How Often....

Yesterday, PJ and I played "Alpha Bug Soup". It's a funny, offbeat
educational game that teaches pre-reading skills. He's already
mastered it. So, this time I used two dice to create a challenge
and drill him on addition.

As I watched him play, I realized good advertising is a lot like
this children's game: it's creative, engaging, -- and most
importantly educational. There is a lot of educational theory
used in advertising. But today, I'll just focus on the simplest
aspect: repetition.

Most basic knowledge is learned by rote: from the elementary
ABC's and times tables to the the more sophisticated periodic
table of elements and MBA formulas. These things need to be
repeated often to be committed to memory. PJ has played "Alpha
Bug Soup" dozens of times to learn the skills.

Repetition is just as important in advertising.

We want prospects and customers to commit our brand and USM
to memory. That's why frequency and continuity are the counter-
balance to reach in a sound advertising media plan.

Last tip, I noted that reach is the unduplicated number of targets
who are exposed to a media vehicle.

However, focusing on reach alone is dangerous. You could reach
millions of people with an ad once -- like during the Super Bowl.
But, if you never repeat your message again, it's wasted money.
(Just ask any of the dozen dot coms who advertised once in the
2002 or 2003 Super Bowl and are no longer in business.)

Frequency and continuity are different, yet related concepts.
Frequency is the average number of times your target audience
could see or hear your ad. Continuity is the pattern of repetition
planned in your ad schedule.

Let me risk oversimplifying to clarify. One of my clients is doing a
radio blitz this quarter on stations with 3 distinctive formats: news,
talk, and music. Frequency is basically the number of times he runs
the spots -- be it at 3 a.m., noon or 5 p.m. Continuity is the planned
scheduling of the spots so that the same people hear them repeated.

For instance, I usually listen to news radio on my way in to work and
music on my way home. If he ran his spots five times a week in the
am on news radio, I'd probably recall it, However if he ran them
morning, afternoon and overnight, I might never hear them or at
least not remember it. The same is true in print media. That's why
some advertisers pay a premium for guaranteed placement, like
running opposite a specific column.

Advertising is not a one shot deal. In fact, There's a century-old
explanation that reads, in part: "The first time a man looks at an
advertisement, he does not see it... The fifth time, he reads it...
The fourteenth time he remembers he has wanted such a thing
for a long time... The twentieth time he sees [the ad], he buys."
For the entire quotation and source, go to
http://sassomarketing.com/frequency.

Running too infrequently is inadequate. Running ads too often is
overkill. What's optimum? That answer, my friend, requires that
you contract my services.

I've got to run. PJ wants to play UNO this morning. My bigger
challenge is he wants to learn chess. Guess I'd better brush up
before I'm beat by a kindergartner! (Now that would be an interesting
illustration for a marketing tip!)

- Phil Sasso