Does Advertising Frequency Make a Difference?

Coca-Cola. How many times have you seen that familiar red and white logo in your life? How about just today? Coca-Cola was one of the first brands to use advertising effectively and has created an image that nearly every person on the face of the planet recognizes. One way they have achieved this success is by frequency.

One of the first things taught in college advertising classes for those who plan on working in the advertising industry is that frequency is a must in establishing a brand and in effectively delivering an advertising message of any kind. It doesn't matter how revolutionary your product is or how brilliant your ad copy if the message isn't seen frequently.

The simple formula for effective advertising is reach + frequency = awareness and sales. This means, in the most basic terms, that an advertising message must reach as many different people as possible, as frequently as possible to achieve awareness of the product or service and, therefore, generate sales. The very fact that frequency is a full 50% of the equation indicates how important it is.

If any advertising sales representative is truly honest with you, he or she will tell you that it is always better to run a small ad more frequently than it is to run a larger ad less frequently. If you can afford to run the large ad more frequently, even better. But, if you must make the choice in how to disperse your advertising budget, always go with repetition over size.

There are varying numbers depending on the source, but it is generally estimated that a customer must see an advertising message at least ten times before he will act on it. This is another clear indication of the important frequency plays in advertising. If you want customers to act on your advertising message, which is the entire point of advertising in the first place, then you must make sure that they see the advertising message frequently.

This does not mean that you have to beat them over the head with it. You don't have to show the exact same ad a thousand times in a row, but you do have to deliver the exact same message as frequently as possible if you want it to sink in. The number of exposures necessary for action is actually probably higher today since we are exposed to so many more visual and auditory communications daily than ever before.

Think of Coca-Cola again as an example. Fortunately a soft drink is a fairly simple product. However, Coca-Cola has never sold just a soft drink. They have sold the image of that familiar red and white can with the distinctive ribbon device and they have sold refreshment. From the early days of Coca-Cola's marketing (except for the debacle that was the cola wars of the 80s and "New Coke," but that was kind of like that one season of "Dallas"-just a very bad dream) the message has been consistent. Coca-Cola is refreshing. Simple, effective, brilliant, repeated over and over. If you had only seen the Coca-Cola logo once in your lifetime and only heard the phrase "the pause that refreshes" or some variation once in your lifetime, you'd be far less likely to press that red and white button on a vending machine. Frequency and consistency in delivering their advertising message has kept a lot of cans and bottles of Coca-Cola dropping from a lot of vending machines for a very long time.

If you want your advertising to be as effective as it possibly can, determine what makes your product or service stand out. What is the one key thing that makes yours the best? Think refreshing. Now, come up with a visual style and a message that represents that. Get that message out to as many people as you can and maximize the effect with frequency.