Measure TikTok more effectively with media mix modeling

Media mix modeling (MMM) has long been a reliable way to measure the holistic impact of marketing investments and optimize budget allocation in a fragmented media environment. As the industry moves away from cookies and the customer journey becomes more complex, MMM has re-emerged as a resilient way to measure impact across marketing touchpoints and gain accurate, actionable insights for your campaigns.

What's new? TikTok Ads Manager integration now available

For advertisers who don't need MMM data frequently or who don't have developers or advanced analytics teams to build custom pipelines, pulling data directly from TikTok Ads Manager (TTAM) can be a great alternative.

This new capability—now available to advertisers—allows clients and partners to pull up to four years of complete, MMM-ready historical data directly from the TikTok Ad Manager interface. Accessing datasets from the TTAM end point is a great way for clients and partners who want speed and accessibility but don't need ongoing automation or granular control.

API, earned data, and media for GMV Max now available

Media mix modeling is generally carried out as a collaboration between several key players, including media agencies, MMM research vendors, advertisers, publishers, and more.

Data quality is the foundation of any successful MMM strategy—poor-quality data leads to inaccurate insights and unreliable models. But with the right insights, advertisers can make more informed decisions about budget allocation and optimization.

In addition to the TTAM integration mentioned above, we recently introduced three other updates to strengthen TikTok's MMM capabilities:

1. API integration: Our API automatically provides access to your TikTok data, making it easier than ever to feed data into your MMM systems. Available to all clients and partners.

2. Earned data: You can now integrate earned data from Branded Mission and Branded Effect packages into your media mix modeling alongside traditional paid metrics like ad spend, impressions, clicks, and conversions.

3. GMV Max media data: GMV Max clients can now ingest full media data (paid and non-paid) in the MMM pipeline.

Working with badged MMM partners

Media mix modeling allows advertisers to more confidently analyze their media performance, optimize budget allocation, and drive long-term business growth in a signal-resilient, holistic and flexible way. But we don't expect them to do it alone.

Advertisers can leverage trusted TikTok partners who meet rigorous criteria to offer advanced media mix modeling solutions. TikTok's MMM partners include: Annalect, Bunker, Choreograph Nordics, Choreograph Warsaw, Data Intelligence Romania, Kochava, MetricWorks, Nielsen, Ovative, PMG, Precis, Sellforte, Tinuiti, Uncover and Yotta.

Why media mix modeling matters more in 2025

Traditionally used to measure offline media like TV, media mix modeling has become essential for digital marketing—especially as the industry moves toward privacy-protected measurement approaches.

This method is particularly valuable for TikTok because customer journeys aren't always linear. People discover products through entertainment, not just by clicking on ads. They engage, create, search, and eventually purchase—often across different platforms or in physical stores.

This means that traditional last-click models don't capture TikTok's true contribution to the purchasing journey. According to MMM analysis by Ovative Group, on average, TikTok's actual ROI is 23x higher than what last-click attribution models report.¹ A separate MMM study by Nielsen showed that TikTok is 2.5x more efficient than both online video and TV, and 20% more efficient than social media at driving retail sales.²

"Marketers have long been misled by last-click models, which capture only a fraction of the true value,” says Beth McKigney, SVP of Measurement and Technology Solutions at Ovative Group. "With enhanced measurement, we’re proving TikTok’s revenue-driving power—not just in conversions, but in building long-term, profitable customer relationships."

Media mix modeling, on the other hand, provides a more holistic view of ad performance and actionable insights to guide your marketing strategy. German carmaker Volkswagen was able to shift budgets from underperforming channels to TikTok after an MMM study with Annalect revealed it to be three times more efficient than other digital media platforms.³ Similarly, by leveraging MMM, beauty and skincare brand Boots found that aligning TikTok campaigns with TV ads resulted in a 1.4x boost in TikTok's ROI.³

The benefits of TikTok's API

TikTok's media mix modeling API allows for the automated scheduling of data downloads, ensuring a consistent and up-to-date flow of information. Integrating the API into your systems saves time, reduces manual errors, and maintains a steady stream of insights for your MMM. Nielsen was among the first measurement partners to integrate TikTok's MMM API.

"MMM relies on high quality, granular data received in a timely manner," said Karen Gentleman from Nielsen’s Strategic Partnerships team. "Nielsen was delighted to be selected to test TikTok's Alpha API MMM data feed workstream to continue to automate the data collection process and ensure an accurate and on-time data delivery for our mutual clients. We look forward to partnering with clients to leverage this process for future MMM engagements."

By prioritizing API integration, advertisers and measurement partners can streamline their workflows and focus on extracting meaningful insights from TikTok’s robust data offerings.

How to get started with media mix modeling

For brands and agencies

If you're already using media mix modeling, we recommend incorporating both paid and earned data into your models through our API and TTAM user interface. But if you're new to MMM or unsure about using media mix models, here are some simple steps to help you get started.

1. Understand the limitations of last-click attribution for your TikTok ad strategy using Assisted Conversions in Attribution Analytics, available in TikTok Ads Manager.

   1. If you're primarily reliant on TikTok, TikTok Shop, and one other channel for marketing, use the 'Assisted conversions' feature to see how TikTok contributes to conversions that might otherwise be attributed to earned or direct traffic.

   2. If you have a broader media mix, analyze how TikTok impressions and clicks influence conversions through a media mix model, helping you build a more holistic measurement approach.

2. Leverage the TikTok API to simplify your workflows and ensure accurate, timely data integration for your clients. Here is how to get started. Alternatively, for less frequent data pulls without code implementation, use the neqw TikTok Ads Manager end point.

   1. Prefer working with a trusted partner to get started? Visit partners.tiktok.com, and see our latest partners offering advanced MMM solutions under measurement, cross-channel.

3. Evaluate your current data strategy across all channels and streamline data collection by using APIs where possible.

For measurement partners

We also invite MMM providers and measurement teams to explore our API integration. This will streamline your workflows and ensure you get accurate, timely data for your clients. Interested in becoming a TikTok badged measurement partner? Reach out to your TikTok representative today to learn more about our criteria.

Building the future of holistic measurement together

As the volume and frequency in which brands and agencies incorporate TikTok into their media mix models increases, these new API updates will help to seamlessly integrate even more data, unlocking powerful insights to further refine their mix learnings.

Want more details? Download the one-pager for a deeper look at TikTok's MMM capabilities.

1. Ovative Group Expert Insights, 2024

2. Nielsen MMM Study commissioned by TikTok, US only (study of 7 Retail advertisers covering February 2021 - January 2023)

3. This is a TikTok case study and is solely for informational purposes. Past performance does not guarantee or predict future performance. All claims related to brand products including, without limitation, the effectiveness, sales, or quality of such products are brand-reported and not endorsed or verified by TikTok.