Dr Simon Broadbent, PhD, a global legend in media research, died in Britain suddenly on Tuesday following a short illness.
"One of the few figures who have significantly influenced advertising thinking over the past three decades," according to Admap, Simon’s media career started in the mid-60s at the London Press Exchange, following service in the British Army as a Staff Captain in the Royal Engineers.
He rapidly established an enviable reputation both as a media academic and hands-on practitioner, remaining with the London agency after its acquisition in the seventies by Leo Burnett where he worked with big name advertisers such as Coca-Cola, Kellogg, Kraft and Procter & Gamble. Until his death he was a key partner at the Leo Burnett Brand Consultancy.
Kate Lynch, senior vice president at Starcom MediaVest Group, recently hailed him thus: “Simon is a true leader in establishing how critical it is that advertising be accountable. He has further led the charge by showing the world how to measure these effects and how to build those results into media planning tools which optimise the marketing budget.”
Simon helped create the Advertising Effectiveness Awards for the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. He also edited the first two volumes of Advertising Works and wrote the Best Practice Guide to Campaign Evaluation and (also for the IPA) The Advertising Budget. Until his death, he chaired the Advertising Association’s Economics Committee.
He most recently received the prestigious Naples Research Industry Leadership Award from the American Advertising Research Foundation.
Simon will be greatly missed by his many friends and advertising industry colleagues on both sides of the Atlantic.
The WARC team
