Programmatic and Display
The same people see your ad ten times a day
A frequency cap limits how often the same person sees your ad, and can be set across all inventory types, including non-personalized inventory, across environments such as mobile, desktop and Connected TV, and for individual inventory sources dv-freq. Per cap you define the number of contacts and the time period dv-freq. What matters is the hierarchy: an insertion order's cap constrains the caps of the line items below it dv-freq.
What we do: We set frequency caps top-down, add up the dose across all campaigns, align the period with the buying cycle and measure afterwards; the same person sees your ad as often as it works, not ten times a day.
By Svenja Müller, Strategic Team Lead Programmatic
Last updated on
What it is about and when it becomes relevant
How caps work
A frequency cap consists of two values: the maximum number of impressions for the same person and the time period, say one day or two weeks dv-freq. It can be set across inventory types, environments such as mobile, desktop and Connected TV, and individual inventory sources dv-freq.
The hierarchy is the stumbling block
The cap at insertion order level constrains the caps of the line items below it. If an insertion order allows four impressions and a line item below it three per day, the stricter setting applies to the line item dv-freq.
When it becomes relevant
With small audiences and high budget, with long campaign runtimes, and whenever several campaigns serve the same audience. The dose then adds up across campaigns without anyone seeing it.
Common mistakes and how you spot them
Cap set on only one level
How you spot itThe line item has a cap, the insertion order does not; across several line items the dose adds up because the outer bracket is missing dv-freq.
Not thought across campaigns
How you spot itThree campaigns serve the same audience with their own cap each. Added up, the same person sees far more than is set anywhere.
Set too tight
How you spot itThe budget goes unspent although reach is available. A cap set too tight brakes just as surely as a missing one harms.
Time period does not match the buying cycle
How you spot itWith long decision journeys the cap is set per day. The person sees you often on one day and never again.
How we go about it
Set from top to bottom
We set the bracket on the upper level and refine below it, because the upper cap constrains the lower ones dv-freq.
Add up across campaigns
We add the dose across every campaign that serves the same audience, instead of viewing each on its own.
Align the period with the buying cycle
The period follows your business's decision time dv-freq, not a habit from another account.
Verify the effect
We watch reach, frequency and outcome together, so it becomes visible from which point additional contacts add nothing.
Further reading
This topic belongs to Display Advertising.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I set a frequency cap?
Across all inventory types, including non-personalized inventory, across environments such as mobile, desktop and Connected TV, and for individual inventory sources dv-freq.
What happens when insertion order and line item carry different caps?
The insertion order cap constrains the caps of the line items below it. With four impressions above and three per day below, the stricter setting applies to the line item dv-freq.
How high should frequency be?
That depends on audience size, budget and buying cycle; any general number would be a guess. The usable yardstick is the point at which additional contacts stop improving the result.
Does the cap also apply to Connected TV?
Yes, frequency caps can be set across different environments, Connected TV explicitly included dv-freq.
Is this exactly where you are stuck?
Write to us about where it is stuck. Svenja Müller and the team will look at what is concretely behind it in your case, and tell you where the biggest lever sits.
Sources
Every statement about ad products comes from the official documentation of the respective platform, with the date we retrieved it. Products change; if something looks outdated to you, write to us and we will check it.
- dv-freqDisplay & Video 360-Hilfe, Manage frequency with frequency capsretrieved on 21.9.2026
Content and images on this page may have been created with AI support.