Brand Strategist Heads New MB Unit

Millward Brown has appointed brand marketing authority Dr. Joanna Seddon to the position of Executive Vice President, to lead a new global unit offering clients strategic recommendations with demonstrated financial impact. Long-time Millward Brown executive Andy Farr has been appointed Chief Research Officer of the unit.

Dr Seddon was a founding partner of FutureBrand and has consulted for companies including VISA, UPS, AT&T, and Bank of America. She also led the successful restructure, turnaround and subsequent sale of a major division of McKesson Corporation, a global provider of supply management and healthcare information technology services.

UK-born and educated, Seddon held academic positions at both Oxford and Manchester Universities, as well as visiting fellowships at Moscow and St Petersburg Universities in Russia, and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. She then moved into strategic consulting and relocated to the USA, where she will continue to be based.

Group CEO Bob Meyers, to whom Dr Seddon will report, says Millward Brown is evolving to provide higher level consulting services for global clients, many of whom have been asking for additional help in linking brand and marketing decisions to business financials. 'This new global unit, led by Joanna, will add a broader strategic and financial dimension to our offering by providing high-level portfolio strategy, brand valuation and analytics, marketing investment planning and ROI measurement to our clients'.

According to Dr Seddon, 'There are many strong business and brand strategy consulting firms as well as media agencies that provide econometric sales modeling services, but to date there has been no one who can effectively address the issue of integrated analytics and accountability'. She describes the latter as 'one of the hottest issues facing global marketers today'.

Millward Brown's web site is at www.millwardbrown.com

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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