Deezer · B2C · music streaming app
Check marketing results several ways and use lift tests to correct your mix model
MMM 'not fully satisfying' yet; lift tests confirmed hidden upper-funnel value
Mixedanalytics-attribution
What they did
Uses several 'sources of truth' and looks for them to agree. Brand: every quarter/semester a panel is asked if Deezer knows music, understands them, feels close, and especially whether they'd consider paying; the upward trend matters more than the level. Performance: last-click attribution via MMP, a multi-touch model in progress (biased by web vs app tracking differences), and as many incrementality tests as possible: geo lift (shut down matched regions, with Google Ads tooling), Meta conversion lift, and brand lift with control vs exposed groups. In-house data science builds a media mix model (spend vs daily/weekly traffic, baseline, offline and YouTube brand campaigns). Next step, inspired by L'Oréal: turn incrementality results into correction scores for over-attributed (e.g. search) and under-attributed (e.g. social) channels and feed them into the MMM. Considering a hybrid with an external consultant auditing the MMM.
What happened
Incrementality tests validated assumptions (bigger-than-expected upper-funnel effect); MMM still not fully satisfying, with a flat baseline.
- Stage
- scale
In their words
Sub Club by RevenueCat · Level Up Your App Marketing: Measurement, Brand-Building, and Taking Risks — Sherina Khalidi, Deezer“For me, now, measurement is really about multiplying the source of truth.”
“So, it means that every quarter, every semester, we ask a panel of, of our audience how they feel about, does does Deezer knows music, does Deezer understand me, do I feel close to Deezer, and we especially focus on the paid consideration part”
“So, you can, with incrementality testing, estimate a score and use that score to modify your statistic model, your media mix modeling.”
“So, one of them is the geo lift. And geo lift is really about shutting down some regions and comparing them to not shut-down regions, but the regions have to be similar”
Related topics
Get tactics like this every Monday
New tactics from the week's founder interviews, each linked to where it was said.
More from this episode
- Deezer: Take away most free features so free listeners are pushed to payDidn't work: free users left for other services instead of upgrading
- Deezer: Make the free tier pay for itself with ads and use it to win subscribersFree users now profitable; conversion from free 'not cracked yet'
- Deezer: Bundle your subscription with phone carriers, speaker makers and big retailersWider reach and better retention; partners weigh heavily in revenue
- Deezer: Run TV and billboard ads about what the brand stands for, then push buyers with adsTracked by brand studies, not revenue; no numbers shared
- Deezer: Keep paying for install and reach ads even when they don't show direct salesLift tests showed a much bigger boost to sales campaigns than expected
- Deezer: Let your ad team test risky ideas as long as overall return stays profitableLTV:CAC more than doubled in 2 years while volume grew
- Deezer: Launch the new brand-focused homepage even though it lost the test to the old oneLost the ABC test, but beat the old page a few weeks after launch
- Deezer: Ask users to draw your logo, then test new logos against it before rebrandingPurple heart won by far on every audience and KPI; guest credits better ad profits