Solid frequency is a marketing imperative, especially if you’re trying to build brand awareness. Unfortunately, nailing down an advertising plan with the right frequency is difficult, especially if you’re not leveraging a media partner. At Zimmer Radio, we believe that the best advertising frequency requires a 21/52 plan that will create consistency alongside frequency for your radio advertising campaign.
What Is a 21/52 Advertising Plan?
The 21/52 plan states that you ought to be airing 21 radio advertising spots per week during all 52 weeks of the year. This is the advertising plan developed to help businesses marketing in Joplin, Missouri, build brand presence and earn top-of-mind awareness with customers in the Four State Area. However, we want to acknowledge the fact that the rest of your strategy needs to be top notch as well, and your message creative needs to be developed for your targeted audience. Having the best frequency to make an impact won’t help your business if your message is weak. (We can also help you develop your creative as well as a winning strategy.)
Why This Plan Is Crucial
This plan offers two things to your business: frequency and consistency. It’s important to remember that your audience needs to hear the same message multiple times before they’ll remember who your brand is and what you offer. Frequency is the number of times a listener is exposed to your message, yet unfortunately, they won’t hear your ad every time it’s put on the air. We’ve mentioned before that a frequency of 3 is a reasonable one; you’ll be able to influence your audience without spreading your budget too thin. Advertising 21 times per week provides ample opportunity for your audience to actually be exposed to your message three times each week. This improves brand and message recall.
Consistency, on the other hand, is critical for building trust as well as awareness. The consistency of your creative makes your business recognizable, and the consistency of your message gives your audience confidence that they understand your brand promise and values. There’s another aspect to consistency that directly ties to frequency: the length of time for your awareness campaign. You need to be consistent with your choices in media over the long term; for as long as your audience utilizes a particular channel, your business needs to be there. You also cannot undermine your campaign by cutting it off too quickly. It takes a long time — that is to say, it takes years, not weeks — to build up a brand and establish them as a go-to choice. The most recognizable brands were not built overnight.
As you can see, having a plan for an advertising frequency of reaching an individual three times weekly to build up brand awareness and consistency requires a strong 21/52 strategy. It takes time to build up your brand, so you need a measured advertising plan that you can sustain over time. If you still have questions about frequency or the consistency provided by our 21/52 plan, or if you’re looking for a media partner to help with Joplin marketing in the four state area, don’t hesitate to contact us today.
