A FREE, BI-WEEKLY E-NEWSLETTER ON THE MEDIA, ADVERTISING AND MARKETING

Sign up to access the Archives

Log in to access the Archives

Media Matters goes beyond simply reporting on current trends and hot topics to get to the heart of media, advertising and marketing issues with insightful analyses and critiques that help create a perspective on industry buzz throughout the year. It's a must-read supplement to our research annuals.

Sign up now to subscribe or access the Archives


August 15, 2016

Multi-media CPMs: Apples, Oranges…and Trends?

As many long-time Media Matters readers know, one of the topics we frequently explore is intermedia comparisons, specifically trying to move beyond the barrier of thinking "it's like comparing apples to oranges." It is true that each medium has its own strengths and weaknesses, and that sometimes these are not even crucial in media considerations. Often there are built-in biases towards one medium or another, which speak more to its perceived prestige than its ability to reach audiences in a cost-effective manner. But each medium can—and should—be compared to each other as a starting point to evaluate the best media mix for one's brand or client.

One of the simplest points of entry in the process is looking at CPMs. Granted, this doesn't address issues of merchandisability, but it is a type of shorthand that many still use in their initial exploration of relative media "values." Over the years, Media Dynamics, Inc. has published numerous estimates of typical cost-per-thousands (CPMs) paid by national advertisers for various media. However, these often reflect contemporaneous approaches to CPM calculations that do not lend themselves to trending over long periods. The nature of the media, their selling practices, audience "currencies" and the quality of their ad spending data also varied considerably from one decade to the next. As a result, we came up with more refined CPM trending analyses, which allows interested parties to evaluate the relative performance of major media over the years on a comparable basis.

CPMTrack delivers the analyses so often requested of us. It provides a year-by-year analysis of adult CPM estimates for national TV (broadcast networks, syndication and cable by dayparts), radio (network and national spot) and consumer magazines (the top 150 publications). In addition, we provide comparable estimates for 1960-1985 by five-year intervals. The 2016 edition of CPMTrack will be released September 8th, and for the first time, it will include projections for the 2016-17 TV season, as well as preliminary 2016 estimates for radio and magazines. Media Matters readers are invited to save $50 off the cover price when they pre-order this week. Use the code CPMT50 at checkout.

The table below presents a sampling of the topline data available in the 2016 edition. Readers interested in the full range of data covered should review the table of contents.


0 Comments


Post a Comment