The Three Sacred Cows of Advertising
(3) Gross Rating Points
Advertising schedules should be proposed and considered according to their reach and frequency. That’s how advertising works. Advertisers who buy gross rating points will nearly always reach too many people with too little frequency.
When a media buyer buys one hundred gross rating points, what has he done? Does he reach 100 percent of the city one time each? Fifty percent of the city twice? Twenty-five percent of the city four times? Ten percent ten times, or a single percent one hundred times? It’s almost impossible to say. Yet each of these schedules will look exactly the same in terms of gross rating points.
Which is better?
(1) A schedule that reaches 100 percent of the city and persuades them 10% of the way?
Or
(2) A schedule that reaches 10 percent of the city and persuades them 100 percent of the way?
Both schedules provide exactly the same number of gross rating points and cost the same amount of money. The only difference is that the second plan works and the first one doesn’t. Successful advertising is the result of good writing and strong frequency.
Are you buying too much reach and too little frequency with your ad budget? Have you bought into the myth of “media mix”? Are your ads under producing due to fragmented placement and poor scheduling?
By simply rearranging your current media schedules, you could dramatically increase the effectiveness of your ad budget. But only if you are first saying something that is relevant to the listener.
Advertising schedules should be proposed and considered according to their reach and frequency. That’s how advertising works. Advertisers who buy gross rating points will nearly always reach too many people with too little frequency.
When a media buyer buys one hundred gross rating points, what has he done? Does he reach 100 percent of the city one time each? Fifty percent of the city twice? Twenty-five percent of the city four times? Ten percent ten times, or a single percent one hundred times? It’s almost impossible to say. Yet each of these schedules will look exactly the same in terms of gross rating points.
Which is better?
(1) A schedule that reaches 100 percent of the city and persuades them 10% of the way?
Or
(2) A schedule that reaches 10 percent of the city and persuades them 100 percent of the way?
Both schedules provide exactly the same number of gross rating points and cost the same amount of money. The only difference is that the second plan works and the first one doesn’t. Successful advertising is the result of good writing and strong frequency.
Are you buying too much reach and too little frequency with your ad budget? Have you bought into the myth of “media mix”? Are your ads under producing due to fragmented placement and poor scheduling?
By simply rearranging your current media schedules, you could dramatically increase the effectiveness of your ad budget. But only if you are first saying something that is relevant to the listener.