Feb 2017 Numbers are Interesting!

[DavidEduardo]

Rating points are bought also because the buy should be tied to a certain reach and frequency specified in the media plan.

You open a good point that is not widely discussed outside the buying and sales environment.

Reach and Frequency, for those who are interested listeners and radio aficionados, is the determination of how to use an ad budget to reach the highest number of target consumers the desired number of times.

Reach is desirable because advertisers want the campaign to reach lots of different potential consumers. Frequency is a goal because advertisers know that repeating the message creates awareness and thus sales. A criteria here is "share of voice" where an advertiser needs to know the frequency and percentage of ads in a category its competitors have.

In a reach and frequency example, a campaign may wish to reach 50% of the total target consumer group at least three times during each week of the campaign.

Stations with higher TSL require fewer spots to get to the same r&f goals. Two stations in the same format may duplicate cume so much that buying both may increase frequency, but contribute little to reach.

Station rates figure in, as it's important to reach as many people at the desired frequency at the lowest cost. So good stations may be skipped, as they might have the right delivery, but at too high a cost.

 

[jabba17]

I believe WSB-FM has very heavy "at work" listening. I hear it in office buildings more than any other station. I do not doubt those numbers because they have been consistent for years and coincide with my empirical experience.
Teens at night listening to WSB-FM? Not in my world....
Nielsen should correct these "malfunctions" when they are obviously inaccurate.
Did they recalculate the Tampa numbers after finding an aberration in the 18-34 (I think) demo last trend?

B98.5 is probably the closest thing left to an anodyne "environmental" station, with the demise of soft AC and smooth jazz.

 

[wavo]

Impressions are impressions, wanted or not.

I'm seeing more and more online ads that put their pitch in the first few seconds, and use the rest of the ad to reinforce the selling point. We used to write copy to build up to a closing. Now we ask for the buying decision first, and then reinforce the point afterwards.

A gnat has a longer attention span.

Interesting point!
I find the discussion of subliminal advertising fascinating. Going back to the 50s, when the drive in theater would insert 0.1 second flashes of popcorn and Coke in the film to today, where, as you say, the sale close is made in a matter of seconds and we're not totally sure why we want to buy it... but we do. Effective marketing is a science and it's not just smoke and mirrors!
What are some of the methods used in radio to affect the subconscious desire to buy and use?

 

[wavo]

B98.5 is probably the closest thing left to an anodyne "environmental" station, with the demise of soft AC and smooth jazz.

You may be correct!
It's funny...the other station I hear a lot in offices is Praise 102.3. I guess in the 21st century work environment you need Gospel music to survive the day...