(By Marc Greenspan) Radio is a great medium for Reach, yet it’s 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 still 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 of that audience that listens 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!
This essay is part of a series titled “Growing the Radio Pie.” To view past articles, visit The Ratings Experts at Research Director, Inc. online Here.
Marc Greenspan is CEO and a founding partner of Research Director, Inc. He can be reached at 410-295-6619 x11 or [email protected].
“Radio creates frequency.”
I hope that no one in my company reads this. They would kill our radio investment. It’s the wrong message in the world of balancing targeting with reach. Frequency = Waste in the vocabulary of media planners.