Three Reasons Why the GRP Isn’t Going Away Anytime Soon

To put the topic of GRPs into context itamp8217s worthwhile to ask ourselves two related questionsamp160 First can reach and frequency be useful in providing an initial understanding of a campaignamp8217s likely performanceamp160 Second do the campaign parameters of impressions and target audience universe size help in our understanding of a campaignamp8217s expected outcomeIf we answered amp8221yesamp8221 to either of these questions then we implicitly agree GRPs are important too amp160The reason for this is simple media mathReach Frequency GRPs eg 50 reach 5 frequency amp160250 250 GRPsamp8230 and also amp8230ImpressionsUniverse GRPs eg 50000 imps 20000 universe 250 250 GRPsReason No 1 amp160Flexibility and InteroperabilityThe fact the GRP can be calculated in two entirely different ways and yet still provide exactly the same outline benchmark of campaign performance indicates it can have huge potential and flexibility for anyone planning media ad campaigns or trading media buysamp160 Letamp8217s consider three use casesDifferent Target Audience Comparisonsamp160 Suppose we want to transpose a campaign of 350 GRPs from say adults 1849 to women 1824 amp160If we use a metric such as GRPs the ontarget GRPs automatically reflect each audienceamp8217s definition and will provide the exact same media weight for each defined audienceFor example 350 1849 GRPs optimized across channels to maximize reach might deliver circa 75 reach and 467 OTS opportunities to see and similarly a campaign among women 1824 optimized across channels could also deliver about 75 and 467 OTSamp160 Part of this is basic multiplication because 75 467 350 350 GRPsamp160By comparison if we had simply used impressions we would need two very different ontarget impression levels because the audience size of women 1824 is approximately onetenth of adults 1849International Media Planning amp160On a completely different scale letamp8217s consider an example from international media planning where we want the same advertising weight in the US France and AustraliaIf we use a metric such as impressions in the US we have no immediate comparative measure of the same ad weight in other countries because the population sizes vary widelyamp160 Franceamp8217s population is onefifth of the US and Australiaamp8217s is 113thamp160 However if we know we plan to deliver 350 GRPs in the US we implicitly know the identical media weight for the other markets is similarly 350 GRPsamp160 This helps international marketers brief local markets more swiftly and preciselyMore Precise Inflation Tracking amp160By reviewing both CPM the industry cost metric for reaching 1000 target consumers and CPP the cost of reaching 1 or 1 GRP we can immediately see both the relative and absolute trend in media costsFor instance according to the World Advertising Research Centre WARC in the US radioamp8217s CPM for men the last ten years of data rose by just 2amp160 But owing to the shifts in the audience and its listening patterns size of this demographic the absolute shift in CPP was noticeably higher at 13Reason No 2amp160 GRPs Can Be Based on Whatever Audience We Need amp8211 Demographics Behavior or PsychographicsIf we can a define an audience b determine its universe size and c quantify the consumption levels of various media channels by that audience then we have the ability to create Gross Reach Pointsamp160 We are not hidebound by standard demographicsamp160 We could create GRPs for any audience from heavy pet food buyers to owners of luxury SUVs who still want to be greenamp160 The media channels can be everything from online video and TV to advertising at filling stations and beyondAs long as we can measure an audience relative to its total size we can create GRPs because simply put 1 GRP is nothing more than 1 of the desired audienceReason No 3amp160 Reach Is Not an Independent VariableWith rare exceptions the reach of a campaign is not an independent variable amp160Reach and frequency go hand in handamp160 If a campaignamp8217s reach goes up then the frequency will tooamp160 Strategically it is feasible to maximize the reach and limit the frequency typically by buying highquality schedules with highreach media but this is not the same as eliminating additional frequency altogetherWhere such exceptions do exist solely focusing on reach and eliminating frequency they depend on precise hypertargeting and can be relatively expensive amp160With a large digital media owner we might feasibly hypertarget motorbike owners living in Texas and reach them only once but presently this remains the exception not the rule and it does not extend to more conventional media such as magazines radio etcWhy It Should Be the Gross Reach PointUnfortunately in the wake of the huge digital media revolution the GRP has come off badlyamp160 The classic mistake by some of us in the industry is to assume the GRP is simply an inflexible TV metricPerhaps instead of Gross Rating Point we should rename the GRP the Gross Reach Pointamp160 This is a much more descriptive metric than Gross Rating Pointamp160 The term rating is not intuitive but reach isamp160 Who among us uses the audience term rating for anything but GRPsamp160 Little wonder it can cause confusion and derisionamp160 I would urge the industry to switch to the term Gross Reach Point and then perhaps this metric will achieve the recognition it deserves by everyone in the industryPhoto creditamp160 Alex WongUnsplashClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160amp160

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Three Reasons Why the GRP Isn’t Going Away Anytime Soon

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Graeme Hutton

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

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Three Reasons Why the GRP Isn’t Going Away Anytime Soon

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Graeme Hutton

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

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