The Media Insights module for the Long-Term Model enables you to analyse how historical media investments continue to impact outcomes over extended time horizons. In addition to the standard short-term views this model includes an additional layer of analysis for Long-Term Indirect Effects – i.e. performance driven by past media investments due to brand equity, memory, or extended decision cycles.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Overview
• 1. Media Performance Over Time
  • 1.1 Available Chart Types
  • 1.2 Key Functionalities
  • 1.3 Example Interpretation (Based on the previous Image - W37, 11 Sep’23)
• 2. Media Performance Summary
  • 2.1 View Modes
  • 2.2 Example Interpretation (Based on Image)
• 3. Media Performance Data Table
  • 3.1 Table Structure
  • 3.2 Functionalities
  • 3.3 Example Interpretation (Based on Image)

Overview

The module is composed of three main components:

• Media Performance Over Time
• Media Performance Summary
• Media Performance Data Table

A global Effect dropdown is available to switch between different effect types:

• Short-term Direct:
  Immediate impact generated by a product’s own media activity (e.g., paid campaigns, owned channels).
• Short-term Indirect:
  Immediate uplift driven by media of brand campaigns or other products that indirectly benefit the product in focus (e.g., halo effects).
• Long-term Indirect:
  Sustained impact from past media exposures that continue to influence brand equity and KPIs over time, even after media spend has stopped.
• Combined Impact:
  Aggregated short-term direct, short-term indirect, and long-term indirect impact.

1. Media Performance Over Time

This interactive visual helps understand how media investments translate into performance KPIs over time. It is a dual-axis chart that layers different KPIs for intuitive trend analysis.

1.1 Available Chart Types

Depending on the KPIs selected from the dropdown menus (X vs Y), the chart switches between visual formats to suit the metric type:

• Stacked Area Chart
  Used when Media Generated Profit is selected on either axis.
  • Breaks down total profit into Short-Term Direct, Short-Term Indirect, and Long-Term Indirect effects.
  • Area height represents total profit by week; shading indicates contribution from each effect.
  • Especially useful when viewing “Combined” impact to understand overall performance lift.
• Bar Chart
  Triggered when Media Investment is selected.
  • Plots weekly spend as vertical bars.
  • Used alongside profit or ROI to assess campaign return.
• Line Chart
  Activated for Cost per Action, Media ROI, and Media Efficiency comparisons.
  • Each media effect appears as a separate line.
  • Enables monitoring of relative performance across efficiency-based KPIs.
  • Most relevant when evaluating cost-effectiveness trends or comparing short-term vs long-term returns.

1.2 Key Functionalities

• Effect Toggle: Switch between Combined, Short-Term Direct, Short-Term Indirect, or Long-Term Indirect to isolate specific contribution types.
• KPI Selector: Pick from Profit, Investment, CPA, ROI, or Efficiency for side-by-side trend comparison.
• Time Granularity: Toggle between weekly, monthly, or quarterly views.
• Zoom & Scroll: Navigate across extended time periods.
• 90% Coverage Note: Shaded section indicates up to where long-term effects are attributed.
• Hover Tooltip: Hover over a point to see exact metric values broken down by effect type and media contribution.

1.3 Example Interpretation (Based on the previous Image - W37, 11 Sep’23)

In this example, we are evaluating Cost per Action vs Media Efficiency for Week 37 (11 Sep 2023), with the effect toggle set to “Combined”.

The tooltip provides the following breakdown:

• Cost per Action (USD):
  • Short-Term Direct Impact: 1,139.6
  • Short-Term Indirect Impact: 707.96
  • Long-Term Indirect Impact: 139.44
• Media Efficiency:
  • Short-Term Direct and Indirect: 0.00
  • Long-Term Indirect: 0.01

From this, we can infer the following:

• Cost per acquisition remains high for immediate and short-term response effects (both direct and indirect), suggesting that the media being evaluated had relatively low short-term conversion efficiency during this week.
• However, the Long-Term Indirect effect shows a media efficiency value of 0.01, indicating that previous campaigns may still be yielding marginal returns over time.
• The spike in CPA coupled with flat efficiency may point to over-investment in low-performing short-term media or ineffective creative rotation during this period.

2. Media Performance Summary

This view aggregates performance KPIs across all selected media drivers and dimensions, with a breakdown by media groupings, channels, or publishers depending on the level of filter applied.

KPIs Available (Based on your organisation)

• Media Investment: Total and share by media group.
• Media Generated Profit: Split into short/long effects or shown as combined.
• Cost Per Action: Spend divided by action/sales volume.
• Media Efficiency: Ratio of performance return per cost unit.

2.1 View Modes

• Combined View:
  • Shows aggregate KPIs per media dimension.
  • Good for high-level investment-to-return comparison.

• Split View:
  • Reveals granular breakdown by effect type (Short-term Direct, Indirect, Long-term Indirect) for each media type.
  • Especially useful in long-term models to evaluate branding vs. tactical contributions.

Additional Controls

• Effect Toggle: Changes the nature of effects being visualised.
• Dimension Filter: Adjust the view by media grouping, channel, or publisher.
• Sorting: Sort cards by ROI, CPA, or Profit to identify top/bottom performers.

2.2 Example Interpretation (Based on Image)

In Combined View:

• Paid Television received the highest investment ($7.6M), generating $39.2K in profit, with the majority (~68%) driven by long-term indirect effects.
• Paid Social had lower investment but disproportionally high cost per action ($676.7), suggesting inefficiency or saturation.

In Split View:

• Paid Digital Display delivered $29K in long-term indirect profit, with minor short-term returns, indicating brand-building value.
• Paid Search, however, saw higher short-term returns and minimal long-term impact - best suited for performance-based objectives.

3. Media Performance Data Table

This section provides a detailed, tabular representation of media effectiveness, structured to allow deep-dives into each media component’s contribution across different effect types.

3.1 Table Structure

• Rows: Media groups and channels, expandable into specific publishers  (according to the media hierarchy set).
• Columns: Each KPI is seperated as per the effects selected. 
• If combined effect is selected:
  • Media Generated Profit: Separated into Short-term Direct, Indirect, Long-term Indirect, and Combined totals.
  • Cost per Action (CPA): Calculated separately per effect type and in total.

3.2 Functionalities

• Split/Combined Toggle: Mirrors the view logic in the summary cards.
• Row Hierarchy: Expandable by media group → channel → publisher.
• Sorting & Filtering: Filter out zero values, sort by impact, or toggle effect views.

3.3 Example Interpretation (Based on Image)

• Paid Digital Display:
  • Generated $54.1K in profit, of which $45.2K (83%) came from long-term indirect effects.
  • Short-term returns were minimal (~$0.5K), indicating it is a strong branding channel.
• Paid Search:
  • Balanced performance with $5.6K short-term and $13.9K long-term return.
  • Higher CPA in the short term suggests diminishing efficiency at current spend levels.