What Does Effective Frequency Mean in 1997?

John Philip Jones

This article examines the meaning of 'effective frequency' in 1997, on the basis of the 1979 book by Michael Naples, whose ideas are explained in detail.

What Does Effective Frequency Mean in 1997?

John Philip Jones

DID IT ALL BEGIN IN 1979?

The idea is rooted not so much in research as in commonsense: the instinct to use advertising to knock consumers repeatedly over the head. Concentration – spending money in 'flights' or 'bursts' – is a policy as old as television advertising itself. I have personally seen it in practice for four decades. As far as operational policy was concerned, there was therefore nothing new in the strategy advocated by Michael Naples in the monograph he edited and published in 1979, Effective Frequency:...

WARC subscribers can sign in to keep reading

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands