Following a highly successful 32-year career with the Dallas Times Herald, Sam Bloom resigned to open his own advertising agency. Starting in 1952 with a small office and three employees, he grew an agency that won national acclaim for its inspiration and ingenuity, helping to transform the status of retail advertising and its use in television.
Bloom's agency worked to transform Zales from a small town chain of jewelry stores into the world's largest jeweler. Grassroots advertising development and extensive efforts to learn the client's business from the ground up were key elements of his strategy.
Bloom believed advertising could change the way people think and influence their decisions. In the late 1950s, during a time of deep racial unrest throughout the South, he developed a campaign to sell the logic of peaceful integration to key cities such as Dallas, Miami and Memphis. His deep involvement with and dedication to civic affairs led many state and national leaders to seek his counsel. His concern for people and ability to see an issue from different perspectives were factors in President John F. Kennedy’s decision to name him to his White House conference on equal employment in 1961. Bloom’s infinite compassion for his fellow man and keen understanding of human condition earned him the respect and confidence of President Lyndon B. Johnson. Bloom continued to contribute through his leadership of the National Council of Christians and Jews.
Sam Bloom's list of accomplishments within his industry and his community were numerous and his honors many, yet he always found time to reach out, to help others and to give back.