• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, June 9, 2016

There are effective CPMs. And then there are really effective CPMs. When it comes to the 2016 Presidential campaign, the most effective CPM is about $735,000, according to political media-buying expert Michael Beach.

During a keynote presentation at MediaPost’s TV Insider Summit on Amelia Island, FL, Beach made the case that when you refine the projected $3 billion in media spending that will be allocated in the race for the White House, it ends up that it is really only there to influence a relatively small percentage of the U.S. population: about 4 million “actual” and “persuadable” voters residing in the swing states that will determine the presidency.

Beach -- who was Senior Advisor for Paid Media Optimization for the Cruz for President campaign and co-founder, political media shop Targeted Victory -- did some simple math, calculating that this ends up being about $735 spent per person.

On a CPM -- or cost-per-thousand -- basis, that is $735,000 per thousand voters influencing the election, making it one of the most costly effective CPMs ever in the history of media.