Forward Thinking
In a previous newsletter, we talked about the importance of timing your message to meet editors’ needs. In addition to timing your message to certain times of the year, you need to consider how often to get your message in front of consumers.
Effective Frequency
There are several definitions of effective frequency. Some key examples:
Business Dictionary defines it as “Advertising theory that a consumer has to be exposed to an ad at least three times within a purchasing cycle (time between two consecutive purchases) to buy that product.”
Marketing Power defines it as “An advertiser's determination of the optimum number of exposure opportunities required to effectively convey the advertising message to the desired audience or target market."
The bottom line – consumers need to hear your brand message more than once. When your tactics include newspapers and magazines (print and online versions) you can take advantage of their editorial needs to get your message to a targeted audience all year long.
For example, a family-friendly food brand strategy could look something like this:
- January: Color page about healthy comfort foods. Tips on making family favorites healthier, 3-4 recipes, 2-3 recipe photos.
- March: Mat release on fresh spring flavors. One recipe, one recipe photo.
- June: Mat release on kid-friendly cooking. One recipe, one recipe photo.
- August/September: Color page and a mat release on healthy meals for busy families. Tips on making fast family favorites; different recipes and photos for each.
- November: Color page on holiday favorites. 3-4 recipes, 2-3 recipe photos.
Keeping your message fresh and in front of your consumers with a plan like this means effective frequency and great reach. And when you consider ad equivalency, you can really get more bang for your marketing buck. All it takes is a good plan.
Resources:
For more tips on planning your marketing budget, see these blog posts from Golden Practices.
Learn more about Frequency and Reach.
