Total Unduplicated Reach and Frequency (TURF) analysis is a type of statistical analysis used for providing estimates of media or market potential. In market research, TURF is frequently used to explore the optimal size of a product line offering and to show which items should be included in the product line offering. Ultimately, TURF analysis is a tool to maximize the number of people (i.e., Reach) who would be interested in purchasing different concepts within a product line. By analyzing the overlap between the different concepts, those with the lowest percent of overlap are identified. By comparing the number of non-duplicated people (i.e., Total Unduplicated) to the cost of producing different concepts, the most economical method of reaching the largest number of people can be calculated.
So how is it calculated?
The incremental reach is calculated based on purchase interest.. In the example below, chocolate is the concept with the highest market reach, with 27%. The next concept that, if added, that would provide the greatest market reach would be Vanilla, increasing your reach to 51%, a net gain of 24%. This process is repeated until the final concept, which shows the lowest incremental reach. There is a point of diminishing return, where introducing another product will not gain a substantial market reach, as it will in turn create a scenario product cannibalization.
| Product | Reach % | % Change |
| Chocolate | 27% | N/A |
| Chocolate Vanilla |
51% | +24% |
| Chocolate Vanilla |
58% | +7% |
| + Strawberry | ||
| Chocolate Vanilla Strawberry |
63% | +5% |
| + Rocky Road | ||
| Chocolate Vanilla Strawberry Rocky Road |
65% | +2% |
| + Mint Chocolate Chip | ||
| Chocolate Vanilla Strawberry Rocky Road Mint Chocolate Chip |
66% | +1% |
| + Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough |
For more information about TURF analysis, go to http://www.quirks.com/articles/a1993/19930604.aspx?searchID=343585
