“A slight man who performs giant deeds and has decades of achievement behind him”, says The Brand Reporter, (a marketing magazine in India) describing Sam Balsara. The magazine further says, “Unassuming, affable, and a charmer, the soft spoken Balsara hit the headlines in April 08 with a spectacular deal that made the Media world sit up. He acquired a 51% stake in MediaCom in India.”
Sam is currently the head of the completely Indian owned Madison World, which has 20 units across 10 specialized functions in Advertising, Media, PR, Outdoor, BTL, Rural, Retail, Entertainment, Events and Sports Management. Over the past 21 years, Madison has grown to become a Rs. 20 billion company, employing over 800 communication experts, with offices in India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Madison Media in 2006 became the first media agency from India to win 2 Cannes Media Lions.
Over the past few years, Sam has headed almost every major industry committee or association, including the Advertising Agencies Association of India the Advertising Standards Council of India the Ad Club of Mumbai and the National Readership Studies Council. He served on the jury to judge the prestigious Media Lions awards at the Advertising Festival in Cannes 2 years ago