Horizon Media Wins Two Adweek Project Isaac Awards, Recognizing Invention

NEW YORK, Sept. 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Horizon Media, the largest and fastest growing privately held media services agency in the world, is pleased to announce that it has received two prestigious Adweek Project Isaac awards. The Adweek Project Isaac awards celebrate invention in media, advertising and marketing and technology.

Horizon Media was named a Project Isaac award winner in the 'Media: Radio Invention' category for its "Future of Audio: Mood-Based Audio Planning and Buying Roadmap 'VIBE.'" The agency also won a Project Isaac award in the 'Best Practices: Management Invention category' for its "Dune of Dreams" initiative.

The Future of Audio

Horizon established a mood-based roadmap for planning audio investments, a process that creates recommendations based on the emotional experience brands want to create or connect with versus the traditional demographic-based planning and buying approach. The agency partnered with iHeartMedia, one of the leading global media and entertainment platforms spanning radio, digital, outdoor, mobile, live events, and on-demand entertainment and information services, and Sparkler, an award-winning insights and brand strategy consultancy based in London, to conduct a study into the future of audio. This research provides a blueprint for a new cross-optimization platform for audio, enabling marketers to more efficiently and effectively link their brands with consumers by engaging at a deeper, enduring level.

"It's exciting to be honored for our work around what the future of audio will look like," said Sheri Roder, Chief of the WHY Group at Horizon Media. "As a result of our research, we've turned the audio planning model on its head and can make planning and buying investment decisions using mood and emotion as the pivot point, regardless of whatever new technologies and behaviors develop."

"We're thrilled to win an Adweek Project Isaac award for our research into how audio planning and activation will evolve," said Lauren Russo, SVP, Managing Director of Audio and Promotions at Horizon Media. "We've always known that audio provides a direct line to our emotions, moods and memories, and now, we have an actionable way to explore this untapped area of opportunity by creating and evaluating mood-zone vs traditional day-parts."

Dunes of Dreams

Dunes of Dreams is an invention-development program that encourages Horizon Media's employees to turn their dreams in the realities by submitting invention plans for the chance to receive start-up funding and development resources. Employees with ideas at any point in the invention process were invited to enter Dunes of Dreams. The program is part of the agency's INVENT@horizon initiative, helmed by recently appointed Chief Invention Officer, Taylor Valentine. Valentine is tasked with creating an invention blueprint for the agency in order to bring Horizon's best ideas to life.

Business ideas submitted to the Dunes of Dreams challenge span across mobile apps, internal programs and products and technologies. In addition to start-up assistance, winners are granted dedicated time during the work week to put towards their projects, as well as access to the invention incubator: a Horizon-owned office space specifically designed to facilitate and nurture inventors and their projects. The Dunes of Dreams platform is the brainchild of Stephen Hall, Chief Marketing Officer, and Leena Danan, Vice President of Business Development.

"Our Horizon culture is one where anything is possible and our changing world provides more opportunity to invent than ever before," said Taylor Valentine, Chief Invention Officer at Horizon Media. "We wanted to create 'Dunes of Dreams' to extend a tangible opportunity to our employees to bring their inventions to life."

The Adweek Project Isaac award recognition follows Horizon's announcement that it piloted the first-ever live programmatic radio activation for one of its clients last week. The groundbreaking first-to-market activation was made on Expressway from Katz, radio's industry-wide programmatic buying exchange and illustrates Horizon's continued commitment to boundary-pushing exploration of a better way forward in the new media ecosystem.

Additionally, this prestigious award comes after the agency has been recognized for a third consecutive year on Crain's 'Best Places to Work in NYC' List. The agency's Los Angeles office has also been named a 'Best Place to Work in Los Angeles' by the Los Angeles Business Journal, following a city-wide survey and recognition program that identifies and recognizes Los Angeles' 100 best employers.

The Adweek Project Isaac awards recognize that as the media, marketing and technology sectors continue to transform at a rapid pace, genuine invention, rather than innovation, has become crucial to advancing brands and businesses past the inertia of traditional models and modes. Adweek Project Isaac Awards have been conceived by Adweek to cast a celebratory light on invention across all of Adweek's areas of coverage.

Nominations are accepted across 35 categories, divided into four brackets: Advertising & Marketing, Media, Digital and Best Practices. An independent panel of jurors judges the submissions in two rounds. Winners, which may be an individual, team or department, in each category are profiled in an invention-themed issue of Adweek, published on September 21, 2015.

About Horizon Media
Horizon Media, Inc. is the largest and fastest growing privately held media services agency in the world. The company was founded in 1989, is headquartered in New York and has offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Chicago. Horizon Media was chosen as 2011 Independent Media Agency of the Year by Mediapost, 2010 U.S. Media Agency of the Year by Adweek, Brandweek, and Mediaweek as well as by Ad Age and as one of the world's ten most innovative marketing and advertising companies by Fast Company in 2011.  In 2012, Bill Koenigsberg, President, CEO and Founder, was honored by Advertising Age as Industry Executive of the Year.  Most recently, in 2014, Bill Koenigsberg was named 4As Chair of the Board and is the first person from a media agency to hold this prestigious position in the 100 year history of the 4As, the marketing industry's leading trade association.

The company's mission is "To create the most meaningful brand connections within the lives of people everywhere."  By delivering on this mission through a holistic approach to brand marketing, Horizon Media has become one of the largest and fastest-growing media agencies in the industry, with estimated billings of over $5.3 billion and over 1,200 employees.

The company is also a founding member of Columbus Media International, a multi-national partnership of independent media agencies. For more information, please visit horizonmedia.com.

Contact
Horizon Media
Kaya Lobaczewski
(212) 220-2102
[email protected]

SOURCE Horizon Media

Related Links

http://www.horizonmedia.com

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