Ms. Yi received her J.D. from Benjamin Cardozo School of Law (1997) and her B.A. from Carleton College (1993).

Note: An American Lawyer 100 law firm serving clients globally. Headquartered in Washington, DC, with offices in California, Delaware, Maryland, New York and Virginia, Venable LLP lawyers and legislative advisors serve the needs of our domestic and global clients in all areas of corporate and business law, complex litigation, intellectual property, regulatory, and government affairs.