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Incorporating MTA in media planning

Understand how you can incorporate MTA in media planning using Funnel.

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Written by Sowjenya Parthasarathy
Updated this week

Using MTA insights for planning and forecasting

Funnel’s media planning tools allow you to combine multi-touch attribution (MTA) results with marketing mix modeling (MMM) and incrementality testing to build more informed, data-backed plans.

MTA contributes granular channel- and campaign-level performance metrics that reflect the actual influence of marketing interactions, not just those that occur immediately before a conversion.

By integrating MTA into media planning, you can:

  • Identify underperforming or overperforming channels based on true incremental impact.

  • Reallocate budgets toward touchpoints that drive long-term value.

  • Improve the accuracy of forward-looking campaign forecasts.

Scenario planning with unified measurement

When used alongside MMM and incrementality testing, MTA supports scenario planning based on different strategic goals. You can simulate allocation strategies such as:

  • Maximizing conversions or revenue under a set budget

  • Minimizing cost per acquisition without dropping conversions below a target threshold

  • Evaluating what-if scenarios for new channels or spend levels

Funnel’s triangulated approach ensures that planning decisions are not based on a single model but are validated across multiple methodologies.

Exporting MTA data for cross-functional use

MTA data from Funnel can be exported for use across marketing and analytics teams. Export formats can include:

  • Campaign-level summaries for performance reporting

  • GCLID-level exports for integration with ad platforms

  • Time series data to support budget pacing and ROI modeling

This helps unify teams around consistent performance metrics, improving collaboration between media buyers, performance analysts, and finance teams.

Understanding MTA’s limitations in strategic planning

While MTA adds valuable detail to media planning, it has some known limitations:

  • It is based on observed digital behavior and does not account for offline or untracked influences, such as television, print, or word of mouth, or external events, such as weather or discounts

  • It may underrepresent upper-funnel campaigns with view-based impact that cannot be directly linked to conversions

  • It is inherently click-biased, though Funnel mitigates this by triangulating with MMM and incrementality data

For best results, use MTA in tandem with other measurement models and consider each model’s strengths and blind spots during planning.

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