We are open to innovative relationships that come our way: Madison CMD

Nothing is easy in today's world. Being an independent has its own set of challenges, said he

The Sam-Balsara family, which owns the Madison agency group in India, on Friday, said that they had sold their remaining 26 per cent stake in media agency MediaCom to WPP. MediaCom was a joint venture between WPP and the Balsara family, entered into in 2008. Its clients include advertisers such as Procter & Gamble. The Balsara family had a 51 per cent stake in the JV, with WPP holding the rest. In 2017, the Balsara family offloaded 25 per cent of their 51 per cent stake in the JV. The deal size of the current share sale of 26 per cent, according to industry sources, is estimated at Rs 100 crore. In a conversation with Viveat Susan Pinto, Balsara, chairman & MD, Madison, lays out the future roadmap for his agency.

Edited Excerpts:

Madison is the last independent agency network that is standing within the Indian advertising and media industry. Are you open to an association or alliance with a large group like you did with WPP in the case of MediaCom?

We are open to innovative relationships that come our way. India is a land of opportunity. Madison is the only large independent agency network in the media, advertising and communication space here. We would be open to relationships in these areas.

What has prompted you to explore relationships? There was a time when you chose to keep out of the consolidation in the media and advertising agency space?

On the advertising side, for instance, we have an alliance with the UK-based creative agency BMB. So to answer your question, we are not closed to the possibility of innovative tie-ups. In the case of MediaCom, our JV took the industry by surprise when it was done 15 years ago. It worked well for clients such as Procter & Gamble and many others. However, all good things have to come to an end. The merger between MediaCom and WPP’s media agency Essence, which was announced in April this year, was the right time for us to hand over our remaining stake back to WPP. Both the partners were happy with the relationship that developed during the 15-year-period of the JV. It was a win-win for all. Coming back to your question, however, we are not closed to the possibility of having unique relationships in our domain areas.

What happens to Procter & Gamble, an advertiser you and Madison have been associated with for long? Is there a possibility of the two of you working together again?

Procter & Gamble and Madison haven’t worked with each other for a very long time. All of MediaCom’s clients including Procter & Gamble will stay where they are currently. MediaCom will continue to service them. Madison has no relationship with MediaCom clients. In fact, across our 12 disciplines within the Madison group, we deal with almost 500 advertisers today. So, Madison continues to fire well on its own steam.

Is it easy being an independent in an industry that is forever consolidating?

Nothing is easy in today’s world. Being an independent has its own set of challenges. But there are rewards too. Such as the freedom to move fast; out-of-box solutions that independents can provide and the quick response time to problems. These are some of the key benefits of being an independent and something that makes us what we are.