Samir Balwani

Founder & CEO

Samir Balwani is the founder and CEO of QRY, a full-funnel paid media agency he started in 2017. He has 15+ years of advertising experience and previously led brand strategy and digital innovation at American Express. He writes on paid media strategy, measurement, and how agencies should operate.

Articles by Samir Balwani

Measurement & Analytics

The Creative Testing Statistics Reference

Significance, power, MDE, sequential testing: the statistics of creative testing as it actually works in paid media, not as it works in a software A/B test.

Samir BalwaniMay 23, 2026

Measurement & Analytics

The Paid Media Anti-Pattern Glossary

The named bad practices in paid media (retargeting harvesting, branded-search cannibalization, vanity ROAS, lookalike incest), each with how to detect it and what to do instead.

Samir BalwaniMay 23, 2026

Measurement & Analytics

The Paid Media Measurement Glossary

The vocabulary of measuring whether paid media actually grew the business, defined plainly, with formulas where they apply and the QRY take on each.

Samir BalwaniMay 23, 2026

Measurement & Analytics

The MMM Glossary and Math Reference

Adstock, saturation, priors, decomposition, calibration, response curves, mROI: the MMM vocabulary defined plainly, without the vendor wrappers.

Samir BalwaniMay 23, 2026

Measurement & Analytics

The Paid Media Attribution Models Reference

Every paid-media attribution model, from last-click through MMM and designed-in incrementality, with the math, what each overstates, and when it stops being measurement.

Samir BalwaniMay 23, 2026

Channel Strategy & Tactics

The Retail Media Network Reference

Definitive entries for every major retail media network (Amazon, Walmart, Roundel, Kroger, Instacart, Best Buy, Home Depot), with targeting, attribution, and minimum spend.

Samir BalwaniMay 23, 2026

Brand, Growth & Funnel Strategy

CAC and Unit Economics Formulas, A Reference

Blended CAC, paid CAC, new-customer CAC, marginal CAC, LTV:CAC, payback, contribution-margin CAC. Formulas, when to use which, and the errors that flatter the dashboard.

Samir BalwaniMay 23, 2026

Measurement & Analytics

The Incrementality Formulas Reference

Every incrementality formula in one place: iROAS, lift percentage, confidence intervals, MDE, sample size, with worked examples and the math that decides whether a test is real.

Samir BalwaniMay 23, 2026

Brand, Growth & Funnel Strategy

The Full-Funnel KPI Library

An A–Z public reference of paid-media KPIs, mapped to the funnel stage that gives each one its meaning. The companion to the funnel-ordered field guide for CMOs.

Samir BalwaniMay 23, 2026

Measurement & Analytics

Geo-Lift Testing Explained: How to Measure What Platforms Can't

Geo-lift testing is the most honest read on whether paid media actually grew the business. What it answers, how a test works, when to use it, and how to design one that holds up.

Samir BalwaniMay 23, 2026

Brand, Growth & Funnel Strategy

Best Media Buying Agencies for 2026

A media buying agency should plan and buy across channels with transparent economics. Nine agencies for 2026, what each is best at, and who they fit.

Samir BalwaniMay 15, 2026

Brand, Growth & Funnel Strategy

Best PPC Agencies for 2026

The best PPC agencies in 2026 win on account structure and conversion data, not bid tricks. Nine agencies compared, with who each one is the right fit for.

Samir BalwaniMay 15, 2026

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