What does reach refer to in advertising metrics?

• A. how many people actually use the medium
• B. how often people do something
• C. the cost to reach a thousand impressions
• D. the geographic area reached by the medium

Answer: (A)

Reach is the number of unique individuals exposed to the advertisement during a defined period. It measures audience breadth—the total distinct people who see the message at least once. This focus on unique viewers makes it different from frequency (how many times the average person sees the ad), impressions (total exposures including repeats), CPM (cost per thousand impressions), or geographic coverage (how large an area is reached). So reach best captures how broadly the message actually gets in front of people.