The Optimisation functionality in Portfolio Models allows you to determine the best way to allocate a budget across various investment products such as cards, loans, savings, and even halo products to maximise a marketing objective.
This module supports both investment-led and target-led optimisation and provides full visibility of expected outcomes at the investment product level.


TABLE OF CONTENTS


1. Setting Up an Optimisation

1.1 Navigate to the Optimisation Section

  1. From the top navigation bar, go to the Prediction module.
  2. Click on the Optimise tab.


1.2 Select Optimisation Type

You will see two types of optimisation:

  • Investment Optimisation – Use when you have a fixed total budget and want to maximise impact.
  • Target Optimisation – Use when you have a target outcome (e.g. +1,000 sales) and want to estimate the required investment.

 

Select the type of optimisation you want to run.

 


2. Configuring an Investment Optimisation

2.1 Define Optimisation Period

  1. Use the calendar tool to select the applicable time period for your optimisation (e.g., January–March 2025).


2.2 Enter Budget

  1. In the Budget field, enter the total investment amount to be distributed (e.g., €500,000).


2.3 Add Constraints (Optional)

Constraints allow you to define specific rules for how the budget should be distributed across products and channels. In Portfolio  Models, you can configure constraints at the investment product level.

 

Types of Constraints:

  • Fixed Constraint: Locks a specific value for a product-driver combination.
    • Example: Fix €10,000 for Cards – Paid Social.
  • Minimum Constraint: Sets a lower bound.
    • Example: Allocate at least €5,000 to Savings – Paid Search.
  • Maximum Constraint: Caps the budget for a dimension.
    • Example: Do not allocate more than €8,000 to Loans – TV.

 

To add a constraint:

  1. Click Add Constraint.
  2. Choose the constraint type.
  3. Enter the amount.
  4. Choose the time period for which the constraint should apply.
  5. Select the investment product (e.g., Cards, Loans, Savings or Halo products).
  6. Choose the media grouping, campaign type, channel, format, and publisher.
  7. Enter the constraint value and type (fixed, min, or max).
  8. Click Validate – the system will check compatibility.
  9. Repeat for additional constraints.


2.4 Finalise Inputs

  • Review the time period, total budget, and any constraints added.
  • Tick the box to receive an email notification once the optimisation run is complete (optional).


2.5 Run the Optimisation

Click Optimise to begin the process. A blinking indicator will appear to confirm that the system is running your request.

 

3. Reviewing Optimisation Results

Once the optimisation is complete, return to the Prediction tab and click on Show Unsaved Result under the Optimisation section.


3.1 View Available Plans

You will see three optimisation plans:

  • My Plan – The plan you configured with constraints.
  • My Plan without Constraints – Same budget, but constraints removed.
  • Suggested Alternative – The system’s optimised plan using 90% of your original budget with constraints.

 


3.2 Reviewing Inputs and KPIs

Click on the Input/Output tab, then select Overall Summary.


This summary shows:

  • Media Investment
  • Media Generated Profit
  • Cost Per Action
  • Media Profit ROI

 

Use the colour-coded indicators to see changes relative to your original plan (green for increase, red for decrease).

 

3.3 Understanding Forecast Ranges

Each plan provides a forecast range based on model confidence:

  • 90% Probability: Conservative (minimum expected performance)
  • 10% Probability: Optimistic (maximum expected performance)


This gives you a realistic performance window.

 

3.4 Exploring the Results by Product

In Portfolio  Models, results are visible at the investment product level.


To explore performance by product:

  1. Use the widget panel to adjust the view hierarchy.
  2. Drill down from:
    • Investment Product → Media Grouping → Campaign Type → Channel → Format → Publisher
  3. Review allocation and outcome differences across products like:
    • Cards
    • Loans
    • Savings
    • Halo products

 

4. Saving the Optimisation

  1. Click Save Plan at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Enter a title (e.g., “Portfolio_Q1_Optimisation”) and optional description.
  3. Choose one of the following save types:
    • Private – visible only to you.
    • Public – save to a shared folder accessible to your team.

 

5. Activating the Optimisation

  1. Open the Activities section from the main navigation bar.
  2. Locate your saved optimisation.
  3. Click the ⋮ menu and select Activate.

 

When activated:

  • A confirmation popup will appear - click Confirm.
  • The buying brief will be automatically downloaded as an Excel file.
  • The selected optimisation will be highlighted in the Media Insights timeline for tracking actual vs predicted performance.
  • The optimisation period will now appear as a preset filter under the Activities section in theGlobal Time Period Filter. This allows you to easily revisit and apply the exact time window used in the optimisation.



 

5.1 Changes Reflected in the Media Insights Module

Once an optimisation is activated, the following changes occur in the Media Insights module:

  1. The optimisation period will be highlighted on the Media Performance Over Time graph, making it visually distinguishable.
  2. You will see a new comparison between:
    • Predicted values from the optimisation, and
    • Actual observed performance during that same period (If the data is available).
  3. You can analyse actual media investment, subscribers, profit, ROI, and cost per action against what the model had forecasted.
  4. This enables you to evaluate how closely real-world performance aligned with model expectations, providing feedback for future planning.


Note: All other dashboard controls like sorting, filtering, and reordering the table are available here similar to the MI module.