Why fragmentation isn't killing your marketing

Media fragmentation has marketers spiraling. Everyone's worried about declining reach and the death of mass audiences. We're exploring why fragmentation is more of a planning challenge than an effectiveness crisis, and how to respond without shrinking your growth.   

 

44% of marketers say media and audience fragmentation is a top concern. 

Fragmentation ranked second only to short-termism in recent research from the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. The concern centers on money moving away from high-reach environments into smaller, lower-impact moments. 

 

Fragmentation is a planning problem, not a growth crisis.          

Media has multiplied. Attention comes in shorter bursts. Most marketers respond by slicing audiences into micro-segments and spreading budgets across endless channels. That's the wrong move. Here's why: 

1. Reach hasn't disappeared. Americans spend more time with media now than before. Video consumption remains stable. Reach just isn't concentrated in a few obvious places anymore. That makes planning harder, but it doesn't make growth impossible.
   
   
2. The real mistake is shrinking your reach. Fragmentation triggers panic. Marketers start adding micro-channels and "high-intent" targets. They think narrower targeting equals smarter marketing. But they're actually reaching fewer people and concentrating spend on buyers they would've reached anyway.  
   
   
3. Brands grow through penetration, not precision. Most categories aren't made up of tiny, neatly segmented audiences. They're broad. Growth still requires reaching more category buyers.  
   
   
4. Creatively, fragmentation threatens memory. Moments are smaller and more spread out. Brands that treat every execution as something completely fresh struggle to build recognition. The ones winning are building memory structures through consistency.  
   
   
5. Trust fewer signals, not more. Fragmentation doesn't mean you need more metrics. Focus on signals closest to real business outcomes, like sustained sales growth, penetration, share movements, and search lift over time. 
   
   

Listen in on our discussion.

"Staying effective in a 'lots of little' media market" 

This article from WARC explores how marketers can maintain effectiveness as media fragments into smaller moments. The research shows that while individual placements may be smaller, they can still compound into something powerful when orchestrated well.  

Read the article.

 

Consistency Wins.        

"I'm confident to say that if you want to grow in a profession, consistency is the key."

— Eliud Kipchoge, marathon world record holder 

This newsletter comes from the hosts of The Marketing Architects, a research-first show answering your biggest marketing questions. Find us on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts.