How to Use Programmatic Advertising to Manage Reach and Frequency Across Your Full-Funnel Media Mix

Why Reach and Frequency Are Two Different Jobs

Getting the most out of your full-funnel campaigns starts with one insight: reach and frequency are two different jobs, and the right channel mix handles them differently. 

All full-funnel campaigns start with building awareness, and to get awareness, you need reach. Traditional linear TV is still one of the best channels for reach. Broad audiences, proven formats, efficient CPMs at scale.  

This is a complicated idea, so stick with us here. Traditional broadcast media was never designed to manage frequency with precision. The data for these channels is calculated from small panels used to estimate the size of the audience. It’s fine to use TV to develop your reach. But when you start using traditional television to build frequency, it quickly becomes wasteful. The reason is you don’t actually know who saw your ad. You’re building frequency against an estimated audience size. 

Programmatic changes that equation. By leveraging data from exposed devices to your television campaigns, you’re building audiences of people who actually saw your TV spot. Your programmatic campaigns aren’t guessing who to reach next. They’re picking up exactly where broadcast left off, building frequency to the right people. 

How This Framework Works in Practice

Traditional channels do the reach. Programmatic does the frequency. And device data is what connects it all. It’s a simple framework but executing it well requires deep experience across both traditional and digital channels. 

We’ve put this framework to work across linear TV and every programmatic channel, CTV, display, video, audio, and native, for brands navigating some of the longest and most competitive sales cycles in their categories. Our deepest experience is with considered purchase brands across healthcare, legal and financial services, home improvement, and retail, where the customer journey stretches weeks or months. But the principle holds regardless of sales cycle. Give each channel the job it’s built for and your entire media spend works harder. 

Let’s Talk About Your Media Mix 

If you’re rethinking how your media mix handles reach and frequency, we’d like to talk. We’ll give you an honest assessment of where your current strategy is working and where it isn’t, and what it would take to get every channel doing the right job. Get in touch with us