The Media Mix Navigator tool, powered by econometrics, helps you get the most out of your media investment.

It allows you to explore different scenarios to define the optimum media mix for your business, whether your objective is to drive increased profit or revenue. The results are modelled across the first year of investment and the resulting ‘base’ sales growth across the following two years.

This tool has been engineered by EssenceMediacom and is powered by the Profit Ability 2 databank, totalling £1.8 billion of media spend across 141 brands over 2021 - 2023 (most recent 52 weeks available for each brand, spend by year: 21% 2021, 32% 2022, 47% 2023). These have been carefully chosen to represent as many business types as possible.

The following minimum and maximum annual brand size restrictions in place for each category:

How to use

• Select the options most relevant for your brand using the navigation panel on the left.
• Results will automatically display once all fields are complete.
• Navigate across tabs to see:

1. Base scenario: Explore recommendations and results for your configuration. Select and/or adjust budgets for 'Year 2' and 'Year 3' using the checkboxes below the chart to view impact of investment in subsequent periods.
2. Annual media spend: Explore different budget scenarios.
3. Risk tolerance: Consider different approaches to risk.

• As you adjust criteria (e.g. budget level or risk tolerance), the budget allocation and performance results automatically update throughout the tool. Full details of your revised scenario will display in the Base scenario tab.
• PDF and CSV download available of the scenario shown in the Base scenario tab.

Important considerations

• Direct mail and SEO are not included. This is because the data for the 141 brands which fuel this tool does not include a robust volume of effectiveness data for these two channels.
• Brand search and affiliates are not included. These are considered pure ‘fulfilment’ media which facilitate a sale but don’t generate demand for a brand. These channels should be budgeted separately. Fulfilment costs have a bearing on advertising effectiveness (the revenue/profit/ROI would be lower, if included).
• As budget is allocated at an annual level, the tool does not account for the impact of changes in weekly weights and flighting.
• This optimiser cannot account for the impact of creative messaging. Creative strength or type (i.e. rational activation versus emotive brand) will have a strong bearing on the impact over time. A campaign where the execution is more skewed towards an emotive brand-driving message will have a weaker short-term effect, but a stronger longer-term impact on ‘base’ sales. Conversely, a campaign where the execution is skewed towards a rational activation message will have a higher short-term effect but lower long-term impact on ‘base’ sales.
• The Media Mix Navigator provides general guidance for media investment based on the selection criteria available. Individual advertisers will need to consider other factors that will affect their advertising performance, such as seasonality and specific distribution needs.
• Revenue/profit/ROI confidence levels are based on the relative standard deviation of the databank results for each media channel, weighted according to channels’ % share in the optimal channel mix.
• Base growth is determined using the long-term multiplier by category, the exception is Travel, where the average databank multiplier has been used.
• The MMN is a guide only and can provide a robust starting point. This needs to then pass through a broader lens of objectives and take into consideration other subtle factors.