In an increasingly crowded and fragmented media landscape, brands face a tough challenge: striking the right balance between reach and repetition. Overexposure to ads doesn’t just annoy consumers—it actively erodes purchase intent. Studies show that 71% of consumers are less likely to buy from brands they perceive as annoying or intrusive. Reversely, underexposure leaves campaigns struggling to make an impact in a saturated marketplace.

With audiences dividing their time across SVOD (subscription video-on-demand), AVOD (ad-supported video-on-demand), FAST (free ad-supported TV), and traditional linear TV, the days of “one-size-fits-all” advertising strategies are over. As streaming platforms proliferate and viewers scatter across devices and services, brands face the dual challenge of cutting through the noise while respecting audience tolerance.

Samsung Ads leverages insights on evolving consumer attitudes, behaviors, and engagement to help brands master ad frequency in an era defined by fragmentation and content overwhelm.

1. Tailor Ad Frequency to Platform Dynamics

Not all streaming environments are created equal. When media planning, adjust ad frequency and messaging to meet platform expectations. For example, FAST viewers, accustomed to free content in exchange for ads, are generally more tolerant of higher ad loads. Meanwhile, SVOD platforms come with a unique challenge: paying audiences have much lower tolerance for interruptions. To account for this, streamers like Netflix ensure their ad-supported tier limits ads to 4–5 minutes per hour, significantly less than the 10–12 minutes typical of linear TV. Despite this, many viewers have soured over ads on subscription services, challenging audience receptivity. Understanding user expectations is key to planning effective campaigns– as is ensuring ads are as seamless as possible.

2. Plan Holistically Across Devices and Platforms

In today’s multi-device world, consumers seamlessly switch between screens. A viewer might start watching a show on their smart TV, continue on a tablet, and finish on their smartphone. Without a cohesive strategy, brands risk bombarding the same viewer with repetitive messaging across multiple devices—a surefire way to erode trust and engagement.

Integrated media planning addresses this. By coordinating campaigns across platforms, brands can ensure consistent messaging without redundancy. For example, a campaign might start with a brand awareness ad on CTV, followed by lower-funnel messaging on mobile devices to drive conversions. With 70% of retailers interested in omnichannel selling, leveraging holistic audience insights across platforms becomes imperative.

Effectively managing ad frequency requires partners with cross-device reach and actionable insights. Integrating first-party mobile data with CTV insights gives advertisers a complete view of consumer engagement. For instance, CTV-to-mobile conversion tracking allows brands to trace a user’s journey from watching a CTV ad to taking action, like installing an app—using both channels together to drive results.

3. Focus on Metrics That Accurately Gauge Ad Frequency Impact

Traditional metrics like impressions and click-through rates often fail to provide meaningful insights into how consumers experience ad frequency. To fine-tune campaigns and avoid overexposure or underexposure, brands should prioritize metrics that reflect true engagement and help pinpoint the optimal ad frequency for their audiences. These include:

• Brand lift: Tracking shifts in awareness or perception after campaign exposure to gauge if ad frequency supports positive brand associations.
• Purchase intent: Measuring the likelihood of action after viewing an ad to understand if frequency is driving conversions or causing fatigue.
• Time spent viewing: Monitoring how long audiences engage with ads to assess resonance and whether repeated exposure is effective or intrusive.

For instance, while impressions may suggest broad reach, they don’t capture how viewers are responding to frequency or engaging with an ad after seeing it 3x, versus 8x. By focusing on audience-based metrics tied to exposure, brands can make smarter decisions about how often—and where—to deliver their messages.

4. Partner with CTV Platforms with Engaged, Loyal Audiences

It’s not enough to simply reach viewers at the right frequency if viewers aren’t actively engaged. To reach engaged viewers, partner with CTV platforms that have loyal audiences. Subscription numbers alone are a false equivalence for audience engagement or long-term loyalty—two metrics that truly matter for brands. A more useful metric is time spent in-app or weekly sign-ins. While the average consumer subscribes to eight streaming services, consumers consistently watch fewer than three, with some viewers going months without logging into a service. For the platforms that audiences are loyal to, over half of total viewing time is spent only on those select platforms. This trend underscores a critical reality for brands as well; simply reaching consumers is no longer enough. Over a third of US business leaders want to improve customer loyalty. Much like streaming platforms combat churn, brands face the challenge of retaining their own loyal customers—whether through retail media networks or subscription models.

As the linear audience continues to shift to streaming, we are now learning that even with ads running at the maximum frequency conceivable, they still only reach roughly 50% of the target population. To capture changing viewer preferences, shifting linear expenditure to CTV can enhance national TV reach without increasing media planning expenses. By tapping into platforms with loyal audiences and leveraging actionable insights, brands can reach receptive audiences with the right message at the right frequency for maximal impact.

5. Context Matters

In the streaming era, context is key. AI-driven contextual ads deliver 300% higher aided recall and double unaided recall compared to standard demographic targeting, making them essential in a fragmented media landscape. Aligning ads with relevant content—like targeting sports fans during sports programming—not only boosts effectiveness but reduces wasted impressions.

Contextual advertising also builds trust and engagement. A recent survey found 82% of consumers prefer ads that match the content they’re watching, with 39% more likely to act on them. Additionally, contextually relevant ads improve audience tolerance for higher ad frequency, offering a smarter way to connect in an increasingly crowded marketplace.

Precision Over Saturation: The New Imperative

In the noisy world of streaming, the ultimate goal isn’t just to reach consumers—it’s to connect with them in meaningful ways. Achieving this requires brands to balance ad frequency with audience expectations, platform dynamics, and contextual relevance.

Ad overload is a challenge that can be solved with thoughtful strategy and execution. As the streaming ecosystem continues to evolve, brands that prioritize precision and relevance will not only survive but thrive.