PracHub
QuestionsPremiumLearningGuidesInterview PrepNEWCoaches
|Home/Analytics & Experimentation/CVS Health

Launch and measure a TV campaign

Last updated: Mar 29, 2026

Quick Overview

This question evaluates a data scientist's competency in experimental design and causal inference, including geo-level matching, KPI definition, media measurement (GRP/TRP, reach/frequency, adstock and saturation modeling), power analysis, and operational risk management for measuring incremental vaccinations.

  • hard
  • CVS Health
  • Analytics & Experimentation
  • Data Scientist

Launch and measure a TV campaign

Company: CVS Health

Role: Data Scientist

Category: Analytics & Experimentation

Difficulty: hard

Interview Round: Technical Screen

Plan the launch and measurement of a 6-week linear TV campaign intended to increase flu vaccinations. Choose 12 test DMAs and matched controls from the 210 U.S. DMAs; describe matching criteria, pre-period length, and how you will avoid news/sports/holiday shocks. Define KPIs (incremental verified vaccinations per DMA) and the causal design (geo-randomized experiment, difference-in-differences, or synthetic controls), including how you will handle market spillovers, unequal TRP delivery, and concurrent media. Specify GRP/TRP targets, daypart mix, reach-frequency goals, and how you will model adstock/decay and saturation. Outline power calculations using market-level variance, guardrails (call-center load, pharmacy stockouts), and how you will triangulate results with MMM and pharmacy footfall data.

Quick Answer: This question evaluates a data scientist's competency in experimental design and causal inference, including geo-level matching, KPI definition, media measurement (GRP/TRP, reach/frequency, adstock and saturation modeling), power analysis, and operational risk management for measuring incremental vaccinations.

Related Interview Questions

  • Diagnose a failing campaign - CVS Health (hard)
  • Design an email flu-shot experiment - CVS Health (hard)
  • Design a flu-shot A/B/n campaign experiment - CVS Health (hard)
  • Design Experiments for Causal Inference in Marketing Analytics - CVS Health (medium)
CVS Health logo
CVS Health
Oct 13, 2025, 9:49 PM
Data Scientist
Technical Screen
Analytics & Experimentation
3
0

6-Week Linear TV Experiment to Increase Flu Vaccinations

Design a 6-week linear TV campaign and its measurement plan to causally estimate incremental flu vaccinations. Assume access to DMA-level verified vaccinations, media delivery (GRP/TRP), and basic operational data (inventory, staffing).

Scope

  • Select 12 test DMAs from the 210 U.S. DMAs and assign matched controls (1:1).
  • Define the KPI, causal identification strategy, media plan (TRPs, dayparts, reach/frequency), and modeling choices (adstock, saturation).
  • Address execution risks (spillover, concurrent media, shocks, supply/ops constraints) and outline power analysis and triangulation.

Requirements

  1. DMA Selection and Matching
    • Choose 12 test DMAs and 12 matched controls.
    • Describe matching criteria and method (e.g., distance metric, pair matching/stratification), pre-period length used for matching, and exclusion rules.
    • Explain how you will avoid or control for news/sports/holiday shocks in market selection and scheduling.
  2. KPI and Causal Design
    • Primary KPI: incremental verified vaccinations per DMA over the 6-week post period (and per-capita normalization).
    • Choose and justify a causal design: geo-randomized experiment with matched pairs (preferred), difference-in-differences, and/or synthetic controls for sensitivity.
    • Specify how you will handle market spillovers, unequal TRP delivery, and concurrent media.
  3. Media Plan Parameters
    • GRP/TRP targets by demo, weekly distribution, and total.
    • Daypart mix and content exclusions to mitigate shocks.
    • Reach-frequency goals and how you will estimate/verify them.
    • Modeling of adstock/decay and saturation (include formulas/assumptions).
  4. Measurement and Analysis
    • Pre-period length and cadence; checks for parallel trends.
    • Estimation approach (e.g., DiD regression), weighting, and covariates.
    • Power and sample size: show how you’d compute Minimum Detectable Effect (MDE) using market-level variance; include a worked numeric example.
    • Guardrails (e.g., call-center load, pharmacy stockouts) and pause criteria.
    • Triangulation with MMM and pharmacy footfall data; how to reconcile findings.

Solution

Show

Comments (0)

Sign in to leave a comment

Loading comments...

Browse More Questions

More Analytics & Experimentation•More CVS Health•More Data Scientist•CVS Health Data Scientist•CVS Health Analytics & Experimentation•Data Scientist Analytics & Experimentation
PracHub

Master your tech interviews with 7,500+ real questions from top companies.

Product

  • Questions
  • Learning Tracks
  • Interview Guides
  • Resources
  • Premium
  • For Universities
  • Student Access

Browse

  • By Company
  • By Role
  • By Category
  • Topic Hubs
  • SQL Questions
  • Compare Platforms
  • Discord Community

Support

  • support@prachub.com
  • (916) 541-4762

Legal

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • About Us

© 2026 PracHub. All rights reserved.