Geo-lift testing validates a new channel by running it in a small, random slice of the country first. This works because concentrating budget in one region produces strong lift data quickly, without betting the entire budget. Without that step, brands risk funding a channel nationally before learning if it’s accretive to the media plan. This video explains how to run a geo-lift test and size a new channel’s investment.
Why Geo-Lift Testing Should Come Before Any Nationwide Channel Launch
Geo-lift testing should come before any nationwide channel launch because concentrating a new channel’s budget in one random slice of the country produces strong, fast performance data without betting the entire budget on something unproven. In this video, John Wallace, CEO of LiftLab, describes a rollout test as a surgical, intentional toe in the water: rather than funding a national campaign for a new channel or strategy outright, brands run it in a randomized portion of the country first and watch what happens.
The real question Wallace pushes marketers toward isn’t just whether the new channel works, but how accretive it is to the existing media plan already running across top, middle, and bottom of funnel, and at what point it stops being worth funding further. Answering that in a small slice of the country produces strong data quickly and, in Wallace’s experience, rarely comes back as an outright no; it’s almost always a question of how much of the channel belongs in the plan.
In this video, you’ll learn:
The strategic importance of running localized rollout tests to avoid betting the farm on unproven marketing channels
How to concentrate your marketing budget to gain clear, measurable insights in a small, random segment of the market
The process of determining whether a new channel is accretive to your existing top, middle, and bottom-of-funnel media strategy
How to transition from a test phase to a nationwide rollout by using data to build confidence in your investment
TIME STAMPFull Video Transcript: Geo-Lift Testing and Rollout Experiments Explained
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In this video, LiftLab CEO John Wallace explains how geo-lift testing works and how to use the results to decide whether a new channel earns a spot in the media plan.
[0:00 – 0:14] Defining Rollout Experiments
What is a rollout test or a rollout experiment? Simply put, it is when you are going to in a surgical way only run these ads in a certain portion of the country. It is an intentional toe in the water.
[0:15 – 0:43] Strategic Benefits and Budget Concentration
This allows you for new channels or maybe new strategies within an existing channel to not bet the farm. We do not think you should bet the farm when you are doing something new. It also allows you to concentrate the budget. Instead of putting a whole bunch of money into the whole country and trying to fund a national campaign, we are going to concentrate it in a random portion of the country and watch and see what happens. Of course, if you find that this has positive lift, you are going to have an appetite to put this in the rest of the country.
[0:44 – 1:23] Assessing Media Impact and Best Practices
That is the question that we are going to be after, but the very next question that you should be interested in is our favorite question at LiftLab: how much in an existing media plan that is already running top of funnel, middle of funnel, bottom of funnel, wherever this new channel is, how much is it? Is it accretive, to what degree, and at what point would we say enough is enough? Answering that in a small portion of the country before we go roll this out everywhere is the best practice. It allows you to gather very strong data quickly, and it is very unlikely that the answer is going to be that this does not work. The answer is going to be: how much of it do I need in an existing media plan, where does this fit, and to what degree are we comfortable funding it?
Key Lessons: Using Geo-Lift Testing to De-Risk New Marketing Channels
Risk mitigation: Conducting a surgical rollout allows companies to test new strategies safely, preventing wasted spend by proving efficacy in a limited area first.
Strategic integration: Rather than asking if a channel works, successful marketers focus on how a new channel fits into their current media ecosystem and at what investment level it remains accretive.
Data-driven optimization: By treating rollout tests as an intentional toe in the water, businesses can gather strong, reliable data quickly to justify wider budget expansion.
Budget efficiency: Focus on identifying the point of diminishing returns to ensure that you are only funding channels to the degree that they add value to your overall marketing P&L.
