AD Agencies
“2002 was good but we hope to grow more from business acquisitions in the coming year” :Madison India CMD Sam Balsara on the year 2002
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His diminutive size may well fool you. His high pitched voice may mislead you. But make no mistake. Sam Balsara is a powerhouse, a giant of a man in the Indian advertising and media business. Apart from being responsible for the media spends of several hard task master multinational advertisers and for an agency which is today a force to reckon with, he is also leading several industry initiatives.
The 52 year old management graduate (from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute, Bombay) has put in around 25 years in managerial positions in leading marketing and advertising companies. 
Balsara founded Madison Communications in 1988 with three blue chip accounts Godrej, Tata (Nelco) and Mafatlal.
Over the last few years, Balsara has acquired a reputation in media having successfully handled the first AOR in the country for Procter & Gamble. Madison is now the AOR for P&G, Godrej, Coke, BPL, Kinetic, Perfetti, Maruti (for TV) ABN AMRO Bank and Playwin Lotteries with media offices in Bombay, Delhi and Bangalore.
Balsara spoke to indiantelevision.com about the highlights of the year 2002 and his take on the future of media in advertising. We present some excerpts –
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How has the Madison group fared in the calendar year 2002? Madison Communications has steadily gained in stature and billings and media billings currently stand at Rs 5.5 billion. In the year 2002, Madison as a group grew by 42.15 per cent. Our budgets for this year project us to grow at 44 per cent. We are delighted at this growth in a tough year and that too inspite of one of our major clients reducing spends drastically.
The highlights of the year for us were the rollout of MOMS (Madison Outdoor Media Services) in an aggressive way in all major cities and the launch of Madison Merchandising. Both are doing well. We staffed all of MOMS’ offices fully early in the year and today, it is our fastest growing unit. Madison Merchandising has three clients – Airtel, Samsung and Shaw Wallace.
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What were the salient features of the media buying and planning functions (in general) for the industry as a whole in 2002? The media market continues to be dynamic with an accelerating pace of change; in the way media sells, advertisers buy and agencies plan. There have been some dramatic changes in both approach and practice.
There is a greater focus on results – short term and medium term. Media planning and buying impact measured on the basis of the sales it has generated despite the fact that it is only ONE of the factors. The tools for developing a correlation have not yet been fully developed.
Media buying decisions are being decentralised – the business head has more clout and has to balance between long term brand-building initiatives and short-term results. The media buying cycle has been shortened; plans are made for short-term objectives and results.
Budgets have been squeezed and this has led to pressure on media buyers to negotiate better and optimise buying. Over the last six years the advertising market has grown from under Rs 20 billion per annum to over Rs 80 billion per annum. If one assumes an average advertising to sales ratio of 5 per cent, this additional investment should have led to an increase of Rs 1200 billion in terms of advertiser company sales. This hasn’t happened.
Media planning is no longer about number crunching but involves examining the psychographics and demographics of the media vehicle. The use of niche channels and print media has also increased in order to reduce wastage.
The key is to understand the eventual target audience – be it in the metros, medium, small towns – and use media vehicles to subtly influence their daily lives.
Clients are looking at media planners to give them insights which will help them in formulating their marketing plans.
Underlying this change is the basic reason that advertising is working less effectively today for the advertiser, than it did five years ago. |
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What were the new clients bagged by Madison in 2002? In terms of new business, we have been very proactive and have systematically identified the big-ticket sectors and clients. Having a highly motivated core management team also helps in setting realistic targets and attaining them.
Certain sectors such as insurance and retail finance have seen a surge in advertising activity and the need to stretch the rupee and get more bang for the buck has never been felt more, in this sector. I am particularly pleased that Madison Media has been chosen to meet this challenge by the Kotak Mahindra group.
Madison’s various units made several new business gains. Among them:
Madison Communications: Creative business for Crocodile, Click, Amtrex and Red Bull.
Madison Media: ESSEL Group, Godrej Tea, ABN Amro Bank, IFB Appliances, NISSIN Foods, Ozone Ayurvedics and Kotak Mahindra
Madison PR: SIFY, FDC, TBZ, Swagelok, Empire, Vicks, FICCI, BPC, Istma, JBCPL, Camlin, Indo Nissin, Writer, Red Bull, IGI, ACC, Zoroastrian Bank and Shriram TPT Financials.
Madison Outdoor: Titan, ESPN, AVIVA, Tanishq, Nokia, Godrej Agrovet, Radio Mirchi, ABN AMRO Bank, VIP and Milton
Madison Merchandising: Airtel, Samsung and Shaw Wallace
Anugrah Madison (Rural Unit): ACC and Shriram
The future growth will come from from the existing streams of revenue and new streams. And for existing streams we hope to gain more from new business acquisitions than from growth in spend from existing business. |
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What were the new media tools and techniques introduced in 2002? Two major tools and techniques were introduced by us in 2002 MPP – Madison Programme Predictor and Town & Country – asset of tools and guidelines that assist advertisers in harnessing the potential of small towns and large villages. |
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How will the media function change in the near future? The future media specialist of the coming year will be a creative person who uses an innovative approach for selecting the media mix -traditional as well as new economy media. The forthcoming implementation of conditional access system will open new vistas and increase choices for ad agencies and advertisers.
Media specialists must effectively communicate that media is the starting point and plays an important role in ensuring that advertising becomes more efficient and result oriented.
Media specialists must realise that the growth of the advertising pie will directly depend on creating advertising (all functions) that impacts sales.
Ineffective ads shrink the advertising pie and ad agencies must communicate to the publishers and broadcasters that there is a need to rationalise the prices of their offerings.
Media specialists must become more open to regular media audits. A universally accepted efficient system across agencies and across media for press and television operations will soon emerge.
Advertisers will treat media planners with greater regard if and only if all the above mentioned things happens. |
AD Agencies
Publicis posts €4.19bn Q1 revenue, 6.4 per cent growth; backs FY outlook
Ad giant signals Q2 acceleration as AI and new deals power momentum
PARIS: Publicis Groupe continues to outperform the industry, delivering a strong start to 2026 under Chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun. Despite a volatile global macro environment, the company has now outpaced the industry for nearly 20 consecutive quarters.
For Q1 2026, total revenue reached €4,191 million, up from €4,161 million last year, with organic growth of 6.4 per cent. Net revenue, which excludes pass-through costs, stood at €3,460 million, reflecting organic growth of 4.5 per cent.
Exchange rates had a negative impact of €268 million, mainly due to a weaker US dollar and pound sterling. Acquisitions, including Adge.AI and 160over90, contributed an additional €46 million.
Performance across regions was largely positive, with some variation:
- North America, accounting for 59 per cent of net revenue, grew 4.7 per cent
- Europe recorded growth of 3.9 per cent, led by the UK at 6.2 per cent, while France grew 1.6 per cent
- Asia Pacific posted 5.9 per cent growth, driven by China at 11.7 per cent
- Latin America grew 13.3 per cent
- Middle East and Africa declined 5.1 per cent due to geopolitical challenges
AI-powered marketing services, which now make up 86 per cent of the business, grew 5.6 per cent. However, the technology segment, representing 14 per cent of revenue, declined slightly as clients reduced spending on large-scale transformation projects.
Sharing his outlook, Publicis Groupe chairman and CEO Arthur Sadoun said, “Publicis had a very strong start to the year, outperforming the industry for almost 20 quarters in a row despite the volatile macro environment. Organic revenue growth reached 6.4%, leading to 4.5% in net and further increasing the gap with our peers.” He added that the company remains confident of delivering industry-leading performance. “We are confirming our industry-leading organic growth guidance of 4 to 5%, with the 4% rock solid, and a sequential organic growth acceleration in Q2 despite a higher comparable.”
Publicis continued its expansion with the acquisition of Adge.AI in March, followed by 160over90 in April to strengthen its sports and culture marketing capabilities.
Net financial debt stood at €1,156 million at the end of March, reflecting a seasonal shift from the net cash position at the end of 2025. Average net debt over the past twelve months was €1,035 million.
The company has reaffirmed its full-year guidance, expecting net revenue organic growth of 4 to 5 per cent in 2026. It also anticipates an operating margin slightly above 18.2 per cent and free cash flow of approximately €2.1 billion.
With expectations of stronger performance in the second quarter, Publicis remains well positioned to sustain its growth momentum.
