by Terry MacCauley - Posted 1 day ago
Last week, we introduced our five-part series on the core marketing principles at Big Time Advertising and Marketing. We began with Reach: telling the most people for the least amount of money. Reach sets the foundation, but it is not enough on its own. This week, we turn to the second principle: Frequency.
Think of frequency like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Put on too little peanut butter and you barely taste it. Put on too much and it overpowers everything, making the sandwich messy and unpleasant. The perfect sandwich comes from balance.
Advertising works the same way. Spread your ad, and spend too thin, and no one will recall your message. Overspend and repeat it too often; people tune out or become annoyed. Frequency is finding the right amount of repetition so your message is remembered, trusted, and acted upon.
When I present to dealers, one of the most common questions I hear is, “How fast will it work, and how long will it take?” Both of those questions come back to frequency. Sadly, frequency has become one of the most critical metrics no one talks about anymore.
That is a fundamental Big Time mistake. Frequency is not just another data point. It is the heartbeat of recall, action, and return on investment.
Few concepts in advertising are as timeless as the idea of effective frequency, the number of times someone needs to encounter a message before it truly sticks. While today’s digital dashboards are filled with click-through rates and cost-per-lead metrics, the science of frequency dates back decades and is grounded in psychology.
The principle was first introduced in the 1960s by Herbert E. Krugman, a psychologist who applied his research to advertising. Krugman argued that it takes three key exposures to move a consumer from awareness to action: the first to notice, the second to consider, and the third to remember or respond. His 1972 paper, “Why Three Exposures May Be Enough,” became a cornerstone in understanding how repetition works in the human brain.
Building on Krugman’s insights, the Advertising Research Foundation’s Naples Report (1979) expanded the framework, showing that effectiveness does not top out at three exposures. Instead, most campaigns see their best results when audiences experience a message somewhere between three and eight times. This became the widely accepted frequency sweet spot, a balance between recall and resonance on one end and fatigue and waste on the other.
Thankfully, we know the human brain processes repetition in predictable ways and it can actually be mapped:
Fewer than 3 exposures, and consumers cannot recall or remember your message. It blends into the noise.
Between 3 and 7 exposures is the sweet spot. Recall is strong, action is more likely, and return on investment is maximized.
Beyond 8 exposures, ad fatigue sets in. Consumers tune out, feel annoyed, and your dollars work against you instead of for you.
The magic is not in shouting louder. It is in staying within that sweet spot where the science of psychology and the art of advertising meet. By respecting this principle, brands maximize attention, reduce waste, and build campaigns that work.
In digital campaigns, frequency is not just a theory. It is a trackable metric. Platforms like Meta, Google, and programmatic DSPs compute it using a simple formula:
Frequency = Impressions ÷ Reach
Impressions are the total times your ad was shown.
Reach is the number of unique people who saw it.
Divide one by the other, and you get the average number of times each person saw your ad.
For example, if your campaign delivered 100,000 impressions to 20,000 people, the frequency score would be 5, meaning the average person saw your ad five times.
This is where the 3–8 sweet spot comes into play. If your frequency score is too low, people will not remember you. If it creeps too high, you risk fatigue. This is precisely why most platforms let you set frequency caps to control how often a user sees your ads.
Some of the most iconic campaigns in advertising history prove the power of frequency.
Chevy’s “Like a Rock” (1991–2004): Buyers did not remember the horsepower or payload numbers. They remembered the song and tagline because it was played consistently enough to stick, refreshed with new visuals, so fatigue never set in.
Dodge “Hemi” (early 2000s): “That thing got a Hemi?” repeated just enough to enter pop culture. By the mid-2000s, Dodge wisely pulled back before overexposure made it feel like a gimmick.
McDonald’s “I’m Lovin’ It” (2003–today): Two decades of the same line, repeated globally with small local tweaks. The tagline is consistent, the executions are refreshed, and the brand stays at the top of people's minds without wearing out its welcome.
Budweiser “Wassup” (1999–2002): A perfect case study in both success and fatigue. After 3–5 exposures, it became a cultural phenomenon. But once the brand ran it too long, the magic quickly disappeared.
The lesson is clear: frequency works, but balance matters.
Here is how to apply frequency to your dealership marketing:
Google Ads: Cap display and video frequency at about 3 per week per person for monthly campaigns.
Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram): Monitor frequency weekly. A range of 3–7 is healthy. Over seven means it is time to refresh the creative or expand the audience.
Watch CTR and CPM together: When click-through rates drop and cost per thousand impressions rise while frequency climbs, it is a sure sign of fatigue.
Frequency is not guesswork. It is a discipline.
Like with reach, frequency is the difference between thriving dealerships and fading away. Show up once and disappear, and you will be forgotten. Show up too often with the same message, and you become background noise. But show up consistently, with the right rhythm and refreshed creative, and you become the dealership that feels familiar, trusted, and top of mind.
Most dealers are not even looking at their frequency scores, which is a central blind spot. The good news is that the numbers are right there if you know where to look, or what to ask for:
Meta (Facebook/Instagram): Inside Ads Manager, frequency is a standard metric. Add it to your reporting columns and review it weekly. If you do not see it, ask your marketing partner or agency to include it in their reports.
Google Ads: Frequency shows up in Display and Video campaigns. You can set caps, or at least pull average frequency numbers. If you are running Performance Max or Search campaigns, ask your rep or agency how often impressions are delivered per user.
TikTok Ads: Frequency is available in the campaign reporting dashboard, but often hidden behind “Customize Columns.” Check it weekly. If it climbs too high, refresh the creative fast. TikTok burns through content quicker than other platforms.
The key is simple: always ask for your frequency numbers. If your agency or vendor is not discussing them, bring it up yourself. You cannot manage what you are not measuring. Big Time Advertising has used this principle from the beginning and will never abandon it.
Frequency builds recall. Recall builds trust. Trust builds sales. That is the sequence. The dealers who win are not the ones who make a big splash once. They are the ones who commit to steady, smart repetition. One ad may plant a seed. Frequency waters it until it grows into action.
So ask yourself: "Are you showing up often enough to be remembered, or disappearing before the customer decides to buy?"
Because in advertising, the brands people remember and recall are the ones they see most often.
• Next week: Principle #3 – Budget Set to Actual Sales: How to tie your spend directly to results.
-by Terry MacCauley, Founder & CEO
Starting October 28, 2025, Google is tightening its Misrepresentation Policy to crack down on dishonest pricing practices. The focus is on greater transparency and preventing tactics like bait-and-switch pricing, unclear free trials, or hidden charges.
This comes down to one principle for auto dealers: be upfront and clear with your pricing in ads. If your advertising creates even the perception of misleading or incomplete costs, you could receive a policy warning. If it’s not corrected within 7 days, your Google Ads account could be suspended. We have seen it happen to good-intentioned dealers, so avoid it now.
For our Big Time Advertising & Marketing clients, this is nothing new. We have already built campaigns to comply with these standards because Meta (Facebook/Instagram) has had similar policies in place for years. Our ad strategies are designed to stay compliant while still driving leads and sales. We have been anticipating this update for quite some time.
• Double-check pricing claims in your ads. Make sure they match what the customer will actually see and pay.
• Be clear about promos and trials. If there’s an expiration or future charge, state it plainly.
• Make sure your landing pages are updated. Pricing on landing pages must match the ad, and all proper disclaimers should be present and visible.
• Ask your vendor or team: “If Google flags one of our ads tomorrow, do we have a plan to respond?”
If any of this feels unclear, reach out to us. We can review your campaigns, walk you through the changes, and ensure you’re fully protected. The worst-case scenario is losing access to your Google Ads account, and that is not a risk worth taking.
This week’s Big Time video is "27 Words To Avoid In Sales" by Dan Lok.
If you're losing deals and can’t figure out why, it might be your word choice. In this video, Dan breaks down the subtle (but powerful) mistakes that are quietly sabotaging your sales conversions. These 27 words can break trust, weaken positioning, and cause resistance—before you even realize it.
If you're in sales or client-facing roles, this is a must-watch.
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