Never been involved in an econometrics project before – any tips?
Don’t be afraid to ask questions about stuff you don’t understand or about what you might get out of the project. And keep asking until you are clear. The most successful projects share a number of features. They typically kick-off with a “brainstorm” where main stakeholders (client and their agencies) can share their intuitions regarding important events in the brand’s recent history and the way the brand responds to key stimuli. This then provides the “theoretical background” against which the models are developed and against which everyone can jointly assess whether the modelling results are sensible. There is someone at the client end nominated as the “data Tsar”. All data goes through this person to the econometrics agency and is pre-checked to ensure that it is complete and clear. Ideally, it should be someone who has been with the company for a while and has a good knowledge of the various data sources. Interim meetings where the client is willing to discuss the interpretation o
