Question 1

What is marketing mix modelling?

Accepted Answer

Marketing mix modelling (MMM) is a statistical method that estimates how much each marketing channel contributes to sales, using several years of spend and sales data over time. It also accounts for price, promotions, seasonality and market conditions, so the effect of marketing is separated from everything else. See marketing mix modelling.

Question 2

How is marketing mix modelling different from attribution?

Accepted Answer

Attribution follows individual clicks and gives credit to the touchpoints it can track, so it misses offline and untracked effects and tends to over-credit the last click. Marketing mix modelling works from total spend and sales over time, so it measures every channel, including TV and out of home, without cookies or user tracking. See attribution.

Question 3

What is incrementality, and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

Incrementality is the extra sales that would not have happened without a piece of marketing. It matters because many sales credited to ads would have happened anyway. Budgets set on incremental returns, rather than platform-reported returns, put money where it actually changes outcomes. See incrementality.

Question 4

Is marketing mix modelling only for big brands?

Accepted Answer

No. MMM has traditionally been sold as bespoke projects priced for the largest advertisers, but the method works for any business with enough history of spend and sales. Delphio is built for businesses spending roughly £200k to £2m a year on media.

Question 5

What does Delphio do?

Accepted Answer

Delphio is a marketing foresight platform that builds a marketing mix model from your spend and sales data, has an analyst review it, and then lets you test budget scenarios before you commit. Every result comes with a range, so you can see how certain it is.

Question 6

How long does it take to get results?

Accepted Answer

A model fits in minutes once your data is uploaded, and an analyst reviews it before you see anything. Most businesses have a reviewed model within [X working days] of sharing their data.

Question 7

Can Delphio tell me how much to spend in total, not just where?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Delphio compares your total budget against several reference points: what you spent before, what peers spend, what you can afford, what your growth target needs, and what the model suggests. You see where they agree before you set the number. See [glossary: budget optimisation].

Question 8

How accurate is marketing mix modelling?

Accepted Answer

A well-built model typically explains most of the week-to-week movement in sales, and its accuracy can be checked against data it has not seen. Delphio reports each model's accuracy on its results page in plain language. [Confirm this is live at launch.]

Question 9

Why does Delphio give ranges instead of single numbers?

Accepted Answer

Because every estimate from real-world data is uncertain, and a single number hides how uncertain. A channel might return between 1.8x and 2.6x. Showing the range lets you see which decisions are safe and which depend on the data being right. See credible interval.

Question 10

Who reviews my model?

Accepted Answer

A Delphio analyst checks every model against six structural tests from our published methodology before you see a result. The analyst also sets out the choices behind the model: which factors are included and where the data is strong or weak.

Question 11

What happens if my data is too thin to answer a question?

Accepted Answer

Delphio says so. Where the data cannot support a confident estimate, the range is wide and the results page flags it, rather than presenting a guess as fact. Our analysts will suggest what extra data, or a test, would sharpen the answer.

Question 12

How much data do I need?

Accepted Answer

[Confirm: e.g. "Around two years of weekly data gives the most reliable results; 18 months is the practical minimum."] More history, and more variation in spend, gives tighter ranges.

Question 13

What data do I need to provide?

Accepted Answer

Weekly spend by marketing channel and weekly sales or revenue. Price, promotions, distribution and other factors that move sales improve the model. You can upload a CSV today; [connectors for Shopify, Meta and Google Ads are coming].

Question 14

Where is my data held, and who can see it?

Accepted Answer

Your data is processed and stored in the EU, in Frankfurt. Only your team and the Delphio analyst reviewing your model can see it. [Confirm against the platform privacy policy.]

Question 15

Should I subscribe to the platform or commission a study?

Accepted Answer

Subscribe if you want to plan your own budgets regularly. Commission a study if you need one important question answered with an analyst alongside you, such as a channel review or a board budget case. Many clients start with a study and continue on the platform.

Question 16

How much does Delphio cost?

Accepted Answer

The platform is a monthly subscription, and consultancy studies are quoted at a fixed fee. Both cost a fraction of a bespoke econometrics project. [Book a call] for current pricing and founding cohort terms.

Question 17

Can agencies use Delphio for their clients?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Agencies can model each client's media mix, plan budgets with them and take independent evidence into client reviews. Delphio also runs effectiveness studies and pitch support for agencies. See [Services].

Question 18

Can agencies put their own brand on the reports?

Accepted Answer

[Confirm before launch.] White-label reporting is planned for agency accounts, so clients see your brand while the methodology stays Delphio's.

Question 19

How can media owners use Delphio?

Accepted Answer

Media owners commission studies that show what their channel contributes to advertisers' sales, independently and in terms advertisers trust. Most start with a single study and move to an annual programme.

Question 20

If a media owner pays for a study, is it still independent?

Accepted Answer

Yes, by design. The methodology is fixed in writing before the study starts, the media owner cannot review or suppress findings, and results are published as they fall. Media owner work never feeds the benchmarks that advertisers' recommendations draw on.

Question 21

What does a media owner get from a study?

Accepted Answer

An independent estimate of the channel's incremental contribution to sales, with ranges, for the advertisers and categories studied. It can be shared with advertisers as evidence that stands up to scrutiny.

Frequently asked questions

About marketing mix modelling

How Delphio works

Accuracy and trust

Your data

Platform or consultancy

For agencies

For media owners

Still have a question?