We changed strategies in a channel - should we separate it into two channels?

The assumptions of the Recast model is that ROIs slowly change over time. The ROI from last week will be quite similar to today, but not necessarily very similar to the ROI six months from now. For small strategic changes, allowing the ROIs to drift over time may be the best way to handle it.

For major strategic changes, in cases where you don’t think the ROI from last week will be similar to the ROI from this week, it makes more sense to split the channel into two separate channels. There are two ways this can be done:

• Grouped channels - Recast has the ability to “group” channels that should be treated as separate, but related. It’s a bit like a halfway step between leaving it as one channel and splitting it into two channels. If you expect the new strategy to have similar ROIs and seasonality to the old strategy, this is the best way to go.
• Ungrouped channels - This sets no relationship between the old channel and the new channel. The model will start from scratch when estimating ROI and seasonal variations. This is best if you think the new strategy and old strategy should be totally different.

Once you’ve decided which route you should take, format your data accordingly (adding new columns to your dataset if necessary), and then send your Recast point of contact an email with the strategy you’d like to pursue and the new column names, and we will get them ingested into your new model.