Obituary: Judie Lannon

Judie Lannon was brought up in Erie, Pennsylvania. After graduating in psychology at the University of Michigan, she began her research career at Leo Burnett in Chicago. But the majority of her career was in the London office of JWT, where she was initially hired by Stephen King to set up JWT’s creative research unit which was part of the original account planning department.

She then became director of research and planning for JWT Europe. Here, (partly through a deft and perceptive use of qualitative research), she was a major influence during the King/Bullmore era which so profoundly changed marketing thinking all over the world.

She established her own planning and research consultancy in l991. In addition to this consultancy work, Judie designed and conducted senior management courses in marketing communications, brand positioning and market research, putting her expertise from JWT global training seminars to excellent use.

Judie was also a recognised writer, editor and speaker in the field of marketing communications, and was always so modest, witty, utterly incisive and honest in her delivery. She was the founding editor of the strategic marketing journal Market Leader (the Journal of the Marketing Society, Great Britain, which was recognised as one of the best trade journals of the industry globally). She also sat on the editorial board of the International Journal of Advertising.

Hers was arguably one of the most vital minds in worldwide consumer studies. But more importantly, as her step children said in the notice in the Times on Thursday, ‘She was elegant and charming and full of love until her very last breath.’