What is a GRP? In the traditional media world, it stands for Gross Rating Point. It’s a simple currency used when planning and buying broadcast and cable ads. Say for example, you buy a :30 second ad space in a 6am news and it gets 2 GRPs. What exactly are you getting?
You are reaching 2% of your target audience. If you were to purchase 50 6am news spots over the course of a week, then you would have 100 GRPs and be reaching everyone in your market. This is a highly simplified example and there are complex variables that come into play, but in simplistic terms, 1 GRP equals reaching 1% of your target audience.
But not all broadcast and cable programs are created equal. No one knows exactly how many people will watch a specific program. When a media buyer goes to buy 100 GRPs in a market, they are buying programs based on a guess of which ones will gain high ratings, and which programs will not. There are tools and tricks of the trade to help make an educated guess, but no system is foolproof. This is where trust in your media buyer is key. Do they buy on gut feeling? Are they looking at a 4 book average? Or is it 12 book? Do they use Comscore? What about Nielsen? And how well do they know the market they are buying in? These are all questions to think about when choosing a media buying agency for a political campaign. Because unlike the corporate world, when the campaign ends, makegoods from the stations are worthless.
