Ensuring that ads enhance rather than interrupt the viewing experience should be a priority for every brand, said Alex Stone, senior vice president and managing director of enterprise partnerships at Horizon Media. Speaking with Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan, Stone emphasized that Horizon prioritizes “respectful ad formats,” placements designed to be additive, not intrusive.
“We take a hard look at what’s behind these offerings,” he explained. “Are they just viewable, or are they delivering true value and engagement for clients?”
Horizon focuses on premium, well-lit environments across trusted media properties, ensuring ad placements that benefit both brands and audiences.
Combining audience and context for greater impact
Stone noted that Horizon has moved past the old dichotomy between audience-based targeting and contextual relevance.
“It used to feel like you had context on one end and audience on the other,” he said. “But one plus one equals three when you bring them together.”
By leveraging Horizon’s proprietary Blu platform, the agency can derive audience insights that inform contextual placements, ensuring ads appear in the environments that resonate most deeply with intended viewers.
“Contextual targeting is now part of every tactic we pursue,” Stone said.
Storytelling that connects awareness to conversion
For Horizon, storytelling is more than a creative flourish. It’s a performance driver. Stone described how the Blu platform is evolving to score and evaluate creative across the entire customer journey, from awareness and brand lift through to conversion.
“It’s not just about telling a good story,” he said. “It’s about how that story performs. We’re blending art and science to ensure storytelling leads to measurable outcomes.”
Moving beyond clicks to true performance metrics
Traditional click-through rates (CTRs) no longer serve as meaningful indicators of campaign success, Stone said.
“CTR is kind of fool’s gold,” he said. “You’d get clicks but see high bounce rates. That doesn’t tell the full story.”
Instead, Horizon emphasizes deeper business outcomes, using multi-touch attribution to capture how repeated exposure and engagement drive lower-funnel actions.
“We look at interaction, attention, and their correlation to conversions,” Stone said. “Ultimately, it’s about ROI and helping clients walk into the boardroom confident their campaigns delivered.”
Practicing creative kindness in a results-driven world
Balancing creativity with respect for audiences remains a guiding principle for Horizon. Stone described this philosophy as “creative kindness,” ensuring ads respect viewers’ time and agency.
“We’re taking someone’s valuable time,” he said. “Let’s tell them something new, offer them value, and make it easy to opt out.”
That means providing clear close buttons, honoring skippable formats, and ensuring ad experiences that feel considerate rather than coercive.
“It’s about making advertising better for everyone,” Stone said. “Kindness and performance aren’t opposites. They actually go hand in hand.”
You’re watching “Rethinking the Rules of Engagement: Kindness & Transparency in Advertising, a Beet.TV Leadership Series, presented by WunderKIND Ads.” For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
