Stretch......

In one of my tips, I promised to discuss media reach. I'm not sure I can
fully DEFINE reach, much less explain it in a short tip.

On the simplest level, reach is the total number of unduplicated
audience members exposed to an advertising message. But what it
means in practical terms varies. In broadcast, it usually refers to unique
listeners or viewers who watch a program in a four-week period. But
not always. And in print it refers to the number of people who open a
publication. It can also be called coverage. Which isn't circulation.
It's more like readership. But not exactly. It's derived differently in
outdoor and on the Internet. It's a precisely measured number -- but
it can be estimated. And it can either be reported as a raw number or
a percentage of some universe. But reach is no guarantee that the
person has actually seen your ad.

Usually I can find some creative or simple way to explain or illustrate
what I want to teach. Even if it means I risk over simplifying my
message.

Here, I can't even simplify the definition without destroying the
relevance to your marketing.

But don't think I won't try...

Imagine advertising on a billboard. Every person that passes that
billboard over a set period of time is the reach of that billboard.
They could read it ten times or never notice it. It just means they
COULD have seen it. You can't get that number by counting cars,
because some cars have more than one person. You also have to
count the people walking down the street. And if they pass the bill-
board more than once you can't count them. But, say your product
applies only to men, then you can only count men.

O.K. why all the splitting of hairs?

Because you can't compare that billboard to any other billboard with-
out very specific, accurate numbers.

Now the practical application. If you are introducing a new product or
service, reach is the most important detail in your media plan. You
want to reach as many people in your target market as possible. So
you need some way to measure the reach of your ad. Take that
billboard. If you're doing a new product introduction, and you want to
buy a second billboard, you don't want the same people to see it. You
want it to have as little duplication as possible with your first
billboard or you're, in essence wasting your ad dollar.

Simple, right? I hope my definition of reach has stretched your
thinking.

(And some people think advertising is all about pretty pictures!)

- Phil Sasso