Adfrequency

Adfrequency, in advertising, refers to the average number of times an individual is exposed to a given advertisement within a defined period. It is a key metric used to balance reach (how many unique people are exposed) with repetition (how often each person sees the ad). Adfrequency can be calculated as Frequency = Impressions / Reach, where Impressions is the total number of ad views and Reach is the number of unique users exposed at least once.

Advertisers monitor adfrequency to optimize campaigns and control how often messages are shown to the same audience. Frequency is often managed with frequency caps, which limit the number of exposures per user within a time window to prevent oversaturation. The optimal frequency depends on objectives, creative strength, and audience, but excessive frequency can lead to ad fatigue, reduced effectiveness, and higher costs. Conversely, too low a frequency may fail to reinforce the message.

Measurement challenges include cross-device and cross-channel deduplication, viewability, and privacy constraints. Modern campaigns frequently track Impressions, Reach, and Frequency across channels, applying attribution models or marketing mix models to interpret impact. In practice, advertisers use frequency planning to allocate budget between broad reach and repeated exposure, often adjusting in real time through programmatic buying and bid adjustments to maintain target frequency ranges while respecting caps.

See also: reach, impressions, frequency capping, ad fatigue, viewability, cross-device measurement.