What is Gross Rating Points (GRPs) and TRPs?
Gross Rating Points (GRPs) are the universal media-currency unit: GRP = Reach × Frequency × 100. A media plan that delivers 70% reach with average frequency of 3 generates 210 GRPs. Target Rating Points (TRPs) apply the same formula but use only the target demographic, providing more precision. A typical broadcast TV launch flight runs 800–1,200 GRPs over four weeks. The currency lets planners compare Super Bowl (50+ GRPs in one spot) to a daytime TV schedule (15 GRPs per spot but cheaper per GRP). Programmatic and digital advertising have largely shifted to impressions, but GRP remains standard for TV, OOH, and radio.
How Gross Rating Points (GRPs) and TRPs 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.
- GRP = Reach × Frequency × 100
- TRP = same formula on target demographic
- Cost per GRP varies by daypart, vehicle, and time of year
- Trade off cost per GRP against quality of GRP (target match)
- Compare media vehicles by cost per GRP and target match
A worked example: A typical CPG launch
A typical packaged-goods launch — say, a new Tide Pods variant — might be planned as 1,000 GRPs over six weeks across daytime TV, primetime, cable news, and online video. At an average cost of $30k per GRP, that's a $30M media buy. Switching to TRPs (only women 25–54) might reduce delivered TRPs to 600 but increase the relevance, cutting waste. Modern planners increasingly use TRP-equivalents and on-target reach to evaluate media efficiency rather than raw GRPs.
Don't lose marks for these
- Buying on GRPs without considering target match
- Confusing reach with GRPs
- Treating cost per GRP as the only buying criterion
How to use this on the exam
Score-maximizing moves
- Calculate GRPs and TRPs from reach and frequency
- Distinguish total vs target audience
- Compare cost per GRP across vehicles
When to use Gross Rating Points (GRPs) and TRPs (and when not to)
Use Gross Rating Points (GRPs) and TRPs 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 Gross Rating Points (GRPs) and TRPs is a structuring tool, not a calculator.