What is Reach and Frequency?
Reach is the percentage of the target audience exposed to the ad at least once during a given period. Frequency is the average number of times those reached are exposed. Their product, multiplied by 100, is Gross Rating Points (GRPs) — the basic unit of media buying. Within a fixed budget, more reach means less frequency and vice versa. The right balance depends on the campaign objective: new-product launches typically need high reach (build awareness across the target); promotional offers benefit from high frequency (repetition drives action). Krugman's classic three-exposures theory argues each ad needs 3+ exposures to register.
How Reach and Frequency actually works
The framework breaks down into the following moving parts. Knowing what each piece is — and what it is not — is what separates a B-grade answer from an A-grade answer in a written assignment.
- Reach — unique audience exposed (%)
- Frequency — average number of exposures
- GRPs — Reach × Frequency × 100
- High reach for awareness; high frequency for persuasion
- Optimal frequency typically 3–10 exposures per flight
A worked example: Super Bowl ads
A Super Bowl ad maximizes reach (~100M US viewers in a single exposure) at the cost of frequency. Brands buy Super Bowl spots when they need a one-shot reach event — new-product launches, brand introductions. The same $7M Super Bowl spend rotated through Hulu and YouTube might deliver lower reach but 5x the frequency over a quarter. Anheuser-Busch typically buys both — Super Bowl for reach, year-round for frequency — illustrating the strategic combination.
Don't lose marks for these
- Optimizing only reach or only frequency
- Buying high frequency for low-involvement categories
- Ignoring effective frequency thresholds
How to use this on the exam
Score-maximizing moves
- Cite Krugman three-exposures theory
- Calculate GRPs from reach and frequency
- Match reach/frequency mix to campaign objective
When to use Reach and Frequency (and when not to)
Use Reach and Frequency when your assignment asks you to analyze, structure, or recommend — and when you have at least two data points to populate every cell of the framework. Skip it when the question is asking for a numerical answer or a single recommendation, since Reach and Frequency is a structuring tool, not a calculator.