The Power of Repetition

Repetition is one of the most commonly used techniques throughout history to keep a product in people’s minds. Contrary to what one might think at first glance, repeating phrases in an intelligent way can make an idea sink into people’s subconscious.

For example, when we look at hypnotism strategies, the same phrase is repeated several times until the desired outcome is achieved: “you’re getting sleepy.” Or when we apply certain types of meditation, mantras help us internalize ideas that we want to embed in our subconscious.

Similarly, when we talk about marketing, it’s no exception. The number of times someone needs to read or see a message before making a purchase can vary depending on the person, the product, and the context. However, marketing research has led to some general principles about consumer behavior, and this includes the mention of the “Rule of 7.”

The "Rule of 7" is often attributed to the movie industry in the 1930s, particularly from Hollywood studios, as a general guideline for advertising films. They believed that a person needed to see an advertisement at least seven times before they would be motivated to buy a movie ticket. This idea has since been widely adopted in broader marketing and advertising contexts.

Herbert E. Krugman, on the other hand, in 1970, suggested that after three exposures, an ad becomes effective in creating memory and influencing decision-making, leading to what some later marketers expanded into the idea of "effective frequency."

Throughout history, studies have been developed to explain the importance of repetition as a persuasive technique. However, repeating something too many times without context can become overwhelming, especially today, when we are bombarded with countless ads from all directions.

Therefore, it is a valuable technique for writing, persuasion, and advertising, but it must be used with great care to avoid becoming annoying.