• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, March 7, 2024

The migration from licensed to open-source software continues to gain momentum as consumer privacy increases in importance. Searches related to "MMM" rose about 32% in 2023 compared with 2022, according to Google Trends data.

Google on Thursday announced Meridian, the company’s first open-source Marketing Mix Model (MMM). It is available now to select marketers and data scientists. The version has methods integrated into the design that will enable advertisers to more accurately understand the impact of campaigns.

The measurement tool, which prioritizes privacy techniques for advertisers is in anticipation of Google’s plan to phase out third-party cookies later this year.

Harikesh Nair, senior director of data science at Google, wrote in a post about how Google will increase investment in the future of MMM.

Meridian will include methodologies to help make MMMs more accurate, actionable and analytically precise. 

It can help advertisers understand their marketing efforts, and contribute to the industry as a whole by introducing new, innovative methodologies for advertisers to measure with. Innovations include, calibration with incrementality experiments and reach and frequency incorporation.

As the privacy and regulatory environment continues to change, MMMs are becoming an increasingly important part of an effective measurement strategy. They help businesses understand return on investments (ROIs) and validate that information across all marketing channels and publishers with privacy top of mind.  

Key benefits also include transparency through an open-source model. Meridian allows anyone to review the code and methods from which it is built.

It also can help marketers make better decisions by offering data inputs, model guidance, and cross-channel budget optimization. In addition, users will have access to resources for implementation and use, including detailed technical documentation with FAQs for troubleshooting.

Deloitte measurement research shows that C-Level executives who placed high importance on MMM were more than two times more likely to exceed revenue goals by 10% or more.

In a February report, Deloitte examined the benefits of MMM to share some of the opportunities behind the open-source technique. Those opportunities range from

MMMs today are not perfect, but are evolving, Nair wrote. With Meridian, Google looks to help companies navigate toward the future through innovation and by sharing data in conjunction with an open-source model. We welcome everyone to join us in this effort.

Earlier adopters include Shopify, Vestiaire Collective, and Asos.