Google Launches Open-Source “Meridian” Marketing Mix Model via @sejournal, @MattGSouthern

Google has launched Meridian, an open-source marketing mix model (MMM) that helps marketers improve their advertising budgets.

It uses Bayesian causal inference methods to offer better insights into online and offline media channels.

In an announcement, Google highlights how older MMMs focused on offline media and branding, often missing the complexities of performance media like search ads.

Meridian helps advertisers understand the real impact of their marketing efforts. It goes beyond usual conversion metrics and shows how brand-building activities—like TV commercials and YouTube ads—can affect long-term business results and future customer acquisition.

Data & Insights Made Easier

Meridian’s data platform helps advertisers access key Google media metrics like impressions, clicks, and costs. It also provides information, such as Google Query volume, to show how paid search spending delivers results.

Additionally, Meridian tracks reach and frequency for video campaigns on platforms like YouTube. It examines how many viewers are reached and how often they see the ads, helping marketers predict how brand interactions lead to future purchases.

Benefits For Marketers & Agencies

Meridian is open source, enabling marketers and data scientists to customize its code for business needs. It also allows you to include outside factors, like economic conditions and pricing strategies, in their models for a better overview.

To help marketers use Meridian, Google has created a partner program with over 20 certified agencies. These trained partners will assist advertisers with implementation and optimization.

What People Are Saying

Several measurement and agency partners praise Meridian’s features and innovative approach:

Dr. Santosh Nair, Founder and Director at Analytic Edge, states:

“Meridian integrates technical innovations to assess the indirect impact of search on marketing channels in the consumer journey. It enhances the measurement of “Reach” and “Frequency” for YouTube campaigns, helping advertisers with campaign planning. The seamless integration with Google Marketing Data Platorm boosts productivity in data processing and improves the accuracy of the data used in the model. Our collaboration on Meridian will help advertisers better understand the interactions between channels and improve their campaign strategies.”

Shuho Yoshida, Data Science Manager at Dentsu Digital Inc., states:

“Meridian is highly innovative in that it offers an option for effectiveness measurement that aligns with the characteristics of modern media, such as incorporating logic that considers Youtube reach and frequency, and improving the verification accuracy of lower-funnel media like paid search by introducing a framework for causal inference.”

Why This Matters

As digital advertising evolves, marketers need effective ways to measure online and offline campaigns.

Google’s Meridian offers a flexible solution for modern marketing challenges, including detailed search data and video metrics.

Looking Ahead

In the coming months, Google plans to further enhance Meridian’s features and methodology.

Marketers interested in exploring Meridian can download its core codebase on GitHub. Those seeking expert guidance can connect with Meridian-certified partners to tailor the platform’s capabilities to suit specific goals and business models.