Canvas Worldwide’s first clients will be Hyundai Motor America and Kia Motors America. The client businesses will transition to the new entity on January 1, 2016, and will be managed by Canvas Worldwide’s five offices.

“Marketplace dynamics are right for a new media agency network to breathe creativity and innovation into the advertising industry,” said Bill Koenigsberg, president, CEO and founder of Horizon Media. “We are operating in a media landscape and a business environment that is in constant flux. We have a white canvas to invent, create, grow and transform the industry in the process, thus reflecting the name of the new Canvas Worldwide network. 

"Today anything is possible and you must be inventing the future and creating new opportunities. I’m excited to partner with the leadership team at Innocean Worldwide to create a second option for marketers seeking a true alternative.”

The two companies have had a long relationship and have had various discussions over the years about working together. Through these discussions the idea developed to form a new network, said Horizon executives. This partnership benefits the two companies for different reasons.

For Innocean, this is the first time a Korean advertising agency has tried to build a global media network. And Horizon now gains an international footprint. The privately held agency is headquartered in New York and has offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Chicago, but lacks the resources to grow internationally independently. 

The name was an easy decision, said Horizon executives. "A canvas is purposely blank and full of room to create, grow and invent. A white canvas is full of possibilities and allows us to create the agency that we can color and bring to life in whatever ways we choose to fulfill today’s client needs while remaining open to tomorrow’s possibilities."

“Canvas Worldwide is an exciting joint venture between Innocean Worldwide and Horizon,” said Ahn, Kun-Hee, Global CEO of Innocean Worldwide. “We sought a media partner with a shared commitment to creativity and invention, and that partner is Horizon. I respect Horizon’s success in the marketplace.”