• by Larissa Faw , June 26, 2015

Horizon Media is moving away from an agency of record toward becoming an "agency of collaboration," which is why the agency launched “BrandStorm,” its first hackathon-style event on Thursday.

More than 75 Horizon employees at its New York office worked within teams to brainstorm to come up with new opportunities for brands and ways to generate revenue streams for clients.

Teams were briefed on creating solutions to challenges faced by clients across multiple categories, including financial services, entertainment, insurance, quick service restaurants, consumer packaged goods, and automotive.

After "BrandStorming," teams then presented their ideas to senior leadership at the agency. 

Concepts that emerged from the event included leveraging a company's logistics and infrastructure for new revenue purposes. Another idea that popped up was to pitch the development of loyalty rewards programs for client businesses that have not traditionally utilized them.

New partnerships among Horizon’s roster of clients were also proposed, such as monthly boxed shipping clubs. Also pitched was the idea of leveraging brand capital, such as a logo as a product seal of approval that a client could bestow across various vendor categories or other groups. These concepts are now being presented to Horizon clients for possible adoption. 

 "It’s important that we adjust the way we think about our clients’ needs,” said Bill Koenigsberg, CEO of Horizon Media. “BrandStorm is an exciting opportunity because it allows our employees to think differently about our clients’ businesses. It is just one of many ways we are encouraging invention and deep-seated ideation within the walls of Horizon.”

This event was part of the agency’s INVENT@horizon initiative, directed by Chief Invention Officer, Taylor Valentine. Valentine is tasked with creating and executing a blueprint for bringing invention to life across the agency.

The BrandStorm event follows the May launch of the agency’s new invention development program Dunes of Dreams, which invites employees to submit their best entrepreneurial ideas for the opportunity to make them a reality.