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Sam
Balsara is man with a lot on his plate. Besides chasing
an aggressive growth rate for Madison Communications, he
is also chairman of MOMS (Madison Outdoor Media Services)
and director of Anugrah Madison, the rural advertising unit
of Madison. He also runs a Public Relations unit.
As a prominent member of the Indian marketing and advertising
profession, Balsara has worn many hats. He has been president
of the Advertising Club, Bombay, he was the vice-president
of the Advertising Agencies Association of India and is
currently chairman, Triple A Awards. He serves on the AAA-Indian
Broadcasting Foundation joint committee and was the immediate
past chairman of the Advertising Standards Council of India
and a founder member of ECO-India, an organisation to promote
environment-friendly actions.
He is a regular speaker at seminars and on fora pertaining
to advertising and has served on several professional committees
and judging panels.
On the business side of things, he just added a big piece
to his plate after Madison won the entire Rs 1,000 million
media account of the Rs 45,000-million Essel Group.
But such challenges are par for the course for this 50-something
ad veteran. With over 25 years experience in the business,
first with Mudra (1984), he founded Madison Communications
in 1988 with three blue chip accounts - Godrej, Tata (Nelco)
and Mafatlal. Today his agency's client list includes Procter
& Gamble, BPL and Coke with current media billings of Rs
3,500 million.
Sam Balsara spoke to Tuhin Amar giving his own unique
take on the state of the media business in the country.
You are rated amongst the best media buyers in the country.
Can you comment?
Thank you for the flattery. I am wary of labels given
by the media - because the same media that gives you a positive
label on the way up, can also bring you crashing down with
a negative label!!
What qualities are needed to be a good media buyer /
planner?
The same qualities that are required of an outstanding
advertising person, no less but with the added quality of
a facility with numbers and an interest in them to make
a story out of them.
When you are buying into a television programme, what
are your first priorities - is it price, ambience, star
quality, brand affinity?
The first priority or the fundamental requirement is
meeting a CPRP benchmark. This benchmark is then relaxed
to some extent because of the other considerations that
you talk about like ambience, position, image, brand affinity,
impact, innovation, etc.
How is your business split into print / TV / outdoors,
etc.?
It's Television at number 1, Print at number 2 and Outdoors
at number 3 in terms of billing.
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'We
believe we have to improve by the day, otherwise we
are dead.'
__________
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What is the quantum of advertising that Madison handles
on the television front? For which clients? Which brands?
We deal with just a handful of clients.
Madison Media clients are:
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Godrej Consumer Products Limited
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Godrej Sara Lee
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Procter & Gamble
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Coca-Cola
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BPL
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Kinetic
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Perfetti
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Domino's
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Somany Tiles and Hind Sanitaryware
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ESSEL Group
Full
Service clients are:
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Godrej Consumer Products (Godrej Shaving Cream)
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Godrej Foods (Jumpin, Xs and Godrej Cooking Oils)
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Milton Plastics
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SOM Distilleries
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Tribhovandas Bhimji Zaveri, Zaveri Bazaar
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Camlin
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Rasna (New brand)
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Amtrex Hitachi (Amtrex)
In
addition we have independent clients in Madison PR, Madison
Outdoor and Anugrah Madison.
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'I
do think maturity is setting in amongst television
ad sales professionals.'
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What
do you think of television as an advertising medium as compared
to other media? Has it disappointed or has it delivered? What
are its plus points and its negative points?
Television
was a wonderful advertising medium in the late 80s and early
90s. It produced miraculous results for the early advertiser
who recognised its ability to deliver sales. Of late, the
efficiency with which television is working for advertisers
has diminished sharply making advertisers loose confidence
and hastily divert brand building money to below-the-line
temporary sales shoring-up activity with disastrous long term
consequences.
For e.g.: In the last six years the advertising volumes have
gone up from about Rs 2000 crores (Rs 20,000 million) to Rs
8000 crores. Taking an average (advertising to sales) A-S
ratio of 4 per cent, this should have resulted in additional
sales of Rs 125,000 crores for advertisers as a body. I suspect
the real increase is nowhere near this figure.
There was a time not so long ago when we could buy a spot
for less than a lakh of rupees (Rs 100,000) per 10 seconds
and cover 50 per cent or more of the audience at one stroke.
Today fragmentation has taken its toll and the cost of reaching
this audience has multiplied. Whilst our creative executions
have become more sophisticated and slick, they have not dramatically
improved in their sales conversion ability to compensate for
the CPRP inflation.
Do you think there is maturity in television ad sales professionals
in terms of utilizing the potential of television as a promotional
vehicle?
Yes, I do think maturity is setting in amongst television
ad sales professionals, though I believe that selling advertising
on television is a specialised job and not every salesperson
of press advertising or a media buyer or a brand manager can
easily slip into the role.
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'TRP
ratings are the right currency, although channels
and producers seem to dislike them. They afford a
uniform and comparable benchmark to the buyer.'
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What
innovations has Madison achieved in terms of buying or planning
for TV? Can you give some illustrations?
The
innovations are too numerous to mention here, but some of
my personal favourites are:
*Shanti
(India's first daily soap in Hindi in the afternoon, that
created afternoon viewing and gave advertisers' an opportunity
to reach housewives at a fraction of the cost)
*BPL Player of Week
*Coke New Year Promotion
*Close Shave for Godrej Shaving Cream
*Fairglow Queen of Hearts
*Launch of Maruti Versa on a TV show.
*And some innovative discount structures that work for both
the clients and the channels.
*On the Planning side we have evolved an entire new way of
thinking that clients love because of its result-orientedness.
We call it M:Cube.
Incidentally the Madison internal television operations software
which has been in operation for the last four years is called
ADWISE. So it is coincidental that you have decided to title
your seminar "Adwise" (indiantelevision.com is holding a one-day
seminar "AdWise 2002" on TV air time, planning, selling and
buying at the Mayfair Rooms in Worli, Mumbai on 22 March).
Is there enough innovation in television as a promotional
medium? What changes do you think will come in over the coming
years?
No, there isn't. And as the battle for the advertising
rupee gets fiercer, channels will be forced to offer formats
and structures that will more directly lead to sales for the
advertiser.
Does Madison handle television independent of other media?
When it comes to planning, all media is looked at collectively,
but when it comes to buying we have specialists for each medium
and even within the medium we have experts for groups, for
channels and publications.
How do you rate the performance of Madison Advertising
so far?
… and I have miles to go before I sleep!
Are there any aspects, which could do with improvements?
Yes, many and we believe we have to improve by the day,
otherwise we are dead.
Do you feel TV ratings are authentic? Why? CPRP, GRP, TRP
- where do you think we are headed? What is the right currency?
TRP ratings are the right currency, although channels
and producers seem to dislike them. They afford a uniform
and comparable benchmark to the buyer. The industry is continuously
striving to improve the reliability of the TRP system. It
is utopian to expect the TRP system to be 100 per cent accurate.
It can never be. It is meant to be a guide of what India watches.
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'It
is not easy to topple the leader and late entrants in
most markets have a tough time to establish themselves
and become profitable at a national level.' |
Do
you think the TV ad market has deteriorated? Do you expect
growth in this sector?
Whilst
the efficiency with which television has worked has come down
in the last few years, I believe, at even this lower level
it continues to be the most cost effective medium and therefore
as our advertising volumes grow, it will grow. Perhaps its
share of the advertising market, which has risen rapidly in
the past, will now grow only marginally.
Do you think the way the market has polarized is good for
the business?
The general rule in the market place across most product
categories is that there is one very successful player, followed
by another one or two and then there are many who just manage
to make it.
Do you expect Star Plus to rule the roost? For how long?
What is likely to change the leadership position? Who do you
think is the most likely candidate to take over as number
one - Zee, Sony, Sahara, Sabe?
The Madison view on this is not available for public consumption.
What do you feel is missing in the ad-sales pitch of Sahara
and Sabe TV?
It is not easy to topple the leader and late entrants
in most markets have a tough time to establish themselves
and become profitable at a national level.
How does Madison Advertising rank amongst the media buyers
and sellers in India and Asia?
I would like to think - very high!
Is India an important market today in media terms?
Yes, of course!
Who among these is the most innovative - Indian, Asian,
European or the US TV?
My knowledge of Asian, European and US TV is not deep
enough for me to comment on this aspect.
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