ThinkVine Launches DIY Marketing Mix Optimization for Custom Virtual Marketplaces

ThinkVine today released a new version of its marketing mix optimization software that allows brands to create their own virtual marketplaces that simulate how consumer spending will be affected by changes in marketing budget and strategy.

The new service offering enables companies to create agent-based models that simulate how consumers' purchasing behavior is influenced by different marketing activities.

Features of the new release include the following:

• A new user interface for modelers to build custom agent-based marketplaces with consumer, marketing, channel, and competitive dynamics.
• Autocalibration, a modeling function that helps automate the process of building marketplaces.
• The next generation of ThinkVine's SmartMix functionality that automatically finds an optimized solution that meets key business goals, like sales, ROI, and profit.
• New charts that evaluate the causes of changes in sales to understand the impact of marketing and other drivers and that benchmark actual to forecasted sales to stay on track to achieve annual goals.
• More features for providing control over variables that affect "what if" forecasts.
• Software usage metrics for companies to actively manage organizational adoption.

ThinkVine's software-as-a-service solution has also been updated for marketers who want to quantify results and plan at a faster pace.

ThinkVine's software replicates the marketplace by building a population of simulated consumers based on real-world data about consumers, their media consumption, and their purchasing behavior. Marketers can then explore budget levels, marketing mixes, targeting strategies, and timing of activities to see how revenue and return on investment change under different scenarios.

Built on the ThinkAhead Technology engine, the new software version enables efficient modeling and agile planning for a fast, flexible path from model building to running "what if" simulations to delivering granular insights, accurate forecasts, and optimized plans. ThinkVine supports and guides customers throughout the process by providing demographic and response data on consumers via built-in marketing science, a workflow that supports the modeling process, and comprehensive training and support.

"Marketing planning and optimization are undergoing a transformation as brands turn to automation and real-time data to become more agile," said Mark Battaglia, ThinkVine's CEO, in a statement. "Old-fashioned econometric models can't keep up with consumers in the age of social and mobile. With this software update, ThinkVine gives marketers the information they need to respond immediately to ever-changing markets."

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