Incrementality testing validates a new channel by measuring whether its revenue actually covers what was spent. This works because new channels rarely show up cleanly in analytics, so an experiment isolates true contribution at different spend levels. Without that test, brands risk permanently funding a channel returning less than a dollar spent. This video explains how to run rollout tests across part of the country before scaling a proven channel.
Why New Marketing Channels Need Incrementality Testing Before You Scale
New marketing channels need incrementality testing before you scale because standard platform metrics and tools like Google Analytics routinely understate upper-funnel media, making it impossible to judge a channel on its own reporting. In this video, John Wallace, CEO of LiftLab, explains the repeatable process LiftLab uses whenever a customer mentions adding a new channel: treat it as an experiment, not a permanent addition, starting with a diminishing returns test to see what happens to total revenue at different spend levels.
The goal is to answer a simple question with real evidence: does the incremental revenue from the new channel cover its cost? A ROAS below one is disqualifying. Once a channel clears that bar, brands can run rollout tests, concentrating spend in a fraction of the country to prove the channel scales before committing to it as a permanent, nationwide part of the media plan.
In this video, you’ll learn:
Why new media channels are often understated in tools like Google Analytics
How to categorize new channels as experiments to measure true incremental revenue
The importance of calculating ROAS to ensure costs are covered before scaling
How to utilize rollout tests to incrementally increase spend across different regions
TIME STAMPFull Video Transcript: The New Channel Testing Process Explained
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LiftLab CEO John Wallace walks through the repeatable process for testing and scaling a new marketing channel, from diminishing returns experiments to nationwide rollout.
[0:00 – 0:25] The Challenges of Adding New Media Channels
When you want to add a new channel to your media plan and you are sitting on a marketing effectiveness platform that is already looking at all your evergreen media and all of your existing spend, along comes the new guy. You are going to have a new set of metrics inside that channel. They are going to have their own platform metrics. You might try to start tagging that media, but if it is upper-funnel media, it is probably not going to even show up in Google Analytics or not very much; it will be understated. This is an age-old problem.
[0:26 – 1:02] The Experimental Approach to New Channels
We have a repeatable process for this. As soon as we hear the words “new channel” from a customer, we say it is a new experiment. We highly recommend that the brand use a diminishing returns experiment to understand at different spend levels what happened to my total revenue. Could this new channel contribute to the top line in a measurable way and a way that we could capitalize on? We answer the age-old question: did the revenue that came from the new channel, the incremental revenue that came from the new channel, cover its costs? I do not know many marketers that want to spend very long on a channel that has a ROAS less than one. If we give a dollar, we better be getting a dollar back.
[1:03 – 1:43] Scaling Through Rollout Tests
Once we have a LiftLab customer with that kind of muscle memory of new channels means new experiments, then we can get into the details a little bit more. Quite often, brands will elect to do what I would call a rollout test. They will concentrate their spend in a fraction of the country, anywhere from 20% to 50% of the country, saving some of their budget that way until they have more proof. They want to know that that dollar that they are investing is bringing back more than a dollar. And if it is bringing back more than a dollar, how far can they scale that investment? When they are armed with that information, they are in a position to make this a now permanent member of the media plan and a nationwide campaign as it should be.
Key Lessons: Scaling New Marketing Channels Through Channel Testing
New channels = new experiments: Always view a new channel as a test to determine its actual contribution to the top line.
Overcoming measurement gaps: Upper-funnel media often doesn’t show up in standard analytics; rely on incremental experiments instead.
Protect your budget: Use rollout tests by concentrating spend on 20-50% of the market to minimize risk until the channel is proven.
Data-driven scaling: Only make a channel a permanent part of your media plan once you are certain it returns more than one dollar for every dollar spent.
