Diminished Reach

I just read an article from Comcast Spotlight about diminished media reach and the challenges it creates for clients and their advertising agencies and I couldn’t agree more. It used to be that a media planner could roadblock a spot in late news across the three TV network affiliates and perhaps an ad in the daily newspaper and have a reach that stretched into 80%+. Now, depending on the DMA, the plan would deliver a small fraction of that at best. Rating points on TV used to be negotiated in half and full points. Today we negotiate down to a tenth of a point. There were often minimum ratings dependant on client and demo established by planners for media buyers of a 1.5-2.0. Prime often had minimums of a 4.0. Today, most prime programming wouldn’t even hit the minimums of even 15 years ago.




So with mass media being less massive in its reach, why do ad agencies and their clients still insist on buying advertising based on mass demographics like Adults 25-54? What 25 year old guy watches the same TV show or visits the same websites as his 54 year old mother? So with the increased media fragmentation doesn’t it make sense to narrow the demographic to that which truly represents the client’s best potential customer and purchase the media that best targets this more narrow demographic? A more narrowly defined target will allow advertisers to more efficiently achieve their desired reach and achieve frequency goals as well. Who cares if not everyone sees the ad as long as the right people do.



The challenges to changing a clients mindset are: 1. If they don’t fall into their new target demographic they will be less likely to see the ads. We all know clients feel better about their advertising investment when they see their own ads. 2. Clients have a tendency to remember the exception and not the norm. Even though 90% of a client’s customers may come from a 10 mile radius, human nature is to remember the person who drove 60 miles to shop. Or if 90% of the those who show for dresses at a particular store are business women in their 30’s and 40’s, again human nature is to remember the 44 year old gentlemen who came in and purchased for his significant other.



So it may make for less interesting conversation to talk about that which is less typical, it does make for more targeted efficient, impactful media.