Understanding Reach & Frequency in CTV Advertising

What Are Reach and Frequency?

Reach refers to the number of unique households (measured by IP addresses) that receive your ad at least once during a campaign. This metric gives you a clear picture of how broad your campaign's audience is.

Frequency is the number of times a household is exposed to the same ad over the course of a campaign. It helps you understand the depth of your ad's exposure.

How to Measure Frequency

1. Average Frequency:
   Calculate this by dividing the total number of ad impressions by the number of unique households reached. This metric provides a simple overview of how often the average household sees your ad.
2. Frequency Distribution:
   This method breaks down the data by showing the percentage of households that saw the ad one time, two times, three times, and so on. It offers a more detailed view of exposure levels across your audience.

Reach vs. Frequency: What’s More Important?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to whether reach or frequency is more important—the optimal balance depends on your specific campaign objectives:

• Brand Awareness Campaigns:
  Goal: Introduce your brand to as many unique households as possible.
  Strategy: Focus on broad audience targeting with an open geographic scope and diverse publisher selection. This approach emphasizes higher reach with lower frequency.
• Performance-Driven Campaigns:
  Goal: Drive specific actions, such as purchases or sign-ups.
  Strategy: Use narrower targeting, controlled frequency caps, and select publishers strategically. Here, higher frequency within a controlled reach is key.

Strategies for Controlling Reach & Frequency

Driving Higher Reach

To maximize the number of unique households that see your ad:

• Expand Your Targeting:
  Broaden geographic areas and audience segments to naturally increase reach.
• Use a Variety of Publishers:
  Partner with multiple publishers to extend your campaign across different audiences.
• Avoid Overly Narrow Data Segments:
  Widen your demographic and behavioral criteria to prevent limiting your potential audience size.

Controlling Frequency

Proper frequency management is crucial to prevent ad fatigue while ensuring sufficient exposure for effective messaging.

Strategies to Increase Frequency

1. Narrow Your Targeting:
   Focus on a smaller, well-defined audience so that the same users see your ad more often.
   Example: Instead of targeting all sports viewers, hone in on "avid basketball fans."
2. Limit the Number of Publishers:
   Fewer publishers mean your ad impressions are concentrated on a smaller group of households, thereby increasing the frequency per household.
   Example: Running ads on 10 carefully selected publishers rather than 50 can lead to higher ad exposure among the target audience.
3. Set Household Frequency Caps:
   Define a maximum number of times a household can view your ad to maintain an optimal exposure level.
   Example: Allowing a household to see an ad up to 14 times can reduce the number of households that see it only once, boosting the proportion of households with multiple exposures.

Strategies to Decrease Frequency (Increase Reach)

• Expand Geographic and Data Segments:
  Broaden targeting parameters to capture more unique households.
• Increase Publisher Partnerships:
  Utilize a larger pool of publishers to distribute impressions more evenly.
• Lower Frequency Caps:
  Limit the number of times each household sees your ad to ensure broader distribution across your target audience.

Best Practices for Reach & Frequency Management

By strategically managing reach and frequency, you can create a more effective CTV campaign that not only maximizes exposure but also drives the desired actions from your audience.

Conclusion

Understanding and controlling reach and frequency is fundamental to the success of any CTV advertising campaign. By balancing these metrics according to your campaign goals—whether it's boosting brand awareness or driving specific actions—you can optimize your advertising strategy for maximum impact. With the right approach, your ads will not only reach more unique households but also resonate effectively with your target audience, ensuring that every impression counts.

Ready to take your CTV advertising to the next level? Dive into your next campaign with these best practices and see the difference in your results!