Barry Dudley examines whether the launch of Horizon Global – a joint venture between Havas and Horizon Media Holdings, bringing together $20bn in combined billings and billed as the first AI-era agency network – is a genuine game-changer for media agencies or just glossy boardroom spin. Horizon Global is to be a new entity focused specifically on “US-centric global client opportunities,” allowing both parent entities to maintain their independence. The profits are split, leadership is shared between New York and Paris, and there is to be a combined tech offer that merges Horizon’s Blu platform with Havas’s Converged.AI to create BluConverged. The timing isn’t coincidental. With Omnicom’s pending acquisition of IPG creating a behemoth with billings reportedly north of $70bn, rumors swirling around Dentsu’s potential sale of its international operations, and WPP with a new CEO, the big holdco landscape is experiencing unprecedented change. Horizon Global is hoping to emerge as an alternative for global marketers who suddenly find their agency options dramatically reduced. Bob Lord, Horizon’s president who now also serves as interim CEO of the joint venture, puts it simply: “There is a lack of client choice out in the marketplace.”
Why this could be genius
The strategic logic behind Horizon Global is compelling on multiple fronts. First, it addresses a fundamental geographic imbalance that has long plagued both agencies. Horizon brings formidable US muscle to Havas, while Havas contributes strong European presence, particularly in France and Spain, to Horizon. Then there is speed to market. Interested clients can pick up the phone and enquire – it exists now. Unlike a full merger, which inevitably involves integration headaches and cultural clashes, Horizon Global will become its own thing while allowing the parent businesses to maintain their existing operations just the way they are. It’s collaboration without the pain of full integration. By contrast, the Omnicom-IPG deal was announced last December and only received FTC approval a few days ago, and even then, it was subject to conditions around commitment to political neutrality. If they get it right, the BluConverged platform will combine years of R&D investment by Havas and Horizon with access to a significantly bigger and deeper data pool. Perhaps most importantly, the timing of all of this capitalizes on market uncertainty. If you were a client who is thinking of pitching their global media business, would you add another network to the list when there aren’t that many candidates to put on the list in the first place? I suspect they might.
The challenges ahead
While Havas and Horizon have $20bn in combined billings, a significant portion will remain in those businesses. As mentioned above, the joint venture is aiming for “US-centric global client opportunities,” so is it clientless until the first of those ‘opportunities’ is converted? And even with the clout and influence of the parents’ $20bn, this is still somewhat dwarfed by the billings of WPP, Publicis and the soon-to-be-combined Omnicom-IPG. Then there is the scale challenge of servicing truly global clients. Although Horizon Global can claim a footprint of over 100 countries, the depth and quality of that coverage inevitably varies significantly from market to market. And while a joint venture may be quicker to make happen than a merger, it is not without its own operational complexities and ongoing challenges. It must navigate the inherent tensions of having two parent companies, with different cultures, strategic priorities and ways of working. The leadership team, split between New York and Paris, will need to maintain constant alignment while managing potentially competing interests. Interim CEO Bob Lord and global COO Renata Spackova both still have their existing day jobs to attend to at Horizon and Havas, respectively.
A missed opportunity
As someone who witnessed first-hand the power of an agency name during my time with a business called Naked, I do wonder if a trick has been missed here. Undoubtedly, there are many factors that make the likes of Mischief, Rethink, Uncommon and Special such unique and successful businesses, but I’ll bet that the name and the ethos that sits behind each of them will have often been a distinguishing pitch-winning factor, overtly or subliminally. But Horizon Global… BluConverged… What’s my suggestion, you ask? ‘The Other One.’ Where client relationships are everything and execution is paramount, even the most elegant partnership structures can crumble if they can’t deliver superior outcomes. Without this, the masterstroke soon becomes a mirage. But one thing is certain: the big media agency landscape just became a little more interesting. Read more
