What is Blitz Marketing?

Why does blitz marketing focus on specific times of the year? The answer is simple - it involves reach (the percentage of the population that sees/hears your message), frequency (the number of times they see/hear the message) and budgets. Heavy frequency over a relatively short period of time - two or three weeks - quickly builds awareness, more so than a longer campaign with the same frequency.

A message needs to be heard/viewed at least three times by a majority of the focus audience before it is recognized. Even higher frequency and reach are required to change behavior. However, limited budgets restrict our ability to buy the amount of air time necessary to sustain lengthy periods of advertising at that level. Thus, by concentrating media buys to specific periods of time, and inundating the market during those times, we are more likely to achieve the reach and frequency necessary to motivate our focus audience.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Buckle Up America Campaign illustrates the effectiveness of blitz marketing on their Web site. They reported that last May, Georgia spent $500,000 in television and radio alone to promote "Click It Or Ticket." As a result, their message reached 90 percent of the population with the average person being reached (seeing/hearing the message) between seven and nine times. These numbers rival those of commercial advertisers (such as Pepsi-Cola).

In order to achieve Georgia's aggressive numbers, NHTSA advises media contractors to concentrate media budget to a two-week period. This heavy of a buy over a short period virtually guarantees high awareness of the message.