Horizon Media and Kartel Forge Strategic Partnership to Reunify Creative and Media through HorizonOS

Shared Intelligence System built on Adaptive AI and an Interoperable Ecosystem transforms how brands integrate creative, media, and performance

NEW YORK, June 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Horizon Media Holdings, parent company of the world's largest independent media agency, today announced a strategic partnership with Kartel, an AI-native creative engine focused on building brand-specific intelligence systems for marketing. The partnership integrates Kartel into HorizonOS, Horizon's open operating system, enabling clients to see how creative execution connects to audience response and campaign performance in real time.

View PDF

Traditionally, creative development and media execution operate in separate workflow: creative teams develop work, media teams activate it, and performance data arrives after the fact. This fragmentation slows learning and limits the ability to optimize creative based on what's actually working in the market. The partnership is designed to break down that separation, creating a unified system where creative teams have visibility into performance data and can adapt future work accordingly.

"The conversation has moved beyond simply using AI to generate content," said Kevin Reilly, CEO, Kartel. "What matters now is building creative systems that become more informed and effective over time. While much of the industry conversation has focused on automation, this partnership is about helping brands continuously learn from what resonates and apply those insights to future storytelling."

Unlike general-purpose AI creative tools trained on broad datasets, Kartel builds custom models for each brand. The process involves incorporating visual identity, tone, historical performance, and audience data. These models are designed to improve within the context of a single brand rather than contribute to shared training systems.

"This partnership is about bringing creative instinct and audience intelligence closer together," said John Koenigsberg, EVP, Platform Partnerships, Horizon Media Holdings. "HorizonOS was designed to help unify a fragmented ecosystem, and Kartel extends that vision into the creative process, helping ideas move more seamlessly from inspiration to production and performance."

Kartel's creative intelligence connects directly with HorizonOS' Blu, Horizon's marketing intelligence platform, and campaign performance data. This creates a feedback loop: creative output, media delivery, and audience response inform each other in real time. Creative teams see which executions drove engagement. Media teams understand which creative variations performed best. Future creative development reflects what actually worked.

The integration roadmap includes:

• Direct connection between Blu audience intelligence and Kartel creative generation
• Pilot programs spanning strategy, production, media, and performance optimization
• Enterprise workflow integration across Horizon creative and media teams
• Governance and operating frameworks for scaled client deployment

For clients, the alliance between Horizon and Kartel means faster creative development and better performance data visibility. The collaboration also allows both companies the ability to continuously improve creative work based on real campaign results, not theoretical AI optimization. Ultimately, this arrangement is about ownership: clients own their data, their creative intelligence models, and the insights generated from their campaigns.

"Kartel was built in direct response to the commoditization happening across AI creative," said Roberto Alcazar, EVP, Managing Partner, One Horizon. "Too many systems optimize speed and output, which often leads to work that feels interchangeable. What matters more is how technology actually supports better creative thinking and execution. This approach lets teams move more fluidly from insight to idea to production to optimization, while keeping work grounded in real campaign needs. The result is stronger, more distinctive creative that performs in the market and solves brand problems and performance with greater precision."

About Horizon Media Holdings
Horizon Media Holdings is the privately-held parent company of Horizon Media, the largest U.S. media agency and the largest independent globally, with additional portfolio companies including – Horizon Next (full-service marketing); Horizon Commerce (commerce and digital experiences); Horizon Business (consulting, media and creative); One Horizon (full-service advertising); HS&E (sports and experiential); and Blue Hour Studios (influencer agency). Horizon Media Holdings has a 50/50 partnership with Havas Media Network in the performance-driven agency network, Horizon Global. Horizon Holdings drives enterprise-level innovation, fosters collaboration across its portfolio, and explores new growth opportunities and technology solutions to help its clients navigate the shifting marketing challenges of today and tomorrow.

About Kartel
Kartel builds intelligent production systems that replace fragmented creative workflows. We connect data, production, and performance into a single system that improves over time. This unlocks brands' ability to move faster, operate with less friction, optimize and scale their most performant creative. Learn more at www.kartel.ai.

SOURCE Horizon Media