Last week, President of Horizon Commerce, Randy Browning joined Alan Moss with Amazon & Raakhee Mirchandani with WSJ to discuss how AI, digital and physical are transforming marketing and the seamless sell. Hear from Randy on his reflection from his time below!
At Cannes standing before a room of industry leaders at The Journal House, I felt a palpable sense of urgency and excitement. The world of marketing is changing at a pace we’ve never seen before, and it was invigorating to share Horizon Commerce’s vision for navigating—and thriving in—this new reality.
A New Era of Partnership and Innovation
At Horizon Commerce, we see ourselves not just as a commerce agency, but as a data and technology company that builds custom solutions in partnership with platforms like Amazon Ads. Gone are the days when media agencies could simply buy media or create content in isolation. Today, success demands that we co-create, leveraging the strengths of both our agency and our partners to deliver truly integrated solutions. This is not just my belief—it’s where the industry is headed, and Cannes was a testament to that momentum.
Holistic Thinking: Breaking Down Silos
One of the key themes I addressed was the need to think holistically about media. For too long, marketers have treated awareness, consideration, and conversion as separate, linear steps. But the customer journey is anything but linear. With today’s ad tech and data signals, we can—and must—bring all these elements together. Shoppable content and interactive video ads exemplify this shift, allowing brands to drive both awareness and immediate sales, often in the same campaign. The results speak for themselves: advertisers using these formats have seen up to 28% higher sales compared to those who haven’t embraced this approach.
AI and Real-Time Optimization: The Game Changer
Perhaps my favorite topic—and one that generated a lot of buzz at Cannes—was the role of AI in optimization and media investments. I shared a story about a client who, despite extensive planning, ended up with a negative ROI because they relied on outdated, point-in-time measurement. This is a widespread problem. That’s why we built NEON, our end-to-end AI optimization platform. By integrating Amazon’s signals with our own, NEON predicts not just ROAS or RNI, but incremental revenue at an astonishing 97.5% accuracy. This means we can optimize down to the keyword level, forecasting the impact of every decision in real time, and eliminating the surprises that often come with traditional measurement models.
Driving Incremental Revenue Across the Portfolio
The real breakthrough, though, is that with today’s data and computing power, marketers can now drive growth for every product in their portfolio, every single day, across the entire funnel. We’re developing predictive conversion scores for every product page, enabling us to bid not just on audiences, but on the likelihood that a specific product page will convert. This is a fundamental shift in how brands go to market—media, content, and organic efforts can no longer be siloed. They must be orchestrated together, powered by data and AI.
The Evolving Role of the CMO
I also spoke about the changing nature of the CMO’s role. Historically seen as a cost center, the CMO’s office is now poised to become the organization’s primary driver of incremental revenue. With consumers buying wherever and whenever they want, only the CMO has the scale and insight to drive revenue across all channels. This shift means CMOs must also become technology leaders, owning their data and outcomes to drive growth.
AI: The Accelerator
If there was one word that echoed throughout the halls of Cannes this year, it was “acceleration.” AI is transforming every aspect of our business, from creative production to media buying to measurement. The message to my peers was clear: buckle up, learn these tools, and lead your teams into this new era. The pace of change isn’t slowing down—and those who embrace it will be the ones who shape the future.
Looking Ahead
As I left the stage and mingled with colleagues—some excited for the next big keynote, others simply grateful for the air conditioning after a sweltering day—I felt more optimistic than ever. The challenges are real, but so are the opportunities. At Horizon Commerce, we’re committed to pushing boundaries, partnering deeply, and using AI not just as a buzzword, but as a practical engine for growth. Cannes 2025 was a milestone, but the real work—and the real innovation—starts now.
-Randy
Check out the full video here for more!