Profile: Jimmy Smith – co-founder CEO And Chief Creative Officer Amusement Park Entertainment

Jimmy Smith – CEO And Chief Creative Officer Amusement Park Entertainment. PHOTO/File

Jimmy Smith is the co-founder, Chairman, CEO and CCO of Amusement Park Entertainment, a co-venture with Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), a global provider of advertising and marketing services, that also focuses on transmedia storytelling and branded content.

Jimmy Smith has made a name for himself steering successful branded entertainment properties. He has earned countless awards for his work as a Writer and Creative Director.

Smith most recently served at TBWA/Chiat/Day, where he was Group Content Director on Gatorade and oversaw the highly decorated branded content Replay series, which for three seasons has given sports teams the chance to address unrequited triumphs from their athletic past–and which, Smith says, is on its way to becoming a feature produced by Sony.

Smith also spearheaded the transformation of the Gatorade brand to “G,” and was voted as one of Fast Company’s 100 most creative people in business in 2012.

Smith says he chose the name “Amusement Park Entertainment” for its connotations of fun and possibility. “Our work is entertaining and fun. Also, amusement parks are effective at what they do. We are effective as a company, too. Amusement parks have a little bit of everything and are transmedia companies themselves. Finally, and most importantly, they’re places where kids can dream and believe that anything is possible. I’m a big kid, I dream big and I do believe that all things are possible. I want everyone who interacts with our company–in whatever capacity–to believe that this is the place where your wildest dreams can come true.”