What is waste coverage, and why might it not be a good media buy?

In advertising and promotion the term waste coverage is defined as a situation where the coverage of the media exceeds the target audience (Belch and Belch, 773). For example, some business-to-business advertisers like copy machine companies advertise on NFL Sundays and Monday night football slots. This type of ad coverage reaches people who are not potential buyers or users for these products.

You might be asking yourself this question, why are companies spending on advertisements that do not reach their target market?

I found that some waste coverage is unavoidable for advertisers.  Advertisers cannot dictate every audience member that views their ads making waste coverage inevitable for all companies. For example, Axe Body Spray typically runs ads during the super bowl, or on channels like Spike TV. Although those channels are male dominated, there is still a small population of females who enjoy the shows and tune into this channel. Axe Body Spray does not target women but the women that view the ads are (in most cases) not the target market, making their ad waste coverage for this small percentile. All consumers may not be part of the intended target market but can still be considered potential buyers, because they could be buying for other.

Advertisers do make the effort in minimizing waste coverage to as much as they can, because it is expensive to run ads that will not reach their target audience. On the other hand, if advertisers plan, set objectives, and create sound strategies then they can create commercials that target a specific audience, while appealing to the masses.  And at the same time they are making their products more widely known by the general public.

Unfortunately, there is always a trade off in advertising. Especially when focusing on eliminating waste coverage, because in order to advertise to the greatest amount of people in the targeted market, there will automatically be a small amount of waste. As long as the product or service is not overexposed, waste coverage is acceptable because the media employed is likely to be the most effective means of delivering available and cost of the waste coverage is exceeded by the value gained from their use (Belch and Belch, 343).

Belch, GE. and Belch, MA.  Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective, 9th Edition.  McGraw-Hill Companies.  2012.