PLANNING

101

TARPS, 1+ REACH AND FREQUENCY

• Total TARPs are always a sum of 1+ reach (the number of people who saw your ad) multiplied by average frequency (the number of times they saw the ad)

– In this example - 80% 1+ reach, 2.5 Average Frequency and 200 TARP’s

– 80 x 2.5 = 200

• TARPs are a guide as to the weight of the campaign but do not tell the full story

– 200 ratings could also equal….

– 50% 1+ reach, 4 times average frequency

– 60% 1+ reach, 3.3 times average frequency

WHY SET REACH OR FREQUENCY GOALS?

• Defining your reach or frequency goals are generally one of the first steps when planning a TV campaign

• Unless you increase your total TARPs (and therefore cost) there is always a trade off between reach and frequency so it is important to pick wisely

• You may choose to optimise your reach at a certain frequency, for example you may wish to have 60% of your target audience see the ad 3 or more times – at the heart of it, the question that needs to be answered is how many times do my audience need to see this ad before they will act?

• These decisions may be based around a number of factors and there are no hard and fast rules but a couple of examples are;

– Product Life Stage, the objective for a new product may be to build reach at 3 or more times, whereas an established product may require less reach as it is already established in peoples minds

– Appeal of the product or ad, if the ad or the product stops people in their tracks once may be enough, for lower involvement products however frequency is key

– Previous marketing activity, after a heavy marketing campaign frequency may be reduced to lower weights as there is still residual awareness

• Reach can only be effectively optimised at one level

STATEGIES AROUND BUILDING REACH OR FREGQUENCY

• Road blocking

– A strategy used to build reach

– A spot is placed at the same time across multiple channels to target the maximum amount of people only once

• Strip buying

– A strategy used to build frequency

– Certain programmes have a very loyal following so buying across the week in these properties will result in these people being exposed to your message multiple times

– This is also one of the key benefits of sponsorship

• Vertical buying

– A strategy used to build reach

– Concentrating buying over one night and multiple channels to reach the maximum viewing audience over that night as they come in and out of the channels

• Double Spotting

– A strategy used to build frequency

– Buying two spots within the same programme to reach viewers two times within a close proximity

PUTTING THE SCHEDULE TOGETHER

• There are many ways to construct a TV schedule, or flighting plan and below are just a few of these;

• Step Down

– Within a flight, the first week is at the heavier weights, stepping down as awareness builds to lower levels

– This can be used in conjunction with other flighting strategies

• Step Up

– Working in the opposite way, the first week is at lower weights, building throughout the campaign

– This can be a useful strategy if visible marketing stimulus is required to create a pull effect from consumers to build ranging

29 6 13 20 27 3 10 17 24 31 7 14 21 28

Step Down 200 150 100

July August September

29 6 13 20 27 3 10 17 24 31 7 14 21 28

Step Up 50 100 200

July August September

PUTTING THE SCHEDULE TOGETHER

• Burst

– Exactly as it sounds, a short burst, designed to reach the maximum of people in a short time

– This strategy also commands maximum share of voice over this time so makes the advertiser ‘feel’ big – great for changing perceptions for up and coming brands

– We have shown it over 3 weeks but the reality is it could be shorter or longer than this

• Continuity or Drip

– Constant activity throughout the year at low levels

– This is a great strategy if you have a frequent purchase cycle or a product with already high awareness and you just want to ensure that they are aren’t forgotten about through the year

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Burst 300 300 300

July August September

29 6 13 20 27 3 10 17 24 31 7 14 21 28

Continuity/Drip 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50

July August September

PUTTING THE SCHEDULE TOGETHER

• Pulse or Blink

– Short bursts on air, followed by a short burst off air and then repeated through out the year

– As TV buyers, planners and marketers we tend to think in week commencing days but the reality is that consumers remember our advertising for a lot longer than just the week it is on air

– The trick to this strategy is determining when residual awareness fades and getting back on air before it becomes cost prohibitive to build it up again

• In reality it is likely to be a combination of these strategies that you end up implementing over a year and there is no one size fits all approach

• The best advice is to look at your sales and how they are responding to your flighting strategy and experiment with new strategies to get the maximum result from your spending

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Pulse/Blink 200 200 200 200 200 200

July August September

SEASONALITY

• The Rate divided by the available audience make up CPTs so it is important to understand the seasonality for both of these

• Rates are determined by demand, the more demand on the air time, the higher the rates will be

– Rates peak toward the end of the year when there is massive demand from the retail sector

– Other heavily demanded times are Easter, Valentines Day, Mothers/Fathers Day, Back to School and Labour Weekend

• Audiences however are driven by seasonal factors,

simply put, if it is warm and sunny outside they are

less likely to be watching TV inside

– When looking back on previous years watch for

the change in daylight savings time (you can see

where these are on our TV Events Calendar)

• CPTs therefore are the highest at the end of the year

when there is less available audience and high

demand

Seasonality for Rates and Audiences in NZ

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31

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34

35

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37

38

39

Jan-08 Feb-08 Mar-08 Apr-08 May-08 Jun-08 Jul-08 Aug-08 Sep-08 Oct-08 Nov-08 Dec-08

Pea

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UT

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All

5+

)

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

10000

Ave

rag

e P

eak

Rat

e (T

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V2,

TV

3)

Peak PUT's Average Peak Rates