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Forbes
6 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
Five More Must-Know Marketing Principles For MMM Success
Cody Greco, CTO and cofounder at Prescient AI, loves working with great humans and building technology that saves them time and money. I talked about Bethesda's hit video game Starfield in my previous article and how they managed to capture the reality of different planets; they kept the same dedication to reality when building your character's stamina, which doesn't deplete at a simple, constant rate. Bethesda crafted a complex system where energy depletion varies based on multiple factors that don't just add together; they interact and compound, creating a dynamic system that feels authentic precisely because it mirrors the complexity of real physical exertion. We see this complexity of interaction in marketing effects as well. In the first part of this series, we explored four fundamental laws of marketing that any effective MMM solution should reflect: 1. Top-of-funnel marketing drives awareness that manifests through other channels. 2. If you don't spend enough on the top of the funnel, you won't have a bottom of the funnel. 3. If you don't spend on the bottom of the funnel, your competition will profit from your top-of-funnel spend. 4. Marketing is inherently seasonal, and marketing efficiency changes depending on the season. These principles aren't just theoretical—they represent the difference between making multimillion-dollar decisions based on accurate insights versus simplified abstractions that lead to wasted budgets and missed opportunities. Now, let's examine five additional marketing realities that are equally critical for measurement tools to capture and what you can do to ensure you're getting one that reflects marketing reality. Law No. 5: Temporal Effects Marketing isn't a series of isolated transactions—it's an ongoing process where today's activities influence tomorrow's results, which in turn affect next week's performance. Audience familiarity with your message evolves with repeated exposure. A proper measurement approach should recognize these time-based effects, accounting for marketing's impact across various time horizons and acknowledging how past activities continue to influence current performance. Law No. 6: Variable Time Horizons The time frame in which marketing delivers results varies dramatically by business type, product category and price point. A high-consideration purchase might show marketing effects spread across months, while impulse buys generate more immediate responses. Sophisticated marketing mix models should adapt to your business's natural consideration cycle, recognizing that marketing impact timing is neither immediate nor uniform across brands and categories. This flexibility allows for accurate attribution regardless of whether your customers decide in minutes or months. Law No. 7: Nonlinear (Potential) Saturation The traditional diminishing returns curve—where each additional dollar of spend yields less incremental value—is an oversimplification of marketing reality. In reality, saturation curves often feature multiple inflection points. Seasonal factors, creative refreshes and competitor activity also continuously reshape these curves. Measurement tools that rely on simplified saturation assumptions will inevitably recommend suboptimal spend levels. Law No. 8: Complex Decay Patterns Marketing impact doesn't vanish instantly when a campaign ends, but neither does it decline at a neat, predictable rate. The decay of marketing effects varies by channel, audience, creative, season and competitive context. Many marketing mix models apply standardized, predetermined decay rates to different channels (e.g., two weeks for paid social, one week for search). This approach sacrifices accuracy for simplicity. A sophisticated model should learn the actual decay patterns from your specific marketing activities and recognize how they vary across campaigns and over time. Law No. 9: External Factors And Channel Bias No marketing channel operates in isolation. External events affect all channels simultaneously, but often to different degrees. Similarly, changes in one channel frequently impact performance in others. The challenge is further complicated by inherent biases in platform-reported metrics. Each platform has incentives to demonstrate its own effectiveness, creating systematic biases in reported results. An effective measurement approach must maintain neutrality across channels while accounting for these external factors. Without this holistic perspective, you can't distinguish between true marketing impact and coincidental correlation with external events. Choosing Marketing Measurement That Reflects Reality Selecting measurement tools that accurately reflect marketing reality requires asking the right questions: • Does the measurement approach account for cross-channel effects and halo impacts? • Can it identify how marketing influences organic and direct traffic? • Does it adapt to your specific business context and consideration cycle? • Can it capture complex saturation patterns with multiple inflection points? • How does it account for external factors that affect marketing performance? • Does it recognize the temporal dimension of marketing impact? • Can it quantify the relationship between upper-funnel investment and future conversion potential? • Can it capture the interplay between top of funnel and bottom of funnel? The answers should align with the marketing realities we've discussed. When they don't, the measurement tool is likely sacrificing accuracy for simplicity or convenience. This isn't just about technical sophistication. The best measurement isn't necessarily the most complex, but rather the approach that most faithfully represents the marketing dynamics marketers already know to be true. The Path Forward The most valuable marketing measurement doesn't contradict experienced marketers' understanding; it confirms that understanding with data, adds precision to intuition and reveals nuances that even experienced marketers might miss. Like Starfield's commitment to physical reality, the best marketing measurement tools commit to marketing reality, creating a model that feels authentic because it is authentic. Evaluating certain aspects of MMM solutions without a computer science degree can be challenging, but here, your experience is your measuring stick. Ask yourself: Does this reflect what I know to be true about how marketing works? If not, it's time to look for alternatives. Your marketing deserves to be measured in a way that's as sophisticated and nuanced as marketing itself. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
Time of India
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Fallout 5 "Fully Greenlit": What we know so far
Fallout 5 is now officially considered to be fully greenlit, according to a gaming reporter, Jez Cordon, which generated new waves of interest within the gaming community. Bethesda has not revealed much about this, and the fact that this has been confirmed might indicate that they are past the early stages of concept development and are now in the internal development. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Fallout 5 will presumably continue the tradition established by its predecessors with the same level of detail in post-apocalyptic RPG gameplay in an alternative future destroyed by nuclear war. Even though information regarding this sequel is minimal, this upgrade is another indication that the highly anticipated sequel is no longer a dream; it is indeed on the road to reality. Fallout 5 development status and timeline Fallout 5 is Reportedly Fully Greenlit - Kinda Funny Games Daily 07.15.25 Fully greenlit is merely used to explain that Fallout 5 has gotten the approvals and funding it needs to start major development. The industry insiders say that Bethesda is now busy mobilizing its resources and beginning to develop the direction in which the game will take. Nevertheless, one should be careful about the expectations; the process of development is still thought to be at its early stages. Here is what we currently know: Confirmation: Gaming insider Jez Corden revealed that Fallout 5 is no longer just being talked about; it is now actively moving forward. Gaming insider Jez Corden revealed that Fallout 5 is no longer just being talked about; it is now actively moving forward. Developer: As expected, Bethesda Game Studios will continue its legacy by handling the development. As expected, will continue its legacy by handling the development. Engine : The game is likely to run on the upgraded Creation Engine 2, the same tech that powered Starfield, which means better visuals and performance. : The game is likely to run on the upgraded Creation Engine 2, the same tech that powered Starfield, which means better visuals and performance. Release Window: A release date has not been indicated. Fallout 5 may still be some way off, given that The Elder Scrolls VI is still being worked on at Bethesda. Bethesda has historically taken a long development cycle between titles: Fallout 3 (2008) Fallout: New Vegas (2010, developed by Obsidian) Fallout 4 (2015) Fallout 76 (2018, multiplayer spin-off) This trend suggests Fallout 5 will take several years before it is ready for public release. The greenlighting of Fallout 5 serves as an important step forward, as fans are waiting to see something new in the famous post-apocalyptic franchise. Even though we are still at a very early stage in the development of the game, this confirmation confirms that Fallout 5 is not a distant dream anymore, but a feasible project underway. As Bethesda keeps doing its job, there should be more specific details brought to light within the upcoming years that will slowly unravel what to expect in the next adventure within the wastelands.
Metro
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Fallout 5 may not be made by Bethesda as Elder Scrolls 6 enters ‘playable state'
With Starfield DLC and The Elder Scrolls 6 still on the way, Todd Howard may be prepared to cede control of Fallout 5 to another developer. It's a decade now since the release of Fallout 4 and yet no new game has been announced yet, even in the wake of the hugely successful Amazon TV show, which is already commissioned for seasons 2 and 3. Rumours last week suggested that multiple new Fallout titles are currently in development, with a new Fallout: New Vegas release – either a remaster or a sequel – amongst them. There was still no hint as to when anything might be announced but now there are rumours, from a different insider, about Fallout 5. Before the Amazon show, Fallout 5 wasn't expected until after The Elder Scrolls 6, meaning that it could be the best part of a decade until it's out. But a new report suggests that you might not have to wait that long, because it's not necessarily being made by the usual team. The Elder Scrolls 6 is assumed to be aiming for a release date of somewhere around 2028, which will be 17 years after the release of Skyrim – a staggeringly long time to leave such a successful game without a sequel. That's in part because Bethesda Game Studios, the internal developer led by Todd Howard, has been working on Starfield in recent years, although its poor reception has many fans wondering whether Bethesda may have abandoned previous plans for multiple DLC expansions. This issue was discussed at length on the Xbox Two Podcast, with Windows Central executive editor Jez Corden insisting that, according to his sources, work on Starfield had not been abandoned, even after the mass layoffs at Xbox. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. The host then suggested that The Elder Scrolls 6 was still several years away from release (despite having first been announced seven years ago) but Corden corrected him by saying the game was already 'quite playable'. He didn't suggest a release date, or give any indication when the game might be seen in public again, but he was confident enough to correct the idea that the game wasn't yet in full production. The discussion then moved on to Fallout, with Corden hinting at the possibility that Bethesda Game Studios may not be making Fallout 5, which would allow it to be released much earlier than if it had to wait for The Elder Scrolls 6 to be completed. According to Corden, the mainline sequel is 'fully greenlit' and ready to move ahead, although given modern production times that still implies it's going to be at least five years until it's finished. More Trending He admits that he has only one source for his information but then implies that the developer is not Bethesda Game Studios, or rather that Todd Howard – who usually takes the lead on all the games – is not the director. Corden suggests that ZeniMax Online, makers of The Elder Scrolls Online, will be put to work on the franchise in some way, and that the reason their new MMO, codenamed Blackbird, had been cancelled was so that they could make Fallout games instead. 'It was a case of, 'Do we want to sink a ton of money into getting this [Blackbird] to a point where it can compete with the established players in the market, or do we want to allocate that investment towards making Fallout 5?', said Corden. Although Corden does not state for certain that ZeniMax Online is the sole developer of Fallout 5, it doesn't require any inside sources to know that Microsoft would want the game out before 2033, which is the absolute earliest if Bethesda Game Studios was the sole developer. Email gamecentral@ leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter. To submit Inbox letters and Reader's Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here. For more stories like this, check our Gaming page. MORE: Games Inbox: What is the next Assassin's Creed game? MORE: Islanders: New Shores review – a cosy city builder at a budget price MORE: Nintendo Direct is this month claims insider – but what games will it cover?
Metro
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
I wish Bethesda didn't make Fallout and The Elder Scrolls - Reader's Feature
A reader is frustrated at the slow progress on The Elder Scrolls 6 and a new Fallout and wishes that Bethesda would work more closely with other developers. I feel there are a lot of love/hate relationships in gaming. Where you love the games but, if not hate, at least feel exhausted having to put up with the nonsense of the company making. Even Nintendo is kind of like this, with all their weird ways of doing things, but at the end of the day they make great games, so everyone lets it slide. For me though the big problem is Bethesda. I love Skyrim and Fallout, but I swear they must be the slowest, most backwards company in the whole of gaming. There was a story this week about how there are a bunch of new Fallout games on the way, including New Vegas 2, and all I could think is I hope that Bethesda don't have anything to do with them. I know how weird that sounds, considering they're the ones that created the franchises (well, not Fallout but the modern first person ones) but I think it's pretty obvious by now that they have not moved with the times and you don't even need Starfield to tell you that. I don't want to harp on about Starfield, because I feel everything that could be said about it already has been, but I think the most important thing to note is that for something that was meant to be a graphical step forward it was the smallest baby step possible. More importantly, the gameplay didn't do anything new at all. Not only that but it purposefully undermined one of the best bits about Bethesda games, in terms of their open world design. This makes me very worried about The Elder Scrolls 6, because Bethesda seems to hate negative feedback and always does everything to talk themselves out of it. And if they do react it's by the smallest degree possible, as in Starfield's graphics. How much this has to do with Todd Howard I don't know but he does seem to have an unhealthy amount of influence. If it wasn't because he wanted to direct it, we would have already had Fallout 5 by now. But instead, they've been caught empty handed after the Fallout show hit it big and are now going to end up relying on other developers anyway. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. And what if they do a better job, as Obsidian did with New Vegas? Todd's probably going to get all funny about it again, because there's no way he doesn't feel bitter about how much love New Vegas gets. If they were sensible, they should've had a sequel to that 10 years ago. Heck, they probably should've bought Obsidian (not that that would've made much different now Microsoft owns them both). I hesitate to say this, given the layoffs at Microsoft at the moment – which I am totally against – but I really do feel the old guard needs to be removed from Bethesda, or at least put in a purely supervisory role, so that we can get some forward momentum here. In terms of their first party studios, their best games are all over a decade ago and the one big one they've done since then, was heavily criticised for being old-fashioned. Heck, so was Fallout 4 for that matter. I think what's maybe most worrying for Bethesda is I don't see when there's going to be any change. Everything's gone quiet on Starfield (what happened to one expansion per year?) and The Elder Scrolls 6 doesn't seem any closer now than in the last 15 years. I hate to say it but I'd rather other developers took over the Fallout franchise entirely. It's probably too late for The Elder Scrolls 6 now, but at the very least commission the Elder Scrolls equivalent of New Vegas and see what another team can do with the franchise. More Trending Bethesda leaders, whether that's Todd Howard or whoever, have got to get themselves into gear and embrace current day technology and standards. Because if their next game is another Starfield style disaster then we all know what Microsoft's response is going to be to that… By reader Koban The reader's features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@ or use our Submit Stuff page and you won't need to send an email. MORE: I've given up on getting a PS5 and I've already got real concerns about PS6 – Reader's Feature MORE: Competition does not drive innovation in video games, talent does – Reader's Feature MORE: Everyone should play Rematch: the best new football game in years – Reader's Feature
Metro
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
As an Xbox fan all I can say is that Microsoft betrayed us - Reader's Feature
A reader is angry with the recent layoffs and changes at Xbox and accuses Microsoft execs of betraying both their fans and their employees. I don't know where to start with this week's Xbox news, but I can tell you this, if Phil Spencer or any of the other execs dare to appear in another showcase or livestream, I don't think I'll be able to hold in my anger. Then again, I'm not sure I'd watch anyway. I'm done with Xbox now and while I'm too deep in the 'ecosystem' to get out quickly, I'm going to try and make sure I give them as little of my money as possible. I remember, back in the day, that I had vague dreams of being a game developer but the way things are now I don't know if there's a less stable or less respected job in the world. Although developers are made to feel like pampered kings at other companies, compared to how Microsoft treats them, where they're literal human sacrifices to make their financials look better for investors. Even though Microsoft is the richest company in the world! Even if your empathy levels aren't where they should be, it's a terrible thing because now they have less people to make their games, while they try and use AI to plug the gaps. Studios have been shut down, games have been cancelled, and you know that's only the start of it. We're going to see Microsoft making less and less games until all that's left is Call Of Duty. All of this is on top of the blatant lies told to us about Microsoft's multiformat plans. They'll say that their plans changed but they knew, when they said it was only four games, and that some games were never going multiformat. Gears Of War is already announced, Halo is inevitable, and they only haven't done Starfield yet because they've realised no one will care. I'm not upset about this because of console wars jealousy but because I realise, as many fans do, that without exclusives you cannot have a console. Microsoft tried to convince itself that wasn't true, and that Game Pass alone could be their exclusive, but now they won't admit to themselves that it hasn't worked and that by making everything multiformat they've lost everything that makes them special. Sure, they might be the biggest publisher in the West, because they own Call Of Duty, but who ever cared or had any loyalty to Activision? Which is who they've taken the place of. But Xbox isn't just a third party publisher now, they're a company that used to be much more than that and nobody's going to forget what they should've been or how far they've fallen. Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning. The worst thing is I can only see things getting wore from here. Especially with Spencer staying in charge. Xbox is only going to get more bitter and petty over time, trying to undermine Sony and Nintendo, especially when it comes to AI and streaming – technologies which Microsoft has full control of. You can laugh if you want, but I feel betrayed. I imagine their developers definitely do. Xbox don't care about its customers. It doesn't even care about gaming. It just cares about the bottom line. I no longer see Xbox as the upstart company, doing the things Sony wouldn't or couldn't. I see them as the giant bully, trying to muscle out other firms that have done so much for gaming, but which Xbox couldn't beat even with all the money in the world. Particularly in the Xbox 360 era, I was an unashamed Xbot fan and felt like Microsoft were pushing the envelope in the face of the stuffy, old-fashioned PlayStation. Now though I see that it was nothing but a mask, that they have now ripped off entirely. More Trending Nobody important at Xbox cares about games or their fans, only money. And now I think they are going to have considerably less of both. By reader Gambit The reader's features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro. You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@ or use our Submit Stuff page and you won't need to send an email. MORE: Gaming peaked with the PS4 and I want the PS6 to recognise that – Reader's Feature MORE: After 24 years of wasted potential the Xbox dream is finally dead - Reader's Feature MORE: Rainbow Road in Mario Kart World is the best track ever – Reader's Feature
