Frequency Sells - Is Your Ad Frequency Effective?

Do you recognize the following brand slogans?

"Just Do It!"

"Got Milk?"

"Red Bull Gives You Wings."

"I'm Lovin' It"

Odds are you can identify the specific brand associated with each slogan. Well, this is frequency advertising done right. Brand building is the aim of advertising. You want to attract customers to your brand and persuade them to support it.

A big component of marketing is to build brand recognition. And this is where frequency in advertising comes in. How do you get people to remember your brand? In spite of constantly evolving technologies and a shifting media landscape, there are two time-tested ways to make your brand a household name: reach and frequency.

Reach is the depth of penetration of your brand in your targeted market. In other words, how many people have been exposed to your brand? Reach delivers your brand message to your target audience while frequency repeatedly exposes the audience to your brand.

Repetition Is the Glue

Getting the right message in front of the right audience is only one piece of the advertising puzzle. Achieving effective brand exposure is the other. Frequency in advertising is how often your brand message turns up in front of the same consumer — no matter the marketing channel used. How often does your target consumer see your ad on TV, on Facebook, or a billboard?

Brand recognition grows by driving penetration to a new broad audience, but the only way to have staying power is by repeatedly exposing people to your brand. Frequency in advertising ensures that your brand will be noticed, remembered, and considered. Effective ad frequency requires you to identify your target audience and maximize your reach. With each repeated exposure, your target audience gets closer and closer to a purchase.

So, what is the ideal media frequency? Well, this is a question that marketers have wrestled with throughout the years. Customers should be exposed to your brand often enough that the brand message becomes recognizable — but not too much as to become annoying. Opinions as to the ideal exposure frequency vary, and really it depends on your brand and the marketing strategies you employ. But without a doubt, effective frequency in advertising holds the key to becoming a household name.

Finding Your Magic Number

Of course, you can push it too far. When you saturate the market with your ads, you risk coming across as annoying, which can push consumers away.

As mentioned, every brand has its own frequency cap. There's no simple answer to the question "how often can we run this ad?" because there's no one-size-fits-all approach.

Here are a few questions to help you figure out your brand's magic number.

• Is your brand well established? The more people are aware of your brand, the less exposure they need to make a purchase.
• What are the market conditions? Depending on the circumstances, you may need to run more ads to gain an edge over your competitors.
• What is the goal of your campaign? Your frequency campaign will depend on the purpose of your campaign. For instance, changing consumer opinions require more exposure than building brand awareness.
• What's your target demographic? Different groups of people require different approaches as well as marketing channels.

To get the most impact from your campaigns, you have to plan for reach at the most effective frequency level. Higher ad frequencies are required to impact greater behavior changes in consumers, such as purchase intent.

Frequency Matters!

Brand awareness is one of the significant assets your brand can build. Frequency advertising can help you increase brand recognition which can have tangible effects on your business performance.

There's no ultimate frequency level that works for every brand and every campaign. Marketers should consider their message, market conditions, and media factors when planning for frequency. Remember, it's all about realizing the largest impact from your advertising campaigns.

Want to find the right frequency for scaling faster and selling more?

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