MMM Model Update Presentation – The most tense period for everyone 😅

I have been part of 100’s of MMM model presentation. However every model update presentations still makes me a little bit anxious.

And funnily the client side too feels the same anxiety.

Every MMM model update carries with it a lot of suspense and questions.

Such as:

● Are the key drivers of KPI still the same or are there any surprises?

● Did our brand equity increase or decrease?

● Did the increased spends work ?

● What happened to the competition effect? Did it wane or got stronger?

● What is the level of saturation of various media channels? How has it progressed?

● Did our price change affect positively or negatively?

● Are our marketing campaigns still going strong or is there a decline?

The questions are a plenty and sometimes a model update can throw a few surprises.

These surprises are what causes the anxiety, since they threaten to diverge from the initial insights.

So what should one do when there is a substantial divergence from initial model insights?

✅ Check if any data that should have been made part of the MMM update got missed out.

✅ Check the model robustness.

✅ Evaluate the incrementality tests.

✅ Investigate if any force majeure event took place (natural calamities, pandemic etc.).

✅ Check for any other extraneous factors (wars, policy changes etc.).

✅ Speak to the client and explore reasons for any anomaly.

Just because a MMM model update can throw a few surprises, it does not mean we minimize or stop doing model updates.

In fact, more model updates means more chances of aligning with ground reality.