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The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossaryMeasurement & AttributionGeo Experiment (Matched Market Test)

Measurement & Attribution

Geo Experiment (Matched Market Test)

An experiment that varies spend across regions to measure incremental impact.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Appears in Lesson 8 of Programmatic 101

Short answer

A geo experiment, or matched market test, measures the incremental impact of advertising by changing spend in selected geographic regions while comparable control regions stay unchanged. Differences in outcomes between test and control markets estimate causal lift. Because it relies on aggregate regional data rather than user tracking, it works well in privacy-restricted environments.