From “Frequency” to “Continuity”—Is It a New Dawn?

A new fashion in media planning, ‘‘continuity scheduling,” appears to be sweeping the board in place of “effective frequency.” John Philip Jones with his STAS measure has given it a large fillip. Subsequent analyses of the Adlab data from the United Kingdom and other sources broadly support this but suggest caution: in particular, STAS does not merely reflect advertising but varies with other factors peculiar to each brand. There is no substitute for knowing your own brand: an off-the-peg media solution may not be the best fit.