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The Madison Avenue Field GuideA field guide to marketing & advertising, by Brandon Mina

GlossaryStrategy & FrameworksRecency Planning

Strategy & Frameworks

Recency Planning

Erwin Ephron's 1990s media approach of maintaining continuous weekly reach to catch buyers near purchase rather than piling up frequency.

By Brandon MinaCEO, BrandPilot AIUpdated November 2026

Short answer

Recency planning is Erwin Ephron's 1990s media approach of maintaining continuous weekly reach to catch buyers near the moment of purchase, rather than piling up frequency in short bursts. It holds that an ad seen close to a purchase decision is most effective, so spreading budget across more weeks often works better.