By T.S. Kelly, Arima, U.S. Managing Director
John Rosso, my esteemed industry colleague at iHeartMedia, hates my business card. So much so he keeps it on his desk as a constant reminder that radio and related audio platforms need better representation in current marketing mix modeling solutions.
The business card in question offers sample output of my company’s MMM cross-channel attribution and forecasting capabilities. However, in the process, it also details middling radio ROI alongside better-performing digital channels.
While the example on the card John dislikes so much is a demo, his point is well taken. Radio and related audio campaign data sources used in MMM often lack historical consistency compared to more data-rich digital channels (display, search, social, etc.). In addition, when radio data is made available it is often absent creative, partner, tactic or other granular details we take for granted from the likes of a Google or Meta.
Same Song, New Notes
The need for better audio data in MMM is not a new topic. It has been conventional wisdom that the frequent practice of using highly aggregated audio data in MMMs likely underrepresent the channel’s impact on brand performance up and down the sales funnel, most notably on the local level.
Recent years have wrought some positive change to remedy this shortcoming. First of all, the speed of cloud computing and availability of MMM results in hours or days instead of weeks or months has been one gamechanger.
Another is improved accessibility and ease of use of MMM tools. Unlike open-source MMM options like Google’s Meridian or Meta’s Robyn, SaaS-based solutions offer an accessible and cost-effective pathway to address immediate omnichannel budget and channel mix questions. And because SaaS MMMs don’t require coding prowess in its UI, performance questions will be even easier to address in any time frame. In essence, MMM can become an important core of any brand’s everyday marketing workflow.
Nowadays, brands truly are running out of excuses as MMM is increasingly offered as a SaaS platform versus pricey per model or per project options. As a platform, analysts can focus on desired business results, refining and iterating to their hearts’ content.
Access to More Granular Radio Campaign Data Will Be the Great Accelerator
And what I believe could get the flywheel really going to showcase improved audio performance in MMM is industrywide access to more granular radio campaign data. The gates have swung wide open by Media Monitors’ recent enhancements to its radio advertising tracking capabilities.
While we could have benefited from this access decades ago, the fact that it’s happening in 2025 is cause for excitement. The changes made by Media Monitors help on the MMM front in two distinct ways:
Firstly, the increase in as-run reporting from 106 to 250 markets, now covers a staggering 86% of radio’s total U.S. reach. Of course, data on the actual spots that ran are by orders of magnitude much more useful than running data using planned spend details.
Archiving advertising audio files (the actual ads themselves) and related commercial details indefinitely will also help immensely. This is a critical change to ensure station assignments and unique creative details for units such as “live reads” remain intact and properly attributed.
These enhancements potentially offer a key to unlocking audio’s critical need for improved granularity in MMM analysis and also contributing to the emergence of MMM’s new frontier for measuring marketing performance – LOCAL.
The Local Opportunity for MMM… and Radio
In a recent ANA session in Chicago, Eden Collective and Corner Table Creative urged brands to reassess their typically top-down national view of MMM. To state their case, they compared the national MMM results for a fast casual brand to similar bottom-up MMM views across more than a dozen markets. The findings – localized analysis painted a decidedly different picture of channel performance for both OOH and Social, particularly Meta vs TikTok.
Multiple benefits for brands here. In addition to more granular views of cross-channel performance (locally, regionally, custom geos, etc.), localized MMM lets brands (and their partners) zoom in on the financial and marketing budget implications on a market to market basis.
Thanks in part to recent data collecting enhancements by Media Monitors, radio now possesses additional leverage in market level discussions. In addition, MMM can be an even stronger ally in such conversations showcasing radio’s format, daypart and creative contributions to a brand’s business objectives.
The most important part in all of this… John Rosso likes my business card a bit more and returns my calls.
