Marketing mix modeling (MMM) is a time-tested method for measuring the impact of your marketing. It’s how many leading brands figure out what’s working across different channels, and it’s a crucial tool for guiding budget decisions.
And yet, most of the time, MMM isn’t set up to provide actionable insights when it comes to digital. For example, many brands are still stuck treating digital ads the way they would TV, with one ROI for search and another for online video. On the surface, that might seem fair — but it doesn’t capture the variety of ad formats and tactics available in digital marketing.
That’s why it’s time for marketers to embrace the nuances of digital in their measurement. Follow these steps to get a more accurate and actionable read on the impact of your digital efforts.

1. Evaluate your media by geography and market
Big TV buys may run nationally, but digital ads deliver on demand locally and offer granular reporting. Collect and model your data by market to help you get additional data points that make your model more representative.
Jeff Shatz, VP of marketing effectiveness at Nielsen, explains why this is critical. “The more granular the data, the more variability the statistical model is able to pick up, and the greater ability to tease out true drivers. If only national-level marketing data is used, the model will not be able to account for critical market-level influences that impact whether a purchase is made.”