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Reach & Frequency with a K.I.S.S.
June 29, 2022
How often have you started to create a schedule for an advertiser and wondered about Reach and Frequency? Which one is more important? When should I focus on REACH and when should the focus be FREQUENCY? Here is a K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) approach.
As a mass medium, Radio is all about REACH. It’s your Cume audience … how many different people listen to your station. To the advertiser, REACH demonstrates the number of unique people that will be exposed to their advertising. Be sure to show a sample ad schedule and include Net Reach.
What do you do if you want to show a higher REACH? Answer: look for low duplication. Since Net Reach is unduplicated audience, you will want to select dayparts on your station that have low duplication, meaning there is NOT a high percentage that listen to more than one daypart. If you are pitching several stations in your cluster, then you will want to select the stations that have the lowest duplication. You can also use Cume Persons when building a schedule to determine which dayparts will provide a higher REACH for your ad campaign. To ensure high REACH, select the dayparts with the highest Cume Persons and load up spots in these dayparts.
REACH is also a great way to debunk the myth that nobody listens to radio anymore. By highlighting your Cume audience or showing the Net Reach or % Reach of your schedule, you are proving that Radio (and your station) continue to be a vital medium in delivering an advertising message.
Radio is also perfect for building FREQUENCY. To the advertiser, FREQUENCY reflects the average number of times someone will be exposed to their message. Stations with high Time Spent Listening (TSL) typically grow FREQUENCY faster than stations with low TSL. You can use AQH Persons when building a schedule to determine which dayparts will provide a higher FREQUENCY for your ad campaign. To ensure high FREQUENCY, select the dayparts with the highest AQH Persons and load up spots in these dayparts.
Another way to build higher FREQUENCY is to use duplication. When building Reach, we look for low duplication. To build FREQUENCY, you want to look for high duplication. Since FREQUENCY is reflected in your AQH audience, you will want to select dayparts on your station that have high duplication, meaning there is a high percentage that listen to those different dayparts. If you are pitching several stations in your cluster, then selecting the stations that have the highest duplication will yield a schedule with higher FREQUENCY.
What is the right FREQUENCY level for a radio campaign? Traditionally, most advertising schedules targeted a frequency of 3 or higher. This was based on a model from the 1960s when we were all exposed to far fewer ads in any given day. With the influx of new media and additional radio stations, you may want a frequency of 5-7. It is best to discuss this with the advertiser as desired FREQUENCY will vary based on their advertising goals.
Make sure to include FREQUENCY in addition to Net Reach on your sample ad schedule. By showing advertisers both REACH and FREQUENCY, you show Radio and your station in the best light to deliver their target consumer!
Karen Morriss, Director of Client Services
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