Empire Today Names Horizon Next Media AOR for Full Funnel Strategy to Build Preference and Drive New Customer Acquisition

Horizon, leveraging Blu, consolidates Empire Today's media investment, unifying strategy, activation, and measurement across national footprint

NEW YORK, Feb. 3, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Empire Today^®, the leading provider of high quality, affordable installed flooring solutions, has named Horizon Next as its agency of record. After a two-month review, Empire awarded their annual media investment to Horizon based on the agency's depth of experience in DTC home services and the strength of Blu Platform, Horizon's marketing intelligence platform, to unify analytics and drive business growth. The engagement consolidates responsibilities previously managed across a mix of external partners and in-house teams, enabling a more unified, performance-led media strategy.

Empire Today appointed Horizon to sharpen and scale its nationwide direct-to-consumer growth strategy. Horizon will bring greater focus, consistency, and accountability to how the brand reaches high-intent consumers, by overseeing strategy, activation, and measurement across video, paid search, paid social, and affiliate marketing. By connecting these channels under a single, performance-led approach, Horizon will improve media efficiency, strengthen demand generation, and accelerate growth across Empire's DTC footprint.

"Horizon demonstrated a clear ability to pair strategic rigor with measurable business impact," said Bruce Millard, CMO of Empire Today. "As we scale our presence across key markets, their ability to connect media strategy, activation, and measurement gives us confidence in how we invest, drive demand, and support sustained growth across our key audience."

Horizon will partner closely with Empire Today to drive efficiency, unlock growth, and build a connected, analytics-led marketing engine. Its Blu platform will link audience intelligence, media activation, and analytics to enable smarter, faster investment decisions.

"Empire Today came to us looking for more than execution—they wanted clarity, accountability, and a path to sustained growth as demand for home improvement accelerates among Empire's target consumer," said Gene Turner, President, Global Chief Client Officer, Horizon. "By combining cost analysis, advanced measurement, and hands-on optimization, we are making smarter media decisions that deliver greater efficiency and stronger outcomes. We are building on this momentum to drive sustained growth across Empire Today's DTC business."

About Empire Today
Empire Today, LLC is a national leader in the flooring industry, offering a wide range of products, including carpets, hardwood, laminate, and vinyl flooring. With a commitment to providing high-quality products and exceptional customer service, Empire Today makes the process of purchasing and installing flooring simple and convenient. Headquartered in Northlake, Illinois, Empire Today serves homeowners and businesses across the United States.

About Horizon Next
Horizon Next is headquartered in New York with additional offices in Toronto. Horizon Next has 636 employees and manages over $3.8B in client investments. Under the entrepreneurial leadership of Gene Turner, President, the group has grown into one of the industry's most innovative and data-driven marketing organizations. Horizon Next partners with clients to provide strategic leadership, brand strategy, media planning and investment, data strategy, campaign measurement and reporting, advanced analytics, and optimization across all channels.

About Horizon Media
Horizon Media, the largest independent media agency globally, delivers data-driven business outcomes for some of the most innovative and ambitious brands. Founded in 1989, headquartered in New York, and with offices in Los Angeles and Toronto, the company employs 2,400+ people and has media investments of more than $8.5 billion. Horizon Media's fundamental belief is that business is personal, which drives its approach to connecting brands with their customers and engaging with its own employees, resulting in industry-leading workplace satisfaction levels (Glassdoor). The company is consistently recognized by independent media outlets for its client excellence and has earned several "Best Workplaces" awards reflecting its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion and the life and well-being of everyone at Horizon Media.

SOURCE Horizon Media