OCT 9, 2008
Do Reach and Frequency Still Matter?
Suzanne 
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Managing Partner
When I entered the media business, it was a generally accepted advertising principle that an effective media campaign would generate, at a minimum, 50% reach among the target audience, with an average frequency of three times. Well, that was back when there were three major television networks and local radio stations could boast double-digit shares. Since then, there have been many changes, and we can no longer count on a single medium to provide the reach we believe is necessary to effectively move our target audience to action.
Of course, the biggest change, and the one most written about, is the onset of consumer interaction with the internet and online advertising (and therefore, less time spent with traditional media). But, if we think it’s hard to deliver a sizeable audience on TV due to the sheer number of channels from which to choose (and whether our audience is a cable or satellite subscriber), then the number of websites staggers the mind–the fragmentation seems endless, so how can we expect to reach a sizeable portion of our audience anywhere? Or do we even want to?
