Reach (advertising)
Encyclopedia
In the application of statistics to advertising
and media analysis, reach refers to the total number of different people or households exposed, at least once, to a medium during a given period of time. Reach should not be confused with the number of people who will actually be exposed to and consume the advertising, though. It is just the number of people who are exposed to the medium and therefore have an opportunity to see or hear the ad or commercial. Reach may be stated either as an absolute number, or as a fraction of a given population (for instance 'TV households', 'men' or 'those aged 25-35').
For any given viewer, they have been "reached" by the work if they have viewed it at all (or a specified amount) during the specified period. Multiple viewings by a single member of the audience in the cited period do not increase reach; however, media people use the term effective reach to describe the quality of exposure. Effective reach and reach are two different measurements for a target audience who receive a given message or ad.
Since reach is a time-dependent summary of aggregate audience behavior, reach figures are meaningless without a period associated with them: an example of a valid reach figure would be to state that "[example website] had a one-day reach of 1565 per million on 21 March 2004" (though unique users, an equivalent measure, would be a more typical metric for a website).
Reach of television
channels is often expressed in the form of "x minute weekly reach" - that is, the number (or percentage) of viewers who watched the channel for at least x minutes in a given week.
For example, in the UK, BARB
defines the reach of a television channel as the percentage of the population in private households who view a channel for more than 3 minutes in a given day or week . Similarly, for radio, RAJAR
defines the weekly reach of a radio station
as the number of people who tune into a radio station for at least 5 minutes (within at least one 15min period) in a given week .
Reach is an important measure for the BBC
, which is funded by a mandatory licence fee
. It seeks to maximise its reach to ensure all licence fee payers are receiving value. Reach and frequency of exposure
are also two of the most important statistics used in advertising management. When reach is multiplied by average frequency a composite measure called Gross Rating Point
s (GRPs) is obtained. Reach can be calculated indirectly as: reach = GRPs / average frequency.
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
and media analysis, reach refers to the total number of different people or households exposed, at least once, to a medium during a given period of time. Reach should not be confused with the number of people who will actually be exposed to and consume the advertising, though. It is just the number of people who are exposed to the medium and therefore have an opportunity to see or hear the ad or commercial. Reach may be stated either as an absolute number, or as a fraction of a given population (for instance 'TV households', 'men' or 'those aged 25-35').
For any given viewer, they have been "reached" by the work if they have viewed it at all (or a specified amount) during the specified period. Multiple viewings by a single member of the audience in the cited period do not increase reach; however, media people use the term effective reach to describe the quality of exposure. Effective reach and reach are two different measurements for a target audience who receive a given message or ad.
Since reach is a time-dependent summary of aggregate audience behavior, reach figures are meaningless without a period associated with them: an example of a valid reach figure would be to state that "[example website] had a one-day reach of 1565 per million on 21 March 2004" (though unique users, an equivalent measure, would be a more typical metric for a website).
Reach of television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
channels is often expressed in the form of "x minute weekly reach" - that is, the number (or percentage) of viewers who watched the channel for at least x minutes in a given week.
For example, in the UK, BARB
Barb
Barb may refer to:* A backward-facing point on a fish hook or similar implement, rendering extraction from the victim's flesh more difficult* Wind barbs for each station on a map of reported weather conditions...
defines the reach of a television channel as the percentage of the population in private households who view a channel for more than 3 minutes in a given day or week . Similarly, for radio, RAJAR
RAJAR
RAJAR was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the British Broadcasting Corporation and the RadioCentre...
defines the weekly reach of a radio station
Radio network
There are two types of radio networks currently in use around the world: the one-to-many broadcast type commonly used for public information and mass media entertainment; and the two-way type used more commonly for public safety and public services such as police, fire, taxicabs, and delivery...
as the number of people who tune into a radio station for at least 5 minutes (within at least one 15min period) in a given week .
Reach is an important measure for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, which is funded by a mandatory licence fee
Television licence
A television licence is an official licence required in many countries for the reception of television broadcasts...
. It seeks to maximise its reach to ensure all licence fee payers are receiving value. Reach and frequency of exposure
Effective frequency
In advertising, the effective frequency is the number of times a person must be exposed to an advertising message before a response is made and before exposure is considered wasteful....
are also two of the most important statistics used in advertising management. When reach is multiplied by average frequency a composite measure called Gross Rating Point
Gross Rating Point
Gross rating point is a term used in advertising to measure the size of an audience reached by a specific media vehicle or schedule. It is the product of the percentage of the target audience reached by an advertisement, times the frequency they see it in a given campaign...
s (GRPs) is obtained. Reach can be calculated indirectly as: reach = GRPs / average frequency.