Marketing mix models aim to answer the marketer’s billion-dollar question: where should you spend your budget? Yet most organizations build models and still struggle to translate their outputs into decisions anyone feels confident making. The problem isn’t how advanced the model is. It’s how organizations use it and what they feed into it.
The real gap: Application, not technology
Today’s customer journey is more fragmented, faster-moving and harder to track than ever. Consumers switch between platforms, devices and channels in ways that don’t follow linear paths, and their decisions are shaped by factors far beyond paid media.
Despite this, many organizations still apply marketing mix modeling (MMM) with a decade-old mindset. Annual refresh cycles, siloed ownership and static inputs like channel-level spend, impressions or GRPs remain common. Some models assume linear, time-invariant effects or rely on last-touch logic, which fails to accurately reflect how customers actually move across channels. These legacy assumptions no longer align with faster, more complex decision cycles.
Foundational practices still matter when applied thoughtfully. Multi-year data helps establish reliable baselines, and limiting variables supports model stability. But the pace of change in consumer behavior, media and culture means those practices must evolve. New channels, trends, devices and market dynamics constantly reshape how people engage, requiring data that captures emerging channels, real-time behavior and broader market shifts.
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MMM must reflect that complexity. It needs broader inputs, more frequent refreshes and an operating model designed to guide decisions as conditions change. The challenge, however, is not the technology itself. The real gap lies in how organizations approach MMM. Too often, models are used to validate past decisions rather than guide future ones. Making MMM effective requires cross-functional ownership, better data access, faster feedback loops and a mindset that treats measurement as a continuous, decision-driving capability.
The Interactive Advertising Bureau’s “Modernizing MMM: Best Practices for Marketers” provides a practical blueprint for doing exactly that, focusing less on modeling theory and more on the impact of decisions.
What it takes to make MMM decision-ready
If your MMM still runs on annual cycles and is only based on campaign performance, you’re already behind. IAB highlights three principles that separate leaders from those that are still relying on outdated methods.
- Earn trust: Transparency is non-negotiable. All inputs, assumptions and data lineage must be clearly documented and governed. This allows verification by stakeholders across legal, finance and procurement. Trust is built on transparency, which reinforces the model’s reliability.
- Balance speed and stability: Models require automated data pipelines for frequent refreshes to reflect market reality. However, agility must be paired with discipline. Model retraining should be reserved for periods of meaningful underlying pattern shifts, preventing noise from undermining leadership confidence.
- Drive strategy: MMM outputs must directly support executive decision-making. This necessitates insights leaders can act on, clear linkages to the P&L statement and scenario planning that provides leaders with confidence bands for action. If a model cannot frequently and reliably guide strategy, it is inefficiently designed.
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The complexity of the customer journey and the need for real-time responsiveness demand more than model refreshes. They require an operational shift. The IAB guide outlines six best-practice areas that help build MMM into a truly modern, business-driving function.
- Stronger foundation: MMM needs more than impressions and spend. It’s most reliable when there is detailed, multi-year data across paid, owned and earned media, plus outside factors such as pricing and market shifts. Centralized, well-documented data is essential.
- Omnichannel coverage and representation: Emerging channels shouldn’t be ignored or lumped into other digital. Whether it’s CTV, gaming, podcasts, influencers or commerce media, they need to be treated as distinct even if the data isn’t perfect.
- Speed and flexibility: Run it often enough to guide the next decision. Ideally, before and throughout the campaign, so teams can adjust spend when it matters. That requires automated pipelines and modular components. Responsiveness matters more than perfection.
- Integrated measurement: MMM shouldn’t operate alone. It is highly recommended that outputs triangulate with attribution, incrementality and lift studies. Conflicting results should lead to smarter hypotheses, not internal disputes. No single method holds every answer.
- Actionable, tailored outputs: Different stakeholders require different types of outputs. Executives want scenarios. Finance needs bottom-line clarity. Media teams need ROI guidance. One well-structured model should meet all these needs.
- Organizational adoption: Even the most effective models fail without widespread adoption. That means embedding MMM into planning cycles, assigning ownership and training teams to act on insights. If it doesn’t influence decisions, it’s an expensive system providing no strategic direction.
The path to measurement maturity
Most organizations don’t need real-time models to start making progress. Clean data, a clear objective and one successful pilot that drives a real decision are enough to move past the fundamentals. Tools and dashboards exist, but without organizational commitment and adoption, they deliver no value.
Progress requires more than budget — it necessitates cultural alignment and a commitment to action-based insights.
Strong measurement isn’t about chasing perfection. It’s about enabling smarter, faster decisions and having the confidence to know what to do next.
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Marketers are under increasing pressure. Data changes are shrinking visibility. Platforms evolve quickly. New channels and behaviors outpace legacy models. CFOs want more clarity on marketing’s impact.
MMM is not a luxury — it is mission-critical business infrastructure. Organizations that fail to modernize risk:
- Misaligned media investments: Spending money where the audience isn’t.
- Missed optimization opportunities: Inability to adjust spend in-flight.
- Leadership skepticism: Struggling to link marketing outcomes to the bottom line.
The question isn’t whether your MMM technology is current. It’s whether your organization is structured to act on what it tells you. If your MMM isn’t informing decisions, it’s time to rethink your approach.
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