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Tag: Sam Balsara

  • Early bird rates available until May 15

    Goafest 2024 opens delegate registrations

    Goafest 2024 has announced the opening of delegate registrations for the three-day event scheduled to take place from May 29  to May 31  at the Westin Powai in Mumbai. Early bird rates are valid until May 15, 2024.

    Sam Balsara
    Sam Balsara

    Said Sam Balsara, Chairman of the Delegates Committee – Goafest 2024: “Goafest is a unique platform that brings together industry leaders, creative minds, and aspiring talents to celebrate creativity, exchange ideas, and shape the future of advertising in India. We are excited to welcome delegates from across the country to join us for three days of inspiration, learning, and networking. This year with the event moving to Mumbai, we are sure there will be a substantial increase in delegates from Mumbai.”

  • … on January 18, 2024 in Mumbai

    Sudhir Sitapati to deliver AAAI Subhas Ghosal Memorial Lecture…

    By Our Staff

     

    The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Subhas Ghosal Foundation (SGF) have announced announce that the Subhas Ghosal Memorial Lecture will be delivered this year by Sudhir Sitapati, Managing Director and CEO, Godrej Consumer Products Private Limited. The event will be held on Thursday, January 18, 2024 in Mumbai.

     

    On behalf of SGF, Sam Balsara said: “We live in a world where Brands play a very important role in consumer lives and have become money spinners for those members of India Inc. who know how to create and nurture them. Sudhir, with his extensive experience of building Brands at Unilever and now at Godrej Consumer Products Limited will deliver, I am sure, a very insightful talk that will be invaluable for all of us in the Marketing, Advertising and Media World”.

     

    Ahead of the lecture, Prasanth Kumar, President, AAAI said: “Sudhir is an experienced and proven brand builder and AAAI is delighted that he has agreed to deliver the Subhas Ghosal Memorial Lecture.”

     

    The Subhas Ghosal Foundation was set up decades ago, soon after the passing away of the veteran adperson, by a band of senior professionals, who knew Ghosal and admired him as a man and as a professional. The Foundation has published many books like “The Making of Advertising”, “Dominance of Advertising”, “Creative Judgement” and “Brands Under Fire”.

  • He will also introduce the agency to new tools, concepts and workflows

    Madison gets Rob Norman as advisor for digital transformation of clients

    By Our Staff

     

    Madison Media has announced the appointment of well-known digital media specialist Rob Norman as an advisor to accelerate digital transformation at key clients.

     

    Norman was until recently Global Head of Digital at GroupM. He has also been CEO of GroupM, North America. Currently, he is an independent Board member at Piano, MiQ, Simpli.fi, Knotch, Zeotap and a few other digital-first companies.

     

    Rob Norman will offer advisory services to Madison’s top clients, and introduce the agency to new tools, concepts and workflows.

     

    Said Madison World Chairman, Sam Balsara: “We are delighted to have Rob join us as a strategic advisor in the digital transformation space and am sure he will add a lot of value to our teams and our clients. The advertising world has turned digital. India with a digital share of Adex at 40% tracks a little behind the global average of 55% and we hope with Rob’s help to offer world beating thought leadership to our clients.”

     

    Added Vikram Sakhuja, Partner and Group CEO, Madison Media & OOH: “I have had the privilege of working with Rob for many years and his insights, clarity of thought and approach to Clients’ businesses has been inspiring. I’m thrilled to be able to partner with him again in helping build the business of Madison’s Clients.”

     

    Said Norman on his appointment: “I have known Sam, Vikram and Madison for many years. I am a great admirer of the business and its leadership. Independent, entrepreneurial organizations are well placed to innovate with speed and agility. I am excited to spend more time in India, it’s a country I love and a country rich in opportunity.”

     

  • 'To help clients improve ROI'

    Manish Menon to head HR @ Madison World

    By Our Staff

     

    Manish Menon
    Manish Menon

    Madison World has appointed Manish Menon as Vice President of Human Resources. He will be based in the agency’s Mumbai office.

     

    Announcing the appointment, Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World, said: “We have a number of new initiatives planned for Madison to face the ever-changing environment we live in. Manish joins us at the right time and his agency experience will help him head the function effectively to even further help our clients improve ROI on their Brand investments.”

     

  • Sam Balsara to lead the Indian delegation to AdAsia ’23 Seoul

    By Our Staff

     

    Sam Balsara, head of the Indian-owned Madison World will be the Leader of the Indian Delegation to the AdAsia’23 at Seoul. The AdAsia, a property of the Asian Federation of Advertising Associations (AFAA) is scheduled from October 24th. to 26th. 2023.

    Sam Balsara is a veteran of many AdAsia’s.

     

    He has been honored by the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) with its Lifetime Achievement Award, and has been inducted into the International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter Hall of Fame as well as the Kolkata AdClub Hall of Fame.

     

    Said Balsara: “The AdAsia is the biggest event in Asia for the communications industry. There is considerable interest now since the last AdAsia that Indians could go for, was six years ago in Bali. The AdAsia’23 is an unmissable event for marketers, media and advertising professionals. I am confident that we will have a sizable delegation from India.”

     

    Adds Srinivasan K Swamy, Chairman of R K SWAMY HANSA Group, “I understand that the Korean Advertising industry and the AdAsia 2023 Seoul Organising Committee have taken special efforts to get speakers from several leading organisations across the world, in addition to leading companies in Korea like Samsung, Hyundai etc. Of course, we will also in for a treat to Korean culture and entertainment when we will get to see and hear more about K-Pop music, dance, and TV series.”

     

  • Registrations are now open

    Goafest 2023 Governing Council and theme Unveiled

    By Our Staff

     

    As Goafest gets set for its 16th edition in late May 2023, the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and The Advertising Club have announce the Governing Council and Committee Members for Goafest 2023.

     

    Following is the Governing Council for Goafest 2023:

         • Prasanth Kumar, President, Advertising Agencies Association of India and CEO, South Asia, GroupM

         • Partha Sinha, President, Times of India Group and President of The Advertising Club

         • Jaideep Gandhi, Chairman, Goafest 2023; Founder, Another Idea

         • Mohit Joshi, Co-chair, Goafest 2023; CEO, Havas Media

         • Rana Barua, Group CEO, Havas Group India & Chairman, The ABBYs Award Governing Council

         • Ajay Kakar, Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club & Co-chair, The ABBYs Award Governing Council

         • Anupriya Acharya, CEO South Asia, Publicis Groupe

         • Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison

         • Rohit Ohri, Group Chairman & CEO, FCB Group India

         • Shashi Sinha, CEO-India, IPG Mediabrands

         • Ajay Chandwani, Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club

         • Malcolm Raphael, Senior Vice-President, The Times of India Group

     

    The sub-committee members for Goafest 2023 from Advertising Agencies Association of India are:

         • Content Committee Chairman: Vikram Sakhuja, Group CEO, Media & OOH, Madison Communications

         • Delegates Committee Chairman: Sam Balsara, Chairman,  Madison

         • Creative Committee Chairman: Rohit Ohri, Group Chairman & CEO, FCB Group India

     

    Creative Committee Joint Chairman: Anusha Shetty, Chairman & Group CEO, Grey Worldwide India

         • Client Associations Chairman: Shashi Sinha, CEO, IPG Media Brands

         • Client Associations Joint Chairman: Prasanth Kumar, CEO South Asia, Group M

         • Advertising Associations Committee Chairman: Srinivasan K Swamy, Chairman & Managing Director, R K Swamy

         • Events Committee Chairman: Ashish Bhasin, Co-Founder & Chairman, RD&X Network

     

    Prasanth Kumar
    Prasanth Kumar

    Said Prasanth Kumar:  “We are blessed to have great leadership working together to make Goafest ’23 a remarkable event. This year sees greater support and collaboration across the industry coming together. As always, Goafest is a passion centre and while we discuss greater opportunities across the industry and celebrate our great work am sure will push the boundaries as a collective team and achieve greater progress.”

     

    Sam BalsaraOn opening up delegate registrations for Goafest 2023, Sam Balsara added: “Goafest has earned its position as a destination that celebrates creative excellence in most disciplines in Communication in South Asia. We look forward to welcoming teams from across India, South Asia and indeed the  globe to come and participate in Goafest as  we exchange thoughts and discuss the future of communication and increasing its role and accountability to the marketer, further making way for growth of the Industry.”

     

    Partha Sinha
    Partha Sinha

    Added Partha Sinha: “With each edition of Goafest, India’s position in the global creative industry is only strengthened. Given the format and scale of Goafest, the festival has firmly positioned itself as the most sought-after creative festival in South Asia. With day-long sessions and masterclasses led by the brightest minds in the industry to evenings that honour and celebrate work that has set new benchmarks and trends, Goafest is the only festival of its kind in India and Asia that drives value, encourages creative excellence and discusses pertinent topics, aiding our industry’s growth. We look forward to hosting our industry colleagues and partners once again at Goafest.”

     

    The theme Goafest this year is: ‘The Future of Creativity is Here’. With advancements in technology, including machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing, the boundaries of creativity are being pushed further than ever before. There is a rise in innovative tools and technologies that enable new forms of creativity; for example, virtual and augmented reality (VR & AR) technologies are already opening up new avenues for artistic expression, allowing creators to build immersive, interactive experiences that blur the line between the physical and digital worlds.

     

    Rohit Ohri
    Rohit Ohri

    Unveiling the theme, Rohit Ohri said: “Generative AI is pushing the boundaries of what is possible and opening new doors to creativity and innovation. This technology will allow our industry to explore newer ideas at a much faster pace and is likely to play a significant role in shaping the future of creativity. Inspired by this game-changing development, we have used Generative AI in the design process of our three-day festival. With sessions and masterclasses that deep-dive into the creative technology landscape, we are sure to re-envision how we collaborate with machines to bring transformative ideas to life.”

     

    Changemaking technologies and the changemakers behind them are reshaping the world while creating a positive real-world impact on communities, societies, and countries. While some may worry that AI will replace human creativity, it is certain that it will instead be used to enhance and augment human creativity, leading to even more groundbreaking and innovative creations.

     

  • In 2022, Digital overtook TV to turn the largest medium with a 38% share, notes the Pitch Madison Advertising Report 2023 released on Wednesday

    AdEx grew 21% in 2022, to grow 16% in 2023: Madison

     

     

    By Our Staff

    Madison Media presented its predictions for the advertising industry for 2023.  The highlights of the report were released by Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World. According to Madison Media, AdEx has grown by 21% in 2022 to reach Rs. 89,803 crore. AdEx is expected to grow further in 2023 by 16% and will cross the landmark Rs. 1 lakh crore number to settle at Rs. 1,04,230 crores. In 2022, Digital grew by 35% to become the largest medium in AdEx with a 38% share, compared to TV’s 34%. TV grew by a modest 9% vs our projection of 14%.

     

    Figures at a glance:

     

    Key findings of the report:

    A. Overall:

    1) In 2022 total AdEx grew by 21%, Traditional AdEx by 14% and Digital AdEx by as much as 35%.

    2) Compared to Indian AdEx growth rate of 21%, Global AdEx, according to WARC grew by just 8% in 2022. The Top 11 countries that account for 70% of Global AdEx grew by only 1%.

    3) In absolute terms, AdEx has grown from Rs. 74,231 crore to Rs. 89,803 crore and this is the second highest gain of the last two decades.

    4) Traditional AdEx dominates Indian AdEx with a 62% share, whereas in Global AdEx the figure is 32%.  With a growth of 14% in 2022, Traditional Media at Rs. 55,399 crore, has just crossed its 2019 figure of Rs. 52,136 crore.

    5) Digital AdEx is now the largest medium with a share of 38%, followed by TV with a share of 34%.

    6) The Audio Visual medium contributes to 45.6% of total AdEx. Linear TV at Rs. 30,662 crores and Digital Video at Rs. 10,314 crores, totalling to Rs. 40,976 crores.

    7) FMCG continues to be the largest category, but its share has moved down from 38% in 2020 to 32% in 2022.

    8) Ecommerce has now established itself as the 2nd biggest category of AdEx, growing in Share from 4.9% in 2019 to 14% in 2022.

    9) The Top 5 Advertisers in AdEx are HUL, Reckitt, RIL, Dream11 and Mondelez. There are only 11 Start-Ups in the Top 50 Advertisers List vs 15 last year, confirming that VC money is drying up.

     

    B. Digital

    1) Digital grew by 35% in 2022, on top of a 50% increase in 2021, to reach Rs. 34,405 crore and has emerged the largest medium in AdEx with a 38% share, overtaking TV.

    2) A 10-year review shows that Digital has grown from a mere Rs. 3,050 crores with a 9% share, to Rs. 34,405 crores with a 38% share today.

    3) Inspite of all this growth, Digital AdEx in India trails behind Global AdEx. Digital share in Global AdEx is 68%.

    4) Video, Social, Display, Ecommerce and Search drive Digital AdEx. Digital Video continues to dominate Digital AdEx and having grown by 40%, has further improved its Share from 29% to 30%.

    5) Social grew the most at 45% and increased its Share from 20% to 22%. Display has grown more modestly at 19% and has lost 3 percentage Share points from 19% to 16%. Search has grown by 32%, but is only 16% of the market.

    6) Ecommerce has registered a 35% growth and now has a share of 16% of Digital AdEx. Whilst Google and Facebook account for the lion’s share of Digital ADEX, Amazon and Flipkart account for almost 80% of Ecommerce spends.

    7) Digital is going to continue to fuel growth of AdEx in 2023. It is expected to grow by 25% to reach Rs. 43,036 crore and increase its share to 41% of AdEx.

     

    C. Television

    1) TV registered a modest growth of 9%, against our forecast of 14% to reach Rs. 30,662 crore.

    2) In 2022, for the first time we see signs of stress in Linear TV and its Share has come down from a high of 42% in 2020 and 38% in 2021 to a new low of 34%. With increasing spends in Digital, TV has now moved down to number 2 position in the Indian AdEx.

    3) TV has also seen a 8% decline in viewership over the last year, and a 13% drop compared to pre-Covid year 2019.

    4) TV has seen a marginal drop in Advertisers from almost 11,000 in 2021 to less than 10,500 in 2022.

    5) FMCG continues to be the largest contributor to TV AdEx with a share of 45%. Ecommerce, the 2nd largest contributor to TV AdEx, further increased its share from 18% to 20%, followed by Auto which has maintained its share at 5%.  Education has dropped its share from 6% to 4%.

    6) In terms of Genres, Hindi GEC 2 has registered the highest growth of 47% followed by Sports at 22%. News, witnessed a degrowth during last year. Among the regional satellite channels, Tamil continues to rule the roost, followed by Telugu, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada and Malayalam in that order.

    7) TV AdEx is expected to grow by 9% in 2023 to reach Rs. 33,522 crore.

    8) FMCG, the largest category of TV Market, is likely to substantially increase its Advertising budgets, instead of reducing consumer prices because of lowering of raw material inflation.

     

    D. Print

    1) Print AdEx grew last year by 11% to reach Rs. 18,470 crores, a little short of its pre-covid figure.

    2) Both Volume and Value in Print have gone up by 15% and 11% respectively.

    3) H2 performed well for Print and 58% of its AdEx came from H2 vs only 46% in pre-Covid year 2019.

    4) In terms of category contribution, although, Education de-grew marginally, it has emerged as the largest category in Print overtaking FMCG, which grew by as much as 8%. Two other large categories, Clothing, Fashion & Jewellery and Household Durables grew substantially by over 50%.

    5) In terms of languages, Hindi Publications continue to dominate, followed by English and Marathi, the latter two having grown by 19% over 2021.

    6) We expect Print AdEx to grow at 9% in 2023, to reach Rs. 20,133 crore and reach pre Covid levels.

    With this growth, its Share will be 19%, compared to Global AdEx where it is a mere 4%.

     

    E. Other Media

    1) OOH AdEx has registered a high growth of 68% on the back of a growth of 69% the previous year, taking the industry to Rs. 3,666 crore and surpass its pre Covid level.

    2) Digital OOH continued to be the growth driver with its big bright, colorful and moving displays.

    3) Radio AdEx has grown by 17% to reach Rs. 2,032 crore, but it is still at 90% of its pre Covid level. Its Share in total AdEx is at 2%.

    4) Real Estate has emerged as the largest category in both OOH and Radio, pipping FMCG.

    5) Although Cinema grew by 317%, it has reached only the half way mark of its pre Covid number of Rs. 568 crore. But with new movies coming up, we expect Cinema to grow by 75% this year and reach Rs. 995 crore, almost upto its pre pandemic level.

     

    Added Balsara: “Indian AdEx is the bright spot in a relatively dull and uncertain global environment. Our AdEx has grown by leaps and bounds in the last 3 years marked by Covid and the War, except in 2020. However, media habits of Indians are rapidly changing and this is reflected in our AdEx numbers and commentary. Advertisers who ignore these changes will do so at their own peril.”

     

    Bharat Puri, Managing Director, Pidilite Industries Limited who launched the report said: “Experiment, innovate, know your consumer and don’t be afraid of failure”. He said, “Whilst chasing impressions, don’t forget to make an impression!”

     

  • To handle the entire gamut of media

    Madison wins media AOR of Godrej & Boyce

    By Our Staff

     

    Madison Media Alpha, a unit of Madison World, has just announced the win of Godrej & Boyce integrated Media AOR. The account was won in a multi-agency pitch and the agency will handle the entire gamut of Media including TV, Print, Social Media, Digital, Performance Marketing, OOH and Activations.

     

    Speaking about the agency’s appointment, Mehernosh Pithawalla, Senior Vice President and Head – Brand and Strategic Insights, Godrej & Boyce said: “Madison World has been an industry leader in the realm of communications for several years, now. During the pitch, we observed a lot of synergies, brand resonance and a strong intent by the Madison team to work on Godrej & Boyce. We couldn’t have thought of a better ally to further business metrics and propel brand growth.”

     

    Commenting on this development Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World added: “My association with Godrej goes back to 1985, even before Madison came into being and I am delighted that Madison World has won this business in a competitive pitch and G&B has found our expertise and capabilities a cut above the rest and handed over the media AOR of this much respected Company to us. We look forward to growing their brands with our innovative and Client First approach.”

     

  • The initial agreement between WPP and Balsara and his family dated back to 2008, under which the Balsara family owned 51%. In 2017, the Balsara family sold 25% to WPP

    WPP acquires remaining stake in MediaCom in India from Sam Balsara & Lara Balsara Vajifdar

    By Our Staff

     

    WPP, veteran adperson Sam Balsara and his daughter and adperson Lara Balsara Vajifdar have announced that WPP has purchased the remaining 26 per cent stake in MediaCom Communications Private Limited in India from Sam Balsara and Lara Balsara Vajifdar.

     

    Following WPP’s decision to merge Essence and MediaCom globally, Balsara and Vajifdar entered into a discussion with WPP agreeing to exit MediaCom in the interest of MediaCom clients to enable the merger.

     

    The initial agreement between WPP and Balsara and his family dated back to 2008, under which the Balsara family owned 51%. In 2017, the Balsara family sold 25% to WPP.

     

    Said Balsara said: “This innovative partnership we invested in nearly 15 years ago has been a great success for all parties. It has established MediaCom in India as a fast-growing and highly respected agency by advertisers.”

     

    Added Nick Lawson, Global CEO, MediaCom: “It has been a pleasure working with Sam Balsara and Lara Balsara as we grew this successful business in India. We will build on that legacy to deliver the agency model our clients want for the future – founded on brilliant strategy and brand-building capabilities, with pioneering digital expertise running throughout.”

     

    It may be recalled that on April 26, 2022, WPP announced that global agencies MediaCom and Essence would merge to form EssenceMediacom.

     

  • In the past, industry leaders like Rajan Anandan, Uday Shankar, Ronnie Screwvalla have delivered keynotes

    Aroon Purie to deliver AAAI Subhas Ghosal Memorial Lecture on Oct 7

    By Our Staff

     

    The Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and the Subhas Ghosal Foundation (SGF) are have announced that the Subhas Ghosal Memorial Lecture will return this year with Aroon Purie, Chairman and Editor-In-Chief, India Today Group, as speaker. The event will be held on Friday, October 7 in Mumbai. While talking about his personal and professional experiences, Purie will share many valuable insights which he has gained during his lifetime.

     

    With the support of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), the SFT has been hosting its ‘AAAI Subhas Ghosal Memorial Lecture’ series, for several years, where industry leaders like Rajan Anandan, Uday Shankar, Ronnie Screwvalla have delivered keynotes.

     

    Said Sam Balsara on behalf of SGF: “We live in an age where media and advertising are shaping and also rapidly changing society. It will be interesting to hear Aroon speak about his journey, how he built a media empire, as well as his views on life today and how the media has changed over the years. I believe this lecture will be helpful and enlightening for both immigrants and natives of the advertising and media”.

     

    Ahead of the lecture, Anupriya Acharya, President, AAAI added: “Aroon Purie has been at the forefront of change and innovation in the news business as it transitioned from print to electronic media and then to digital and social media. A recipient of the Padma Bhushan award, his contribution to Indian journalism is exemplary. I am sure that Aroon’s life experiences will be fascinating for the audiences and we look forward to his perspectives at the Subhas Ghosal Memorial Lecture.”

     

  • To drive digital growth and strategy

    HiveMinds hires Aayush Arora as VP in Delhi

    By Our Staff

     

    Aayush Arora
    Aayush Arora

    Hiveminds Innovative Market Solutions, a unit of Madison World, has hired Aayush Arora as Vice President – Client Success, at Gurugram.

     

    Said Jyothirmayee JT, Founder & CEO of HiveMinds: “We’ve been fortunate to add many large clients from Delhi/NCR in our portfolio over the last 1 year. Aayush’s deep digital understanding along with his experience in managing clients over the years, will help us in delighting our clients with innovation and account success.”

     

    Added Sam Balsara, Chairman and Managing Director, Madison World: “Delhi remains a key focus region for us. We’re reinstating our commitment to our clients by adding senior talent to drive digital growth and strategy. Following the recent return of Shobhit Gaur to Madison Digital in Delhi NCR, we are now adding Aayush to HiveMinds Delhi NCR to further strengthen our team capabilities in the region to exceed the demanding expectations of our growing client list.”

     

  • Prior to joining Madison PR, he spent two-odd years at SPAG Asia and D Yellow Elephant as Chief Operating Officer

    Abhinav Srivastava is CEO, Madison PR

    By Our Staff

     

    Madison PR, a unit of Madison World, has just announced the appointment of Abhinav Krishna Srivastava as its Chief Executive Officer. He will be based in the agency’s Mumbai office.

     

    Prior to joining Madison PR, he spent two-odd years at SPAG Asia and D Yellow Elephant as Chief Operating Officer. Said Sam Balsara, Chairman, Madison World: “I am delighted to have Abhinav lead our very capable and experienced Madison PR team as CEO. Am sure he will take Madison PR to new heights and will add a lot of value to our client’s business.”

     

    On joining Madison and commencing his new role, Srivastava added: “I’m beyond excited to join Madison Public Relations and be a part of such a respected, mission-driven team of India’s leading homegrown agency group. I look forward to developing our business by building on established clients and finding new opportunities for growth. As communications domain has got revamped in the past two years, I believe Madison’s might and my multi-sectoral experience will help us expand our growth horizon and get into the big league!”