Check out this new article in The Drum by Dave Sosson, Senior Manager, Business Development, Programmatic Demand North America!
For years, advertisers relied on the “rule of three,” the belief that hearing an ad three times was enough to make it stick. The idea came from early research on effective frequency, later formalized by Michael J. Naples in a 1979 ANA report, which suggested that just a few well-timed exposures could drive impact. It was a simple, sellable concept that worked well in an analog world.
Today, that logic doesn’t quite hold up. Listeners move easily between platforms, playlists, and podcasts, often within the same hour. Attention is scattered, but measurement has never been sharper.
