Dictionary of Marketing Terms: penetration
penetration
measure of the degree to which a product or promotion has reached the individuals in a geographic area or market. For example, an ethnic food product such as taco sauce would have a high penetration in Texas or New Mexico and a low penetration in New England. However, if it is a popular brand of taco sauce it could have a high penetration in the taco sauce market (consumers of Mexican food) within New England. Similarly, a Yiddish radio program would have a higher penetration in New York City than in upper New York State. The ultimate high-penetration advertising campaign is the one employed by Coca-Cola, which reaches a great number of people in virtually every region of the world.
