Although there are arguments for both continuous and flighting media planning, the overall winner appears to be continuous. According to Newstead, Taylor, Kennedy, and Sharp (2009) overall “continuity schedule is generally the most appropriate advertising strategy”.

Furthermore, Sawyer, Alan G., Janiszewski, C., & Noel, H. (2009), who literally wrote the book on advertising spacing and effective recall, assert that “All empirical evidence implies that scheduling repeated exposures more distributed across a time span produce better memory than the same number of exposures massed closer together”.

McDonald’s has several campaigns on the go at the same time, driving different results. McCafe Moments allows McDonald’s to engage with specific content on an emotional level, in bursts as the opportunity arises. The campaign uses the phrase “Let’s go for a coffee” to create moments between characters. In the ad break for First Dates, for example, two sisters discuss their own “dating dilemmas” (Thinkbox, 2016). This clever media buying increases the emotional connection with the advert, increasing its effectiveness and ROMI.

Specsavers, on the other hand, has advertised continuously for almost 30 years, its famous line “You should’ve gone to Specsavers” now in the nation’s vernacular (Phillip, 2014). With increasing competition from supermarkets and little customer loyalty, being top of mind is everything in this industry.