Advertising Frequency Matters

Have you ever mailed a postcard advertising an event, open house or promoting a free CMA and received less than amazing results? Your advertising frequency could be to blame.

Thomas Smith wrote a guide called Successful Advertising in 1885. His observation on human behavior and response to advertising still holds true today:

• The first time people look at any given ad, they don’t even see it.
• The second time, they don’t notice it.
• The third time, they are aware that it is there.
• The fourth time, they have a fleeting sense that they’ve seen it somewhere before.
• The fifth time, they actually read the ad.
• The sixth time they thumb their nose at it.
• The seventh time, they start to get a little irritated with it.
• The eighth time, they start to think, “Here’s that confounded ad again.”
• The ninth time, they start to wonder if they’re missing out on something.
• The tenth time, they ask their friends and neighbors if they’ve tried it.
• The eleventh time, they wonder how the company is paying for all these ads.
• The twelfth time, they start to think that it must be a good product.
• The thirteenth time, they start to feel the product has value.
• The fourteenth time, they start to remember wanting a product exactly like this for a long time.
• The fifteenth time, they start to yearn for it because they can’t afford to buy it.
• The sixteenth time, they accept the fact that they will buy it sometime in the future.
• The seventeenth time, they make a note to buy the product.
• The eighteenth time, they curse their poverty for not allowing them to buy this terrific product.
• The nineteenth time, they count their money very carefully.
• The twentieth time prospects see the ad, they buy what is offering.

Frequency sells, especially in advertising. We recommend developing a specific strategy to reach your campaign goals. Perhaps instead of trying to reach as many people as your budget allows, you could target a narrower audience with multiple messages. Imagine if you caught them on multiple platforms – direct mail, Facebook, Instagram, a phone call and/or even word of mouth!