AIM MMM – Scenarios

The Scenarios tab within the AIM MMM Dashboard enables you to independently configure optimization settings and run “what-if” analyses for your app’s media spend — without requiring manual intervention from Kochava’s Customer Service or Data Science teams.

Using Scenarios, you can:

• Create up to 3 non-archived scenarios per app at any time
• Configure optimization strategy, budget type, and media source settings
• Generate a 2-week preview of projected outcomes on demand, without affecting your live production recommendations
• Compare up to 3 scenarios side-by-side against your Business As Usual (BAU) baseline to evaluate trade-offs before choosing one
• Activate your chosen scenario to trigger a full 12-week optimization cycle and push live spend recommendations
• Adjust budget on an already-activated scenario at any time, without needing to recreate it
• Receive an automatic in-app and email notification the moment your preview results are ready

NOTE: Scenarios are created at the individual app level (iOS, Android, or Web). Cross-app scenarios are not currently supported.

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Navigating to the Scenarios Tab

1. From the left navigation, expand AIM MMM and click Dashboard.
2. Select your app using the app selector in the top-left of the dashboard.
3. Click the Scenarios tab in the tab bar (alongside Performance Overview, Recommendations, and Media Partners).

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Scenarios Tab Overview

The Scenarios tab is organized into two primary areas: the Summary Metrics Bar at the top and the All Scenarios list below it.

Summary Metrics Bar

At the top of the Scenarios tab, four summary cards provide an at-a-glance view of your current scenario usage and limits.

Card	Description
Active Scenarios	Displays the number of currently Activated scenarios vs. the maximum allowed (1 max), with a blue progress bar.
Total Scenarios	Displays the total number of non-archived scenarios vs. the 3-scenario maximum, with a purple progress bar.
Created This Week	Displays how many scenarios have been created during the current week vs. the weekly creation limit (3 max). Resets each Monday.
Currently Active Scenarios	Displays the name of the scenario currently in Activated state, or “No active scenario” if none is activated.

NOTE: Only archived scenarios are excluded from the 3-scenario limit. All other scenario states — including Cancelled — count toward this limit. To free up a slot, you must archive an existing scenario.

All Scenarios List

Below the summary bar, the All Scenarios section displays all of your non-archived scenarios as individual cards. Each scenario card surfaces key configuration details, its current status, and available actions.

Creating a New Scenario

To create a new scenario, click the + New Scenario button in the upper-right of the Scenarios tab.

The scenario creation wizard walks you through four configuration steps.

Step 1: General Settings

Enter a name and optional description for your scenario.

Step 2: Strategy Selection

Choose the optimization strategy for your scenario in three steps.

Step 3: Budget Configuration

Configure how the optimizer should manage your budget. Choose between two budget modes:

• Optionally set a Target CPA or Target ROAS — if no target CPA is provided, the system calculates one from your historical Exponential Moving Average (EMA).
• Optionally define min/max budget guardrails.

NOTE: If no target CPA is provided in Flexible Budget mode, a warning will display: “No target CPA provided. Budget will be generated using your historical average CPA (EMA-based).”

Step 4: Media Source Customization

Select and configure the media sources to include in this scenario’s optimization.

Once configured, your scenario is saved in Scenario Created status. Continue to Generating a Preview below to run your first what-if forecast.

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Generating a Preview

Generating a preview is a manual step — this gives you full control over when your weekly preview quota is used. A new scenario does not automatically run a preview upon creation.

To generate a preview:

Generating a preview is non-destructive: it does not change what’s actually running in production. Only Activating a scenario (see Activating a Scenario) commits it to the live 12-week optimization cycle.

NOTE: If your preview appears to be “stuck,” check the status chip tooltip first. While a scenario shows Generating Preview, the system may be automatically retrying in the background — this is invisible to the user and does not require action. Only a Preview Failed chip means you to click Retry.

The preview:

• Generates projected 2-week results based on your configured strategy, budget, and media sources.
• Is stored separately from your live recommendations and does not affect production output.
• Is typically available within 5–15 minutes of clicking Generate Previews.

You will receive both an in-app notification (bell icon) and an email notification when your preview is ready.

NOTE: A weekly limit applies to the number of preview triggers per advertiser account (5 by default, configurable). One trigger = one Generate Previews or Resync for Comparison action, regardless of how many scenarios (1–3) are included in that action. The limit resets each Monday. If the limit is reached, a message will indicate when it will reset.

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Viewing Preview Results

Preview results include:

KPI Summary Cards

Displays projected values for Forecast CPA, Forecast ROAS, Forecast Revenue, and Total Spend — each shown with its percentage change vs. the Business As Usual (BAU) baseline, and the actual BAU value for reference.

Performance Chart

A time-series chart with tabs for CPA / ROAS / Revenue / Spend, combining 4 weeks of historical data with the 2-week preview forecast. A clearly marked run date line separates historical data from the shaded forecast period. Confidence interval shading is displayed around forecast values.

Channel Breakdown Table

A sortable, exportable table showing per-media-source projections, including current spend, recommended spend, delta, forecast CPA, forecast ROAS, and forecast revenue.

Actions Available on This Page

From the Preview Results page, advertisers can:

• Click ⚡ Activate Scenario to commit the scenario to production (opens the confirmation modal and triggers the full 12-week optimization cycle)
• Click ⊞ Compare Scenarios (top breadcrumb) to jump into the Scenario Comparison page
• Click ⬇ Export to download results as CSV or JSON

NOTE: If the KPI numbers don’t match between two views of the same scenario, check whether one view reflects a preview run from a different date than the other. Preview results are locked to the data snapshot from the run date — they do not auto-update.

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Comparing Scenarios

Up to 3 scenarios can be compared side-by-side, alongside a BAU baseline, ensuring results come from the same data snapshot for a fair comparison.

To compare scenarios:

1. From the Scenario List (or from a Preview Results page), click Compare Scenarios.

2. On the Scenario Comparison page, use the scenario selector chips to choose up to 3 scenarios to include. BAU is always shown as the baseline and cannot be deselected.
3. Check the sync status banner at the top of the page:
   
   
   
   • 🟠 Out of sync (orange): “These scenarios were run at different times and may not be directly comparable.” This appears when the selected scenarios’ preview runs happened on different dates.
   
   
   • 🔵 In sync (blue): “All 3 scenarios were run simultaneously on [date] via the Coordinator DAG. Results are directly comparable.”

4. If scenarios are out of sync, click ↻ Resync for Comparison. This opens a modal where you confirm which scenarios to resync via a checklist, then click Run Resync (N scenarios).
5. Resyncing submits all checked scenarios to the Coordinator DAG simultaneously, generating results from the same data snapshot. Existing preview results for those scenarios are replaced with the new resync results.

NOTE: Each scenario resynced counts as one weekly preview trigger against your quota — a single Resync for Comparison action covering up to 3 scenarios still only uses 1 of your weekly triggers. See Scenario Limits Reference.

Once results are in sync, the Comparison page displays:

• A CPA / ROAS / Revenue / Spend chart with all selected scenarios plotted against BAU, each in a distinct color
• A KPI Summary Comparison table with per-scenario deltas vs. BAU
• A Channel Breakdown by Scenario table

Data can be exported in CSV or JSON format using the Export button.

The system does not pick a “winning” scenario for you — you review the comparison data and manually select which scenario to activate.

IMPORTANT: Only 1 scenario per app may be Activated at a time. Attempting to activate a second scenario while one is already Activated will trigger the standard activation-replacement warning described in Activating a Scenario.

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Activating a Scenario

To activate a scenario:

1. Locate the scenario in the All Scenarios list with a status of Preview Ready.
2. Click Activate on the scenario card.
3. If another scenario is currently Activated, a confirmation dialog will appear warning that existing recommendations will be replaced. Confirm to proceed.
4. The scenario transitions to Activating status while the 12-week optimization run is processed.
5. Once complete, the scenario status changes to Activated and recommendations are updated on the Recommendations tab.

IMPORTANT: Only 1 scenario per app may be Activated or Activating at any time. Activating a new scenario returns the previously Activated scenario to Preview Ready status — it is not automatically archived. You can choose to keep, reactivate, or archive it at your discretion.

Activation timing:

• Target completion: ~6 hours
• Warning notification sent at: 7 hours
• Hard timeout / Activation Failed state: 8 hours (a Retry Activation button will appear)

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Managing Scenarios

Editing a Scenario

Managing Budget for an Activated Scenario

Once a scenario is activated, all of its configuration is locked except budget. The Budget Management screen lets you adjust current and future spend on an activated scenario without needing to recreate it.

To manage budget on an activated scenario:

1. From the Scenario List, find the scenario in Activated status.
2. Click Edit Budget on that scenario’s card.
3. On the Budget Management page, review the Monthly Budget Schedule table. Rows are color-coded by period:
   • HIST (gray, locked): The last 1–2 historical months. Read-only, shown for context only.
   • NOW (blue): The current month. Editable.
   • FUTURE (green): Upcoming months. Editable.
4. Edit the Monthly Budget and Target CPA fields for the current/future rows.
5. Click + Add Future Period to add additional months.
6. Click Save Budget Changes to confirm.

NOTE: Leaving Target CPA blank triggers a fallback — the system calculates a budget using your historical Exponential Moving Average (EMA) CPA. An inline warning (“⚠️ Blank = EMA fallback ($X)”) appears under the field when this applies.

Archiving a Scenario

Archiving a scenario removes it from your scenario count, freeing up a slot for a new scenario. Archived scenarios are read-only — they cannot be edited, activated, or re-previewed.

Any scenario in Scenario Created, Preview Ready, Preview Failed, Cancelled, or Activated status can be archived. To archive a scenario, click Archive on that scenario’s card — on Cancelled scenario cards, this button is labeled “Archive to free slot.”

A confirmation modal appears: “The scenario will be archived — read-only and excluded from your active scenario count. Retained for 90 days.” Click Archive Scenario to confirm, or Cancel to back out.

Once archived, the scenario:

• No longer counts toward the 3-scenario-per-app limit
• Becomes read-only — it cannot be edited, re-previewed, or re-activated
• Is retained for 90 days before permanent deletion

NOTE: Archiving is always a deliberate, manual action — the system never automatically archives a scenario under any circumstances, even if it’s old or inactive. If you’re at your 3-scenario limit and want to create a new one, archiving an existing scenario (including a cancelled one) is the only way to free up a slot.

Deactivating an Activated Scenario

Deactivating stops an Activated scenario from generating new weekly recommendations, without deleting its configuration or preview history.

To deactivate a scenario:

NOTE: Deactivating is not the same as archiving. A deactivated scenario keeps its preview results and configuration and still counts toward the 3-scenario limit — it simply stops being the “live” scenario generating recommendations. This is also what happens automatically to a previously Activated scenario whenever you activate a different one (see Activating a Scenario) — it isn’t deleted, just returned to Preview Ready.

Retrying Failed Scenarios

If a preview or activation run fails due to a transient error, a Retry or Retry Activation button will appear on the scenario card. Clicking retry re-queues the run using the existing configuration. The scenario ID, name, and full audit history are preserved across retry attempts.

Cancelling a Preview

While a scenario is in Scenario Created, Preview Queued, or Generating Preview status, a Cancel Preview (or Cancel) button is available on the scenario card. Cancelling moves the scenario to Cancelled status.

IMPORTANT: Cancelled scenarios still count toward the 3-scenario limit. To free up the slot, you must Archive the scenario — cancelling alone does not.

A cancelled scenario can be resumed by clicking Return to Queue, which moves it back to Scenario Created status. You’ll then need to click Generate Previews again to actually run the preview.

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Scenario Limits Reference

Limit	Value
Max non-archived scenarios per app	3
Max Activated or Activating scenarios per app	1
Weekly preview trigger limit (Generate Previews or Resync for Comparison actions; resets each Monday)	5 by default (configurable). One trigger = one action, regardless of how many scenarios (1–3) are included.
Weekly scenario creation limit (resets each Monday)	3
Max media sources per scenario	50
Scenario name length	1–100 characters
Description length	0–500 characters (optional)
Preview results retention	3 months
Archived scenario retention	90 days before permanent deletion
Minimum historical data required	90 days

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Notifications

You will be notified when a scenario’s preview finishes running — whether triggered by Generate Previews or Resync for Comparison — through two channels:

• In-app notification — appears in the bell icon (notification center) within the Kochava platform.
• Email notification — sent to the account email address associated with the user who created the scenario.

Notification message: “Your scenario ‘[Scenario Name]’ preview is ready. [View Results →]”

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do previews still generate automatically when I create a scenario?

No. Previews are generated on demand — after creating (or editing) a scenario, click Generate Previews on the Scenario List page to run its 2-week what-if forecast. This gives you control over when your weekly preview quota is used.

Q: Why does my scenario count toward the limit even though I cancelled it?

Cancelled scenarios still occupy a configuration slot and can be resumed at any time via Return to Queue. To free up a slot, archive the cancelled scenario.

Q: Can I activate a scenario without viewing the preview results first?

Yes. You can activate any scenario in Preview Ready status without reviewing the preview results. After activation, the Recommendations tab will reflect the newly activated scenario’s recommendations.

Q: What happens to my existing recommendations when I activate a new scenario?

The previously Activated scenario’s recommendations are replaced by the newly Activated scenario’s recommendations. The previous scenario is returned to Preview Ready status — it is not deleted or archived automatically. You can keep it, reactivate it later, or archive it manually.

Q: What’s the difference between Cancelling and Deactivating a scenario?

Cancelling applies to a scenario that hasn’t finished its preview run yet (Scenario Created, Preview Queued, or Generating Preview) and moves it to Cancelled status. Deactivating applies to a scenario that is already Activated and stops it from generating new weekly recommendations, returning it to Preview Ready status. Both keep the scenario’s configuration intact and still count toward your 3-scenario limit — only Archiving frees up a slot.

Q: Can I change my budget without recreating my whole scenario?

Yes. Once a scenario is Activated, click Edit Budget on its card to open Budget Management, where you can adjust the Monthly Budget and Target CPA for the current and future months without recreating the scenario. All other scenario settings remain locked while it’s Activated.

Q: Why does the Comparison page show an “Out of sync” warning?

This means the scenarios you selected had their preview runs generated at different times, so their results may not be directly comparable. Click Resync for Comparison to re-run the selected scenarios simultaneously from the same data snapshot.

Q: How long does a preview take?

Preview results are typically delivered within 5–15 minutes of clicking Generate Previews (90th percentile). The scenario status updates automatically and you will receive both an in-app and email notification when results are ready.

Q: Can I compare scenarios across different apps?

No. Cross-app scenario comparison is not supported. All scenarios included in a comparison must belong to the same app.

Q: What is BAU?

BAU (Business As Usual) represents the predicted outcome if your current spend allocation is maintained without any adjustments. It serves as the baseline against which scenario projections are compared.

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Related Articles

• AIM MMM Dashboard
• AIM MMM – Configuration