Observed Signal · Jun 22, 2026 · Partnership · Source: Business Wire: AdTech · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Horizon Media and Smartly Integrate Blu Audiences for Performance
Horizon Media Holdings and Smartly announced an expanded partnership that integrates HorizonOS’ Blu audience segments directly into Smartly’s creative and campaign workflows via the Blu Audience API. Smartly is described as the first SaaS activation partner to bring Blu audiences into social, commerce, and connected TV (CTV) campaign workflows and Google. The integration connects audience intelligence to Smartly’s campaign optimization and creative capabilities, creating a feedback loop between audience signals, creative performance, and outcomes. Early campaigns reportedly showed nearly double the creative engagement versus standard audience approaches and a 35% reduction in cost per order. The announcement emphasizes cross-channel activation and tighter alignment between audience insight, creative, and media buying.
Direct API-based activation of proprietary audience segments into a creative+media SaaS platform enables faster insight-to-activation across social, CTV and Google; early performance gains signal measurable impact for targeting and creative optimization.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Smartly and Horizon Media Holdings announced an expanded partnership on 2026-06-22.
- Smartly is the first SaaS platform activation partner to bring HorizonOS’ Blu audience segments into campaign workflows via the Blu Audience API.
- The integration enables Blu audiences to be activated across social, commerce, connected TV (CTV), and Google campaign workflows within Smartly.
- Early campaigns reportedly delivered nearly double creative engagement and reduced cost per order by 35%.
Connected Companies & Entities
5 Entities mappedOntology Mapping & Concepts
Related Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Horizon Media Adds Agentic Ad Buying to Horizon OS Blu
Horizon Media has extended its intelligence platform, Horizon OS Blu, with an agentic software layer that enables ad-buying AI agents to interact with agents from adtech partners and media companies. The integration supports partner agents from Innovid, Magnite, Vidmob, Smartly and others, as well as media-company agents from Fox, Disney, TikTok and NBCUniversal. Horizon says clients such as SharkNinja are already using the agentic layer to connect with retailers. The agents are designed to combine publisher audience insights, campaign performance data and measurement signals to accelerate and automate parts of the media-buying workflow, aiming to make buys faster and smarter through agent-to-agent coordination.
Horizon Media Integrates Roku TV Data into Its Own Platform
Horizon Media announced a direct integration with Roku to bring Roku's TV viewership data into its homegrown data and intelligence platform, blu. This integration aims to provide Horizon and its clients with near real-time access to Roku's device and audience data, enabling earlier application in the media planning process for improved targeting and optimization. The partnership is described as a joint product roadmap to address challenges in streaming TV ad buying, such as reducing delays between observing campaign signals and acting on them. The deterministic data set is expected to enhance measurement accuracy compared to panel-based probabilistic data. A+E Global Media, a client, expects benefits like expanded audience reach and better understanding of conversion rates by genre, leading to more effective targeting.
Horizon Media and Kartel Partner to Integrate Creative and Media
Horizon Media Holdings announced a strategic partnership with Kartel to integrate Kartel’s AI-native creative engine into HorizonOS, Horizon’s open operating system. The integration links Kartel’s brand-specific creative models with HorizonOS’ Blu marketing intelligence platform to create a real-time feedback loop between creative output, media delivery and audience response. The partnership aims to break down traditional separation between creative and media workflows, accelerate creative development, and enable optimization based on actual campaign performance. The announced roadmap includes direct Blu–Kartel connections, pilot programs across strategy/production/media, enterprise workflow integration, and governance frameworks. Horizon and Kartel emphasize client ownership of data and creative intelligence models.
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