Know-How Exchange : Research/Metrics

Hi Worldrentals,

The first answer to your question is: there are no absolutes, but frequent and continued exposure to an ad proposition does enhance the probability that your prospect will purchase the product from you. In my personal experience, there is no point in publishing an ad less than 3 times, and the optimal ROI is often achieved anywhere between 3 and 7 publications in a short space of time. This is measured by comparing how many times the ad ran, and how many people responded to its call to action (by calling a specific phone number attached to the ad, going to a specific web page or using a coupon, etc.)

The truth is: there are a lot of variables here. The product, its price, the product lifespan, the copy of the ad, placement of the ad, the fact that the magazine reaches x% of the relevant target audience, the economy, etc. Every marketer worth his salt will have to test the optimal scenario.

Long and short of it, don’t feel afraid to recommend your advertisers to publish a series of ads. Repeat exposure works. Just think about the psychological effects of repeat exposure: the ad, the product and the company become more familiar with each exposure. If the ad stimulated a desire to buy it might not be acted upon immediately, in fact, it might be forgotten. The repeat exposure to the ad keeps the desire to purchase product X front of mind. Or the customer might be doing research and start to compare different brands offering similar products. Again, you will need to remind the customer of the original ad and brand that stimulated the desire for purchase. The ad also gives a chance to keep repeating the products USPs (unique selling points – what makes it better and / or stand out from the competition) and therefore differentiate your product from the competition. Conclusion: repeat exposure makes sense.

Hope this helps.

The 7 impressions quote is often passed around as a sales justifier. However, the truth is that a single impression can work (for example, Apple's historic 1984 commercial) and that a bad ad viewed hundreds of times doesn't work any better than once. Also, ad placement, size, copy, headline, image, colors are variables that produce different responses for different markets/companies.

https://www.marketingprofs.com/4/sutherland1.asp
https://www.marketingpower.com/content1025.php
https://www.knowledgenetworks.com/know/2005/fall/4-3_ware.htm

Worldrentals

I agree with Jay's comments, but I'm wondering if you mean "impressions per copy" otherwise known as readership?

Larger newspapers and magazines get their circulation audited and release those numbers, but if they sell say 100,000 copies they often claim readership of say 3-4 people per copy, therefore readership is actually 3-400,000 per edition.

Glossy magazines often claim 5+ readers per copy.

Which does wonders for the claimed benefits of advertising.

I'd take all their numbers with a grain of salt.

As far as the 7-10 "touches" before a prospect might become a customer - as Jay says, it all depends on the offer, the product, the message and the media. It's an axiom, not a rule, and is just as frequently observed in the breach.

ChrisB