Adstock: How Your Ads Keep Working Even After They’re Done

You’ve probably had a jingle pop back into your head long after the ad itself stopped airing. Or maybe you remember a commercial from months ago that still moves you or makes you laugh. In marketing, this lasting impact is known as the adstock effect.

What is Adstock?
Adstock is the carryover effect of advertising. Good ads don’t immediately stop working the day the billboard comes down or the minute an ad comes off the air. They leave behind an impression that continues to influence awareness, emotions, and behaviour.

Of course, the effect doesn’t last forever. Over time, if people don’t see or hear the message again, the memory and impact begin to fade. That’s why consistency and repetition are so important in advertising.

The concept of adstock was introduced in the late 1970s by British statistician Simon Broadbent. Marketers and analysts measure it using data analysis and modeling. For most businesses, it’s enough to understand the basic principle: ads continue working after they stop running, and their influence tapers off over time.

Why Adstock Matters for Advertisers
When you understand adstock, it becomes clear why advertising works best as an ongoing effort rather than a single splash. A campaign doesn’t just generate results while it’s running. It continues to influence people for days, weeks, or even months. 

That lingering effect is important to recognize. If you pause your advertising and don’t see sales drop right away, it’s not proof that advertising wasn’t working. The investment you put into your past campaigns still has some momentum.

Adstock explains why advertising results carry forward after a campaign ends. But while adstock creates momentum, it’s your product, service, and customer experience that turn that momentum into long-term loyalty.

How to Put Adstock to Work
So what does this mean for your business?

• Consistency pays off: A steady presence builds more lasting impact than a one-time blitz, because every exposure adds up to stronger recognition and familiarity.
  
  
• Frequency matters: Regular exposures keep your brand top of mind.
  
  
• Smart planning makes budgets work harder: When you schedule ads with adstock in mind, you’re building for long-term results rather than short-lived bursts.
   

The Takeaway
The adstock effect demonstrates why consistent, thoughtful advertising creates more than just short-term results. It builds staying power.