Thursday + Gregory Huffstutter = The Ad Man Answers Q: I saw that last month’s Super Bowl did a 42.6 Household Rating and 64 Share… what do those numbers mean, exactly? And as a writer who’s never going to shell out $2.6 million for one TV commercial, why should I give a damn? A: Break out your calculators, mates… we’re embarking on media math 101. “Ratings” are a measurement of audience size. 1.0 rating point = 1% of a given population exposed to your message According to Nielsen research, there are approximately 110,200,000 TV Households (HHs) in the U.S. So when purchasing Network TV, 1.0 HH Rating point = 1% total U.S. HHs = 1,102,000 HHs Getting back to our example, if the Super Bowl did a 42.6 Household Rating, then: 42.6 x 1,102,000 HHs = 46,945,200 HHs watched the Super Bowl In the U.S., within each Household, there are approximately 2 Adults (age 18+). So if 46,945,200 HHs watched the Super Bowl x 2 Adults per HH = 93,890,400 Adults watched the Super Bowl
“Share,” on the other hand, is a reflection of what % of TV viewing is watching your program. If the Super Bowl did a 64 share, that means 64% of the people watching TV from 3:30pm-7:30pm on Feb 4, 2007 were turned in to the big game. I’m guessing the other 36% of TV viewers were glued to TLC’s “What Not To Wear” marathon. So what’s any of this got to do with you, the struggling writer with a miniscule advertising budget? Thinking about the Super Bowl – with each 30-second commercial delivering an advertising “impression” to 93.8 million adults – makes you realize how many people are out there. I mean, have you walked outside lately? They’re… they’re everywhere! [Note: Do not attempt if you live in South Dakota -- you’ll only end up depressing yourself. Unless you’re a hermit. In which case, carry on.] Millions of people translates to millions of potential consumers. The trick is finding them in a cost-effective manner. So don’t be trapped into thinking you can only advertise to your MySpace friends, or in a newsletter that has a circulation of 2,500 mystery fans. In advertising, the name of the game is “audience concentration.” Go looking for the largest clusters of people within your target audience. If you’ve written a book about a tennis-pro-turned-detective, don’t settle for dropping off flyers at your local YMCA. Why not investigate running a banner ad on the U.S. Tennis Association’s website (USTA.com), which averages 35.5 million page views per month? You might find it’s more cost effective than you think. But in order to make that decision – to be your own media planner – you need the tools to evaluate advertising opportunities vs. their cost. “Ratings” and “Share” are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Next time we dig into GRPs, TRPs, CPMs, Impressions, Reach, and Frequency. Oh, a grand time will be had by all.
Gregory Huffstutter has been punching Ad Agency timecards for the past decade, working on accounts like McDonald’s, KIA Motors, and the San Diego Padres. He recently finished his first mystery, KATZ CRADLE, and has started the fun and not-at-all-demoralizing agent query process. The first 100 pages of his novel are linked here. For general advertising questions, leave a comment or send e-mail to katz @ gregoryhuffstutter dot com with “Ask The Ad Man” in the subject line.
Comments