Campaign India Agency Report Card 2010: Madison Media

Type of agency  Media

Company ownership  Independent

Key personnel Sam Balsara, chairman and MD, Madison World, Punitha Arumugam, Group CEO, Madison Media, Basabdatta Choudhury, CEO, Platinum Media and Madison Media Plus, C.R Mallikarjundas, COO, Madison Media Infinity, Mumbai and Director, MMRC, Vanita Keswani, COO, Madison Media Sigma, Rajiv Gopinath, COO, Madison Media Infinity, Bangalore, Harsha Joshi, COO, Buying & Content, Neel Kamal Sharma, Consultant

Accounts won ITC, Pidilite, Times Television Network, Nissin Foods, Shriram Transport, Omkar Realtors, Shriram Transport Finance, Warner Brothers, Zenith Computers, HR Johnson

Accounts lost Coca Cola, Zee Entertainment

It’s been a busy year for Madison as it recently partnered with OnMobile to delve into mobile marketing solutions. How much that translates into actual value to clients and to its own value positioning remains to be seen. From a strategic partnership point of view, he development  is well-timed and indicate a first mover advantage. As far as the agency’s business is concerned, although the loss of Coca Cola could have cost the agency dear, Madison more than made up for the loss by winning the massive ITC business.The agency held its own while defending two significant media AORs- Airtel and General Motors. It retained both businesses. It also won the Pidilite business. It lost an old-standing client in the form of Zee Entertainment. Fair showing at Emvies and at Media Abbys. On the talent front, COO Praveen Sharma left for greener pastures; he was replaced by Ashish Singru. In addition, the agency hired Rajat Girdhar to head its digital business. Sam Balsara continues to be the agency’s calling card, taking charge of key industry roles, including that of vice chairman of ABC. this year.

How Campaign India rates the agency: 8

How Madison rates itself: 8

The year 2010 was an eventful year for Madison. We not only retained the Airtel media AOR but also additionally won the Outdoor mandate, thereby making us virtually the one-stop integration point for all Airtel’s communication requirements. We retained the General Motors media AOR, against intense global competition. We ended the year with a bang, by winning two coveted AORs - ITC and Pidilite. We have strengthened our presence in Digital, with teams across Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore and have grown to handle over 15-20% of the total digital spends in India. We won awards in important categories like Best Use of Integrated Media, Best Use of Television and Digital in various industry award shows. Platinum was further strengthened through the launch of  CREST, an independent media unit to handle the  ITC media AOR. We started MBA - Madison Business Analytics,We have launched an internal “Reach for the Stars” program, our remuneration plans are getting more performance driven and we are all set to launch our own internal ERP program, M:POWER. Overall for Madison Media, 2010 has been a year of integration, introspection and impressive growth in reputation and business.