In media planning, what does reach measure compared to frequency?

In media planning, what does reach measure compared to frequency?

• A. Reach measures unique exposure; frequency measures how often an individual is exposed.
• B. Reach measures engagement rate; frequency measures ad quality.
• C. Reach measures clicks; frequency measures impressions.
• D. Reach measures budget; frequency measures clicks.

Answer: (A)

In media planning, you separate how broad an audience you reach from how many times people see the message. Reach is the number of unique individuals who are exposed at least once during a period. Frequency is the average number of times those exposed individuals see the message, typically calculated as total impressions divided by reach.

So the correct idea is that reach measures unique exposure, while frequency measures how often an individual is exposed. For example, if 1,000 people see an ad and there are 3,000 total exposures, the average frequency is 3, meaning each person, on average, saw the ad three times.

Other options mix in engagement, quality, clicks, impressions, or budget—these relate to different metrics and don’t describe reach versus frequency.