Programmatic advertising makes it possible to quantify ROI at every touchpoint and continuously optimize campaigns based on real-time data.
Media buyers and marketers must take a data-driven approach to campaign planning that strikes the right balance between exposing buyers to their brand and value — without inundating them with the same ads.
This is where reach and frequency come into play. These related metrics much be prioritized in tandem to reach the greatest number of buyers enough times to motivate action.
In this article, we explore what reach and frequency mean, when to prioritize one metric over the other, and best practices when modeling campaigns that optimize both.
But the deeper you dive into the numbers, the more important it is to understand how different numbers relate to one another. This is especially try of reach vs. frequency, which have a major impact of the success of media campaigns:
These metrics matter because finding the right mix of reach and frequency increases return on ad spend (ROAS).
Media buyers also need to reach the right market over the right duration of time to ensure each exposure is high-quality and engaging.
As explained above, reach is the number of viewers within a set period that are potentially exposed to your ad campaign. For example, a radio ad may have a reach of 80,000 listeners that regularly tune into the program. However, that reach does not guarantee that 80,000 people heard the ad — or were even actively listening to it if they did hear it.
Arranging a reach marketing definition for your campaign ensures that only targeted consumers received the message.
Frequency is the number of times an individual consumer is likely to be exposed to an ad during a marketing campaign. Increasing the frequency of exposure increases both the likelihood that an individual has a high-quality engagement with the ad and that they have multiple touchpoints (or interactions) with your brand.
Maximizing both your reach and frequency throughout a marketing campaign is an excellent way to secure marketing qualified leads and drive more purchases. But when you have a finite budget, you can’t increase both factors. In these cases, marketers must strike a balance between increasing reach and frequency.
Generally, expanding your reach reduces your spending capacity for recurring ads. Similarly, increasing your frequency limits the money you can spend on reach. So which one should be prioritized? This often depends on your unique campaign and the goals you’re trying to achieve.
Although prioritizing reach or frequency is a great goal. There are times when you can safely prioritize one over the other. Here’s a look at when increasing frequency should be your main objective vs. when reach is a better place to invest your money.
Ensuring your audience receives multiple instances of exposure to your message is vital when considering the total customer lifetime value. If the following specific contextual conditions describe the campaign you’re looking to build, we’d suggest focusing on frequency:
Ultimately, frequency should be your priority when you already know your target market and you’re trying to drive sales.
Increasing reach is a great tool for expanding brand awareness in your target market. Your ideal customers may not yet be aware of your business, so trying new marketing media or using broader marketing channels is a great way to increase exposure.
If the following describes your campaign, we’d recommend focusing on reach:
Even when you’re just looking at the number of touchpoints your campaigns need to achieve different goals, sales campaigns often prioritize frequency, and brand awareness campaigns prioritize reach.
Read more on SWOT analysis for smart advertising strategies here
Building out processes and best practices for optimizing reach and frequency is the best way to know what to do for any future campaigns and projects. One way to do that is to partner with a marketing service that manages your OTT/CTV ads for maximum effectiveness.
At Strategus, we use the following tactics to make sure our client's campaigns have the right balance of reach for growth and frequency for purchases:
Frequency capping does what the name implies: it caps the number of times someone is exposed to an ad (or even a set of ads) in a specific campaign. Because online marketing through platforms like OTT and CTV generate lots of granular data that can help guide your campaigns, you can cap frequency for specific individuals.
Dayparting is a popular tactic for scheduling the window — whether it be the time of day, day of the week, or both — when the ad plays. A restaurant may want to serve ads promoting their happy hour specials during business days and business hours, for example.
At Strategus, we specialize in optimizing online and digital marketing campaigns so you cost-effectively reach your target market.