fifty-five review

Strong — 4 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 23% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 17 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Excellent 1 · Strong 4 · Adequate 12. The typical agency here scores Adequate, and 1 of them score higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: The heaviest weight, because an unvalidated model is an opinion with decimal places. Look for a described methodology, stated assumptions, and above all how the model is VALIDATED: holdout periods, backtesting, or reconciliation against a real experiment. A described method with no validation story scores 3.

Scores high — A firm that publishes its validation approach and names its limits scores 4-5.

Scores low — 'Proprietary algorithm' with no methodology at all scores 1-2 — proprietary is not a method, and in this category it is the single least checkable claim a vendor can make.

What we found — Names the actual models rather than the outcome - Meridian MMM, a 'digital twin' MMM, bespoke MMM - across many dated cases. The validation approach is not published: no holdout periods, backtesting or reconciliation against experiment is described. That is the high band above, which is why it scored Strong.

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.

Adequate — 3 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 19% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 17 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Excellent 1 · Strong 7 · Adequate 5 · Weak 4. The typical agency here scores Adequate, and 8 of them score higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: Whether the firm can establish causality rather than only correlation: geo holdout tests, matched-market design, PSA/ghost-ad tests, switchback designs, or reconciliation of modelled results against live experiments.

Scores high — Named experiment designs with described execution score 4-5.

Scores low — Correlation-only modelling with no experimental capability scores 2-3 — legitimate and common, but the buyer should know they are buying a correlational estimate. A firm that presents modelled attribution as proven causality scores 1-2, and the overclaim should be named in the verdict.

What we found — A published Pierre & Vacances-Center Parcs case covers designing and running optimisation tests on media performance, so experiment work is real. No named design - geo holdout, matched-market, ghost-ad - is described. That is between the two bands, which is why it scored Adequate.

attribution — working out which marketing touch actually caused a sale. Good practice names its model and its blind spots; bad practice quotes each ad platform’s self-graded numbers, which overlap and overclaim.

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.

Excellent — 5 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 14% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 17 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Excellent 1 · Strong 9 · Adequate 6 · Weak 1. The typical agency here scores Strong, and none scores higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: Attributable client work at a stated scale and category. Treat any 'we found X% waste' claim as a vendor-stated number unless a client is named and corroborates it.

Scores high — Named clients with described engagements score 4-5.

Scores low — Anonymised case studies score 2-3 — common here for genuine confidentiality reasons, so do not penalise beyond the band, but do not credit unverifiable lift figures either.

What we found — An unusually strong roster, named and dated: Estee Lauder (Meridian MMM, +8% media ROI on -10% budget, Mar 2026), Leroy Merlin (1.7x media ROAS, Jul 2026), Guerlain (Sep 2026), Carmila, Renault Group, Bouygues Telecom, Orpi. Lift figures remain vendor-stated. That is the high band above, which is why it scored Excellent.

ROAS — return on ad spend: revenue per dollar of advertising. Platform-reported ROAS overstates; independently measured ROAS is the honest version.

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.

Adequate — 3 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 14% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 17 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Strong 11 · Adequate 4 · Weak 2. The typical agency here scores Strong, and 11 of them score higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: What the engagement needs from the buyer (spend, conversion, and channel data at what granularity) and — critically — whether the firm also buys the media it is measuring. A firm that measures media it does not sell is structurally more credible; where the same firm buys and grades its own work, that conflict must be disclosed and should be named in the verdict whether or not the firm names it.

Scores high — Clear data requirements plus independence from media buying scores 4-5.

Scores low — Undisclosed conflict scores 1-2.

What we found — Media consulting includes media strategy and media operation alongside the measurement work, so the firm may be grading media it helps run. That conflict is not disclosed either way, and the data the engagement requires from a buyer is not stated. That is between the two bands, which is why it scored Adequate.

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.

Weak — 2 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 10% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 17 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Excellent 1 · Strong 6 · Adequate 10. The typical agency here scores Adequate, and all of them score higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: What arrives and how often: a one-off model, a refreshed quarterly model, a live dashboard, a decision workshop. A model delivered once and never refreshed is a snapshot of a market that has moved, and should be scored as the ceiling it is.

Scores high — Stated deliverables with a stated refresh cadence score 4-5.

Scores low — Undefined deliverables score 2.

What we found — No stated deliverables or refresh cadence - whether a model is one-off, quarterly or live is not published. That is what the low band describes, which is why it scored Weak.

deliverability — deliverability: whether cold email actually lands in the inbox rather than spam. The tell is infrastructure talk — warmed sending domains kept separate from your main domain — because a burned domain outlasts the engagement.

Evidence: inferred — our reading of indirect evidence, not a documented fact.

Stronger here: Nepa scores Excellent on the same dimension.

Weak — 2 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 10% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 17 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Strong 2 · Adequate 3 · Weak 12. The typical agency here scores Weak, and 5 of them score higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: Note any minimum spend and whether the model licence continues after the engagement ends.

Scores high — Published fees, ranges, or a stated engagement structure with numbers score 4-5.

Scores low — A described structure without numbers scores 2-3. Bespoke-only with no anchor scores 1-2.

What we found — No published fees, ranges or engagement structure; no stated minimum. That is what the low band describes, which is why it scored Weak.

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.

Stronger here: Nepa scores Strong on the same dimension.

Adequate — 3 of 5 on this rubric’s scale, from Poor (1) to Excellent (5). This dimension carries 10% of the total score.

Benchmark — across the 17 other agencies evaluated in this discipline, this dimension runs Adequate 6 · Weak 11. The typical agency here scores Weak, and none scores higher than this one.

What this dimension measures: Independent, verified reviews or checkable references. Low weight deliberately: measurement work sells through procurement and referral, so a thin public review footprint is normal and the method evidence above matters far more.

Scores low — A substantial verified base scores 4-5; a handful scores 2-3; none located scores 2.

What we found — Small independent review sample with a mixed Trustpilot score; normal for measurement work sold through procurement.

Evidence: verified — checked against a named source you can open; the links under Sources below are where to check it yourself.