Rethinking media mix modeling for today’s complex consumer journey

Media mix modeling (MMM) helps brands understand how marketing investments affect the bottom line. It originally focused on high-reach channels such as network television, print and radio to assess brand impact and audience reach. Valued for being reliable and easy to measure, these legacy channels were key drivers for brand awareness and conversions. However, the modern consumer journey is now more complex and fragmented.

This is why brands must rethink their media strategies and redefine how success is measured. Consider a wider range of media channels and include touchpoints like:

• Streaming audio.
• Podcasts.
• Gaming.
• Augmented reality (AR).
• Digital out-of-home (DOOH).
• Influencer marketing. 

Here’s why you should adopt new strategies that embrace emerging channels and how to focus on the entire customer experience to drive meaningful outcomes.

Challenging legacy metrics and expanding the view

MMM has traditionally focused on broad visibility, relying on metrics like reach, impressions and cost. It assumed that channels with wide reach automatically delivered better results. In this framework, reach and channels considered the most effective and efficient contributors to outcomes were prioritized, while other platforms were often overlooked due to challenges in proving their impact. This left emerging channels underfunded, despite their highly engaged audiences.

However, not all impressions have the same impact, even if their numbers seem comparable. For instance:

• Linear TV impressions are averaged across large demographic groups.
• Digital video impressions are counted per individual user.

Ad formats affect engagement differently — a 15-second streaming pre-roll video is more engaging than a static display ad. To measure marketing success effectively, consider not just reach but also the quality and context of how each channel engages its audience.

Emerging media offers great opportunities for brand engagement, reaching both large and niche audiences. Gaming, for example, has grown significantly over the past decade, especially during the pandemic, and now reaches a wider audience. It lets you target people based on their lifestyles and interests, making it an effective way to reach specific and diverse groups. 

Consumers are deeply engaged in these experiences, but the challenge of connecting them to traditional attribution models leads to underinvestment. Many see these channels as secondary rather than central to the media mix. 

View these channels as part of a holistic strategy rather than as separate investments. By understanding how different channels — especially newer ones — work together, you can better influence awareness, consideration and conversion, providing a clearer picture of the entire customer journey. 

Conversion data should include direct and indirect metrics, giving credit to channels that contributed to an ad’s impact, even if indirectly. Instead of relying only on last-touch attribution, use multiple attribution models to better capture each channel’s role in shaping consumer behavior.

Dig deeper: Unlocking the full customer journey with advanced marketing measurement models

A bottom-up strategy driven by consumer journeys

As data regulations evolve and cookies disappear, MMMs should shift to a bottom-up strategy focused on real consumer journeys. Understand where, when and how consumers spend their time and use this information to guide media planning. This involves looking at the types of media consumers engage with and how much time they spend on each channel. It also includes assessing your brand’s share of voice within those spaces. These factors — time spent and share of voice — are key to deciding where and how much to invest for maximum impact.

Take DOOH as an example. Often treated as a subset of out-of-home (OOH), it includes placements such as in-store screens, gas station displays, movie theater screens and elevator monitors. These placements are great for engaging consumers in settings where they are more attentive, such as during high dwell-time moments. When paired with digital or audio campaigns, DOOH can boost awareness in environments where consumers focus more on brand messaging.

Streaming audio, podcasts and gaming offer highly personalized and immersive experiences. These platforms are integral to consumers’ daily lives, and treating them as optional misses a key opportunity to connect with a captive audience. Include these channels in larger campaigns alongside digital, social and traditional media, using their unique strengths to drive better results.

Reevaluating investment: Putting the consumer journey first

Reevaluate your traditional media allocations. Instead of focusing only on established channels once seen as the main drivers of success, consider how consumer behavior is changing and which touchpoints align best with that behavior. Modern MMM models should prioritize where consumers spend their time and attention, not just what’s easiest to measure.

Balance your ad spending based on engagement quality, time spent on platforms and share of voice. This doesn’t mean abandoning familiar channels but combining them with newer, high-impact opportunities for better results.

Qualitative consumer research, such as focus groups, panels and surveys, helps you align media spending with the customer experience. For instance, with podcasts, this research can show whether listeners prefer host-read ads or integrated advertorials.

Dig deeper: Measuring marketing’s impact: From metrics to growth

Shaping a multichannel future

The consumer journey is no longer a simple, linear path but an intricate web of touchpoints. To navigate this, MMM must go beyond traditional metrics and well-known channels. Brands today need strategies that blend emerging and established channels, guided by insights into consumer behavior, time spent on platforms and how channels work together.

By focusing on a consumer-first, bottom-up approach, your brand can make a bigger impact — reaching audiences where attention is highest and adding value at every touchpoint. In this fragmented landscape, understand what truly resonates with consumers. A media mix model that looks beyond single-channel attribution and considers how channels complement each other can create seamless, engaging experiences, build loyalty and drive results at every stage of the journey.

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