To Make TV Ad Buy Analysis More Effective, SMI Adds 'Effective CPMs'

In preparation for more sophisticated forms of linear TV advertising sales, syndicated ad-spending research firm Standard Media Index is adding so-called "effective CPMs," or eCPMs, to its database.

The eCPMs are an estimate of the explicit cost of delivering the advertiser's target audience. They are calculated by dividing the cost of the ad by the actual audience delivered, excluding so-called "bonus weight," makegoods, etc.

To illustrate the value of analyzing eCPM data, SMI provided MediaPost with the samples you see here, including the one at top showing the average cost-per-thousand of reaching adult 18- to 49-year-old viewers in various broadcast and cable dayparts and tiers, as well as the one below showing comparable costs for women 25-54 in network prime time vs. live televised NFL games.

Those demos were provided for illustrative purposes, and may or may not be the type of audience an advertiser might actually be targeting or have their ad buys guaranteed on -- but they make the point, showing how much more cost-effective targeting women in prime-time vs. NFL coverage is, as an example.

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While SMI has had this capability for some time, President Ben Tatta said it is rolling it out now, because the nature of linear TV advertising buys and delivery are evolving quickly.

“With the growth of addressable and data-driven linear we felt the timing was right for introducing impressions-based pricing for TV," he says.

7 comments about "To Make TV Ad Buy Analysis More Effective, SMI Adds 'Effective CPMs'".
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  1. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, May 13, 2021 at 1:31 p.m.

    Interesting, Joe. Unfortunately, without the other CPMs---including bonus spots, make goods, etc-- as a basis for comparison, it's difficult to interpret such stats. Certainly, SMI isn't saying that the bonus/makegood announcements are of no value. Or even that they have less value---if the targeted consumer is really reached. This is especially true for cable where the so-called "tiers" are  based almost entirely on rating levels--not program  quality, viewer attentiveness or the amount of ad clutter.  Channels with the lowest ratings simply earn fewer bucks per viewer "impression".

  2. Ben Tatta from SMI, May 13, 2021 at 2:08 p.m.

    You're exactly right Ed.  SMI's linear eCPM data includes key dimensions such as paid, unpaid, upfront, scatter, direct-response, etc.  This gives media buyers & sellers the ability to toggle on/off any of the dimensions they'd like to examine i.e. understanding how effective CPMs change when factoring for unpaid units, etc.    

  3. Ed Papazian from Media Dynamics Inc, May 13, 2021 at 2:53 p.m.

    Sounds like a valuable tool, Ben. Thanks.

  4. Ben Tatta from SMI, May 13, 2021 at 2:54 p.m.

    Thanks very much Ed!

  5. Tracey Scheppach from Matter More Media, May 14, 2021 at 1:30 p.m.

    OMG Ben, what a gift!!! The industry needs exactly this type of tool to evolve. Kudos to you for making this happen.

  6. Ben Tatta from SMI replied, May 14, 2021 at 1:45 p.m.

    Thanks Tracey!   Just an extension of all the great ideas you and I kicked around 10 years ago :)

  7. John Grono from GAP Research, May 14, 2021 at 6:31 p.m.

    I concur with the above comments, and being a proud Aussie, I'm glad how well SMI has been accepted and adopted in the US

    And kudos particularly to Jane and James for taking SMI global.

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