Always-on versus burst describes two ways of scheduling marketing over time: always-on keeps activity running continuously at a steady level, while a burst concentrates spend into a short, intense period and then goes quiet. Most real plans mix the two, which media planners call flighting or pulsing.
How always-on versus burst works
An always-on plan keeps a channel running every week of the year. Search ads for an emergency locksmith are a typical example: people need the service at any hour, so the ads should be there whenever they search. Always-on also suits evergreen SEO content, retargeting and regular social posting.
A burst puts a large share of budget into a few weeks. Burst is the standard term in UK media planning for television, radio and out-of-home, where advertisers buy concentrated campaigns around a launch, a sale or a season. A garden centre might burst in March and April; a tax adviser in early January, ahead of the 31 January Self Assessment deadline.
Flighting alternates bursts with complete gaps. Pulsing keeps a low always-on base and adds heavier bursts on top at key moments. Pulsing suits many digital plans because it avoids going completely dark while still concentrating weight when it counts.
The trade-off is about frequency and memory. A burst delivers enough repetition in a short time to be noticed and remembered. Always-on spreads the same money more thinly, which keeps you present but may never reach the frequency needed to stand out. Memory fades between bursts, so very long gaps can waste the effect.
Why it matters
Getting the schedule wrong wastes money in both directions. A small business spreading £1,500 a month evenly on Meta across a large audience may reach each person so rarely that nobody recalls the ads. The same money concentrated into the six weeks before its peak season could reach the point where people start to notice.
The opposite error is just as common. Businesses that switch search ads off between promotions lose demand that was there all along, and when they restart, automated bidding needs time to relearn. Demand that arrives every day should be met every day.
UK seasonality drives much of the choice: Black Friday and Christmas for retail, January for gyms and accountants, spring for home improvement, late winter for summer holiday bookings. Knowing when your customers decide is the starting point.
Common mistakes
- Bursting on channels that capture existing demand, such as search, and going dark while people are still searching.
- Running a burst too small to reach meaningful frequency, so it behaves like a weak always-on campaign.
- Pausing and restarting automated campaigns repeatedly, which resets their learning.
- Ignoring audience saturation in a long always-on campaign aimed at a small audience.
- Timing bursts around the business’s own calendar rather than when customers make decisions.
How to act on it
Split your activity by job. Channels that catch people already looking, such as search ads, Google Business Profile and SEO, generally stay always-on. Channels that create demand, such as video, display, paid social and offline media, can be scheduled in bursts or pulses around the moments your customers decide.
Map your buying year first. Use your own enquiry and sales data by month, plus Google Trends for your main terms, to find the peaks. Start bursts a few weeks before each peak, because consideration begins before purchase. During the burst, watch frequency and budget pacing so the money is actually spent inside the window you planned. Between bursts, keep a low base running if your audience is large enough to stay fresh.
Afterwards, compare the burst period with the same weeks in earlier years and with a quiet period, looking at branded search, direct traffic and enquiries. Building that kind of channel calendar is part of my marketing strategy consulting.