> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getprova.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Incrementality

> Understand what incrementality means and why it is the foundation of Provalytics reporting.

## Overview

Incrementality measures the business outcomes that happened because of marketing.

In other words, it asks:

> What changed because we spent this money?

That is different from asking which platform, click, or campaign was closest to the conversion.

## Why incrementality matters

Traditional attribution often gives credit to the last measurable touchpoint. That can make bottom-of-funnel channels look stronger than they really are and make upper-funnel channels look weaker than they really are.

For example, a customer may see a TV ad, later search for the brand, and then convert after clicking a paid search ad. Last-click reporting may credit search, even though TV created the demand.

Incrementality helps separate:

* Demand that marketing created
* Demand that marketing captured
* Outcomes that would likely have happened anyway

## The three components of media impact

In Provalytics, incrementality is not treated as a single simplistic effect.

It is the combination of three different ways media can influence business outcomes:

### Immediate impact

This is the same-day effect of media.

It is the part of performance that most closely resembles what teams often see in last-click or multi-touch attribution systems: media runs, demand responds, and the outcome shows up quickly.

### Ad stock

Ad stock is the delayed effect of media over time.

It is also commonly described as carryover or drag. This is the idea that media does not always stop working the moment the spend happens. Some activity keeps influencing behavior after the initial exposure window.

One simple way to think about it is the "Super Bowl effect": a large media event can continue shaping demand after the day it aired.

### Synergies

Synergies are the combined effects of channels working together.

This is what happens when one media channel improves the performance of another channel or strengthens the broader system. For example, upper-funnel media may increase branded search, improve lower-funnel conversion rates, or make other campaigns more productive.

Taken together, these three effects help explain why incrementality is more comprehensive than simple attribution credit.

## How to read incremental contribution

When Provalytics shows incremental contribution, it is estimating how much business impact a channel, campaign, or category added beyond the expected baseline.

A higher incremental contribution means the activity is likely creating more net-new outcomes.

## Incrementality vs platform attribution

Platform attribution answers:

> What did this platform claim credit for?

Incrementality answers:

> What did this marketing activity actually add?

Both views can be useful, but they are not the same. Platform reports are often helpful for campaign operations. Incrementality is more useful for budget decisions, cross-channel planning, and executive reporting.

## How to use incrementality in decisions

Use incrementality to:

* Identify which channels are truly driving outcomes
* Defend upper-funnel investment
* Avoid over-crediting demand capture channels
* Reallocate budget based on modeled business impact
* Explain performance in terms finance can understand

## Assigned Value Metrics

Some clients measure outcomes such as leads, calls, appointments, or form fills instead of direct revenue.

In those cases, Provalytics can use an **Assigned Value Metric**.

Assigned Value Metric is a term for applying a predetermined dollar value to events. By assigning these values, Provalytics can translate event performance into financial terms and use `ROAS` instead of `CPA`.

This is especially useful when direct revenue is not available but the team still needs to evaluate media in return-based terms.

Assigned Value Metrics are typically enabled by the Provalytics CSR team as part of reporting configuration.

## Important interpretation note

Do not evaluate a channel using one number in isolation. Read incrementality alongside spend, efficiency, trend, halo effects, and model freshness.