Lessons from the Past: Advertising Frequency Matters

Successful Advertising Thomas Smith

Have you ever mailed a postcard advertising an event or a product and received less than amazing results? Your advertising frequency was probably missing the mark. Thomas Smith wrote a guide called Successful Advertising in 1885. His observation on human behavior and response to advertising still holds true today:

  • The first time people look at any given ad, they don’t even see it.
  • The second time, they don’t notice it.
  • The third time, they are aware that it is there.
  • The fourth time, they have a fleeting sense that they’ve seen it somewhere before.
  • The fifth time, they actually read the ad.
  • The sixth time they thumb their nose at it.
  • The seventh time, they start to get a little irritated with it.
  • The eighth time, they start to think, “Here’s that confounded ad again.”
  • The ninth time, they start to wonder if they’re missing out on something.
  • The tenth time, they ask their friends and neighbors if they’ve tried it.
  • The eleventh time, they wonder how the company is paying for all these ads.
  • The twelfth time, they start to think that it must be a good product.
  • The thirteenth time, they start to feel the product has value.
  • The fourteenth time, they start to remember wanting a product exactly like this for a long time.
  • The fifteenth time, they start to yearn for it because they can’t afford to buy it.
  • The sixteenth time, they accept the fact that they will buy it sometime in the future.
  • The seventeenth time, they make a note to buy the product.
  • The eighteenth time, they curse their poverty for not allowing them to buy this terrific product.
  • The nineteenth time, they count their money very carefully.
  • The twentieth time prospects see the ad, they buy what is offering.

Frequency sells, especially in advertising. At Falcon Creative, we recommend developing a specific strategy to reach your campaign goals. Perhaps instead of trying to reach as many people as your budget allows, you could target a narrower audience with multiple messages. Imagine if you caught them on multiple platforms – direct mail, Facebook, Instagram, a phone call and/or even word of mouth!