There is proliferation of media. ‘ Just once seen’ may not suffice for the message to sink in. The brand connect may not happen. That brings us to the concept of Effective  Frequency. It is the minimum number of times the target audience is required to be exposed to the message so as to have the desired effect. If the target audience should see our compaign 5 times, it means those who see it lesser number of times have not been reached effectively. Thus 5 is our effective frequency. We shall aim at 5 plus reach which is effective reach. Effective Reach is thus the reach at the effective level of frequency.

Ideally, the effective frequency was set at 3, but these days it has been arrived at through research. One such estimated effective frequency is obtained by using FCB power grid. Here there are ratings on three factors –marketing, message and media.These are put on FCB-grid — consisting of high-low involvement and emotional-rational product. That leads to effective frequency.

There can be a minimum frequency and maximum frequency to be effective. Lesser frequency makes the communication ineffective. Higher frequency may be a waste of resources. There can be ad fatigue also if there are too many repetitions. Effective frequency adds the dimension of repetition to the concept of reach and frequency. The balancing is difficult, especially when two or more ads are being employed and two or more media are being used. We have, therefore, to consider the message weight of the entire media plan.

The frequency of ad exposure of the target audience depends on the amount of reinforcement of the image required or the amount of reminding required to have sustaining patronage from the target customers. The greater the frequency, the greater the probability of the ad message making a deep or lasting impression.