Google Meridian: The Open-Source MMM Package and Its Challenges for Smaller Media Agencies

Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM) has become an essential tool for media agencies seeking to measure the effectiveness of their marketing activities. Google recently introduced Google Meridian, an open-source package designed to enhance marketing measurement and media effectiveness analysis. This package builds upon Google Lightweight MMM, an earlier open-source solution, adding improvements and capabilities that make it more robust for today’s marketers.

While Google Meridian is a promising tool for MMM, it presents significant challenges for smaller media agencies, particularly those without dedicated analytics teams. This article explores these challenges and highlights a more accessible alternative for smaller agencies looking to leverage MMM.

Challenges for Smaller Media Agencies

1. The Technical Barrier: Python Dependency

Google Meridian is built on Python, a programming language widely used in data science and analytics. While Python is powerful, it requires a certain level of technical proficiency to operate effectively. Users need to understand coding, data processing, and statistical modeling to run the MMM functions within Google Meridian.

For large enterprise agency networks like WPP, Interpublic, Omnicom, and Publicis, this is not a major issue, as they have dedicated analytics teams with strong technical expertise. However, smaller media agencies often lack these resources, making it difficult for them to leverage Google Meridian effectively.

2. Open-Source Accessibility vs. Usability

At present, there are three notable open-source MMM solutions available, including Google Meridian. These open-source tools have lowered the barrier for technical users to implement MMM for media measurement. However, for non-technical marketers, the learning curve remains steep.

Smaller agencies may understand the value of MMM but often find these tools too complex to implement. The DIY nature of open-source MMM packages means that users need to set up environments, write code, preprocess data, and interpret outputs—all tasks that require specialized knowledge.

3. The Lack of Affordable, Easy-to-Use MMM Solutions

Smaller media agencies recognize the importance of data-driven decision-making and want to incorporate MMM into their media measurement strategy. However, the available MMM solutions in the market are either too expensive (enterprise-grade software) or too complex (open-source packages requiring technical skills).

Without the right tools, many agencies are forced to rely on basic reporting, last-click attribution models, or gut-feeling decisions, which do not provide the comprehensive media effectiveness analysis that MMM can offer.

A Better MMM Solution for Smaller Media Agencies

At More Than Data, we believe that every agency—regardless of size—should have access to advanced marketing measurement tools. That’s why we have developed an MMM software Minute MMM that is:

✅ Free-of-Charge – No high licensing fees or hidden costs.

✅ DIY-Enabled – Marketers can set up and run their own MMM models without a data science background.

✅ Customizable – Agencies can tailor the model to their specific media mix and business needs.

✅ Easy-to-Use – No programming knowledge required; a user-friendly interface simplifies the process.

✅ Quick-to-Get-Results – Generate actionable insights quickly, without delays.

Join Us in Making MMM Accessible to All

If you are a small or mid-sized media agency struggling to adopt MMM due to technical or cost barriers, we invite you to try our solution. Marketing measurement should not be reserved for enterprise agencies alone. With our software, you can finally access the power of MMM—without the need for a data science team or expensive tools.

👉 Sign up today and take control of your media measurement with an easy, affordable, and effective MMM solution.