In Part 1 of this series, we discussed how organizational objectives may change the implementation of a media mix and optimization platform. Once the objectives have been set, it’s time to formulate a plan around how to measure the efficacy of your efforts.

With the advent of big data, media mix measurement and optimization have become a required staple in the marketer’s toolbox. Effectively, media mix measurement and optimization are comprised of seven elements:

Most senior marketers will claim that an analytic based data-driven approach is table stakes. And they’re right. Marketers have access to more information than ever before to inform and improve the customer experience. And while being able to measure and analyze data is a keystone to effective strategy, there is a point at which being too reliant on data can hurt.

For those of us involved in some capacity in “the industry” – some who can remember as far back as wood-grain boxes that enabled users to watch twenty channels – we have confidently applied a name to the business: broadband.

As marketers had to double-down on creative solutions during the pandemic, change has been happening behind the scenes. Whether it’s doing away with cookies or the recent news that Nielsen’s audience measurement tools are being applied to Twitter’s video content, data use is shifting, always.

The events of 2020 have a long tail. As marketers enter 2021 with decreased marketing budgets, ROI is of increasing importance. Analytics and the ability to evaluate performance are key, especially as media mix is evolving. And it’s a great time for marketers to check in with their plans and confirm they are still looking at the right metrics.

As companies are finalizing budgets for next year and marketers are fine-tuning their plans, it’s a popular time to look back at what worked and what didn’t. It’s also a critical opportunity to revisit your organizational strategy, realign your KPIs, and design a testing system that gives you actionable insights.

It’s no secret that 2020 was an unexpected year for all of us, and a big year for ecommerce. A recent eMarketer report suggests, though, that “the pandemic has only accelerated an ongoing shift to the [ecommerce] channel.” So with this growing channel in mind, our CEO Michael Caccavale and I sat down to discuss what marketers need to keep an eye on.

The kids are going back to school, our Denver office has already seen snow, and it’s starting to feel like fall. While 2020 has dished up a lot of new challenges, marketers are still facing the need to plan and budget for next year, even if we’re still struggling to plan for next month. Here’s what our CEO thinks about 2021 planning.

Like many people, I have spent a lot more time in 2020 with Zoom meetings and Netflix characters than with real people. And as social distancing continues to be the norm, the resulting consumer habits are leaving some marketers to rethink their tactics. I recently sat down with our CEO to talk about what’s changing – and what isn’t – as more consumers are staying home.