Dive Brief:
- In a bid to give clients more control over their ad tech partnerships, Horizon Media has introduced HorizonOS, an open ecosystem that enables clients to create marketing products with a variety of different vendors, per a press release.
- Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Orkin are two clients that have already begun using the platform, which features partners including ID5, ZeroToOne, Kargo, The Trade Desk, Smartly, Vidmob and Newton Research.
- Concurrently, Horizon unveiled a new innovation accelerator called Horizon Labs. The new unit will work with clients to test, validate and scale new capabilities.
Dive Insight:
The independent media agency is positioning HorizonOS as an open system alternative that creates freedom and choice for clients, as opposed to the large holding company systems that are limited and closed. Per Horizon’s announcement, the critical difference for HorizonOS is its use of human intelligence and insight, rather than the automation-first strategies it insists are the hallmarks of the holding companies.
“[The holding companies are] building closed systems of machines talking to themselves, eventually delivering the most reductive solutions. We're taking the opposite approach: HorizonOS is designed to bring human expertise and the latest technology to the forefront, creating conditions for co-creation and client growth,” said Bob Lord, president of Horizon Media Holdings, in the release.
HorizonOS’ architecture is an interconnected system of technology and human intelligence. It relies upon Horizon’s Blu AI platform to create audience strategies, campaign activations and measurement, along with Agent Q, an “internal thought partner” built on Google Gemini and connected to Horizon’s proprietary data.
The platform’s point of differentiation, per Horizon, is the humans behind the tech. This includes Client Architects, who understand business challenges and competitive landscapes; marketing science and advanced analytics teams, and from the HorizonOS Labs venture, what the company refers to as Product Foundry builders.
The Labs unit will work with clients to test, validate and scale new capabilities — including everything from generative AI creative tools to advanced measurement systems — in a way that will grant access to new technologies with less risk. Horizon said more than 15 clients are actively working with HorizonOS Labs to develop pilot programs that address specific business challenges.
Two of those clients are Tropical Smoothie Cafe and Orkin. Through Labs, Tropical Smoothie and ZeroToOne created a pilot to create predictive audience models within the Blu system. Orkin, meanwhile, has been working with The Trade Desk to directly link media investment to strategic business outcomes.
In addition to ZeroToOne and The Trade Desk, other tech partners for HorizonOS and HorizonOS Labs include: data company ID5; activation and planning companies Kargo, Sightly and Vurvey Labs; creative and brand experiences agencies Firsthand, Kerv, Smartly and Vidmob; and analytics company Newton Research.
Horizon has been working hard to fortify its relevance in the new marketing landscape that has been created in the wake of Omnicom’s purchase of Interpublic Group. In September, Horizon Media Holdings launched a joint venture with Havas to create Horizon Global, an entity that executives said was the first agency network built in the AI era and would promise a “seamless, AI-native experience” for its clients.
