Media Placement: The Reach Vs. Frequency Dilemma

Past issues of ‘Bouchard’ have stressed the importance of developing a good strategy in order to produce effective marketing materials. In order to achieve the results you want, this same idea of strategic planning must be carried beyond the development of your marketing communications to their dissemination to your target audience. Sometimes, the best conduit for these messages is mass media. Since there are thousands of media vehicles to choose from, your challenge is choosing the right vehicles to hit your target audience the right amount of times to make them spring into action. It’s during this stage that media terms like Reach and Frequency pop up.

Reach is the percentage of your target audience that is exposed to a particular media vehicle in a given time period. For example, say you’re in the cereal business and through careful research you’ve determined that your target is men aged 18-49. You would use that data to compare television programs, magazines, newspapers, etc. to find the right combination to best reach a large percentage of your target.

High Reach alone won’t necessarily guarantee success. Another important factor to keep in mind when developing your media plan is Frequency. In the media world, Frequency means pretty much what it sounds like—it’s the number of times your target audience is exposed to your message. Determining the frequency of your message has a lot to do with your budget—how many times can you afford to advertise? Can you reach the same percentage a higher frequency by combining television spots with other, often less expensive mediums like billboards or magazines?
Do you need television at all?

In a perfect world, every time an ad was run everyone who saw it would remember it. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Think for a minute about how often you truly focus on an advertisement—most of the time, you probably tune it out. In fact, research has shown that in order for an advertisement to break through, it must be seen at least three times. But frequency alone isn’t the answer—research has also shown that viewers who see an ad 10 or more times can actually form a negative opinion of that ad. That’s why it’s important to change things up and keep your message interesting.

Finding the perfect mix of media to meet your goals is a balancing act—you have to determine which media vehicles to use and how many times to use them while staying within your budget. That’s where professional media planners can make the real difference. Bouchard Marketing works with you and utilizes several media resources to easily coordinate the development, planning, and placement of your marketing efforts in order to ensure the best results.