In the annals of Madison Avenue marriages, some unions arrive with brass bands and others with the quiet hope that the neighbors won't notice if things go wrong. Horizon Global, the year-old joint venture between Havas and Horizon Media, appears to be settling into the latter category.
The partnership, which was announced with considerable fanfare last year as a way for both companies to compete more effectively for global accounts, has so far produced what might charitably be described as modest results. The venture has won some business, but the accounts have been small, and the arrangement remains largely unfamiliar to the search consultants who steer major reviews toward their eventual homes.
This is not, it should be said, an unusual situation for a new entity in the media buying world. Joint ventures between holding companies and independent agencies have a mixed history on Madison Avenue, often requiring years to establish the kind of reputation that gets a firm onto the long lists that precede the short lists that precede the wins. (The alternative — being known immediately — usually means something has gone wrong.)
Still, for a venture that was positioned as a serious challenger in the global arena, the first twelve months have offered more potential than proof. Havas, which is part of the Vivendi empire, brought its international footprint to the arrangement; Horizon Media, the largest independently owned media agency in the United States, brought its domestic scale and entrepreneurial reputation. The theory was that together they could offer multinational clients something neither could provide alone.
The practice, so far, has been quieter than the theory.
Whether the second year brings the breakthrough wins that would validate the partnership or simply more of the same remains, as these things always do, a matter of execution and timing — and of whether the consultants eventually learn to remember the name.
Original story published in adage.com: "One year in, Horizon Global is still trying to prove itself - Ad Age"