The online advertising and marketing ecosystem is undergoing a significant transformation, as user privacy becomes the center of policies and strategies.
Most recently, Google announced that it will phase out third-party cookies in Chrome by the end of 2024, making traditional methods of tracking individual user activities across platforms nearly obsolete.
This presents a challenge for marketers who rely on accurate data to measure the effectiveness of their advertising campaigns and optimize their strategies.
In response to this, the tech giant is introducing Meridian, an open-source marketing mix model (MMM) tool designed to aid marketers in adapting to the cookie-less future.
“We’re announcing Meridian, an open-source MMM that empowers teams to build best-in-class MMMs and drive better business outcomes."
"It’s built to enable privacy-durable, advanced measurement while meeting marketers where they are,” Harikesh Nair, Google’s senior director for data science, wrote in a blog post.
MMMs are statistical models that analyze the aggregate impact of various digital marketing channels on sales, offering valuable insights even without individual-level data.
These models inform digital marketing strategies, helping companies optimize campaigns and allocate resources effectively. For more detailed insights, check out our curated list of the top digital marketing agencies.
What Can Meridian Do?
Meridian is specifically engineered to address the unique challenges of measuring marketing efforts in the post-cookie era.
The tool offers several key features to assist marketers, including:
- Open Source and Customizable. Users can see how the tool works, adapt it to their specific needs and use their data sources. This transparency builds trust and allows users to understand the inner workings of the tool better.
- Measures Reach and Frequency. Meridian helps marketers understand how often their ads are seen by different audiences (frequency) and the total number of people who see them (reach), especially important for search ads.
- Learning and Support. Google offers resources and support to help users understand and use Meridian effectively, including guidance on measuring search queries and implementing MMMs in their strategies.
Meridian will equip marketers with the tools and knowledge necessary to measure campaigns effectively in a future where third-party cookies are no longer available, putting more confidence in data-driven decisions about budget allocation and campaign optimization.
Right now, Meridian is only available to a select group of users. However, Google plans to make it accessible to all marketers and data scientists soon.
Google is already accepting applications for early access to Meridian.
