Frequency

Frequency (частота) is the number of times (количество раз) a message (сообщение) reaches (достигает) its audience dur­ing the four-week period (месяц). It can be expressed in two ways, average frequency and frequency distribution. Average frequency (средняя частота) shows the average number of times the message reaches all members of the audi­ence. Some will receive it more often, some less. Frequency distribution распределение частоты) breaks down the audience by percentage for number of exposures.

Suppose a company buys a television spot in Middletown. The reach might be 80%; approximately 80% of the households were ex­posed to the message at least once during the four weeks. Average frequency might be 4.5; the average household was exposed to the message four and one-half times. Frequency distribution figures might show that 15% of the homes had 0-2 exposures, 25% had 3-5 expo­sures, and so on. Television is used here as anexample. The same terms apply to other media as well.

It can be extremely expensive to try to achieve both high reach and high frequency. As new prospects are exposed, reach climbs. But then frequency has to increase, to keep pace with all of the new prospects. Therefore, media planners usually have to compromise. They more often emphasize reach for introducing new products. They sacrifice fre­quency in order to reach as many target consumers as possible. Their theory is that it is better to have the whole target market receive the message only twice, for example, than to have half of it receive the message six or eight times. Advertisers generally choose frequency over reach when advertising products that are purchased often, such as paper products. Competitors' activity influences this choice. With sev­eral brands of paper towels on the market, each wants to keep its name in people's minds for the regular shopping list.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-19