AI has revolutionized media targeting. Algorithms can refine, retarget, and rescore in real time, but there’s a fundamental problem: AI doesn’t know what truly matters. It reacts to signals and chases patterns, but it doesn’t start from a strategic truth.
When your media planning relies solely on reactive optimization, you’re building on a foundation of guesswork, no matter how sophisticated the models.
A Different Approach: Predict, Don’t React
In a groundbreaking simulation study, MMA Global and Neustar set out to test the power of a predictive, strategy-first approach. They ran an agent-based simulation for a leading U.S. frozen pizza company with a single goal: see what happens when you build a media plan around the Movable Middle.
What Are Movable Middles?
Movable Middles are consumers with a 20-80% likelihood of choosing your brand. They are not your existing loyalists, and they are not the unpersuadable “off-limits” audience. They are the persuadable segment, and they respond more than any other group when reached with the right media.
The Results Were Unmistakable
When the brand deployed a media plan built on the Movable Middles Growth Framework (MMGF), the results were immediate and impactful:
- ROAS increased by over 50% compared to traditional reach-based plans.
- More non-buyers were acquired.
- Buyer penetration rose across light, medium, and heavy categories.
Most impressively, the Movable Middle audience could be predicted with 99% accuracy.
That level of precision changes everything. If you can predict your most responsive audience with near-perfect accuracy, you don’t have to wait for a model to learn. You can plan for performance from day one, giving your media and creative teams a massive head start.
Strategy Before Modeling
This doesn’t make AI obsolete; it makes it more powerful. MMGF provides the strategic direction that AI needs to be truly effective. It gives your data science team a fixed, high-value target to optimize toward—not a moving average to chase.
AI is a powerful tool for execution and scale, but it needs a clear objective. Start with the Movable Middle. Then, let your tech stack scale it to new heights.
📲 Join the MMGF program and gain the certainty your models can’t give you.
