The Out-of-Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA) has released an analysis of the cost efficiency of any “major” advertising media — including broadcast and cable TV, traditional radio and the hot arena of Podcasting.
What’s the CPM assessment for these media compared to others?
With median CPMs in the $2 range, digital display and out-of-home transit shelter ads are the most cost-efficient of any major advertising media.
That said, the source is the advocacy group dedicated to the growth and health of out-of-home ads.
To dispel any sense that OAAA is engaged in a marketing push disguised as research, the organization hired financial advisory firm Solomon Partners to conduct the study.
How did it come up with the results? It scoured through publicly traded media company Securities and Exchange Commission filings, news reports, and “research and other industry sources” as of January 2022. “It reveals a remarkable range of advertising costs, within mediums, as well as across the overall major media landscape,” OAAA notes.
With a median CPM of $46.82, print newspaper ads are the most expensive medium overall, according to the analysis.
Given the downfall of the daily newspaper, such an investment may seem folly to some media observers.
The second most-costly medium is prime-time broadcast TV, with a median CPM of $36.
By comparison, non-primetime broadcast TV has a median CPM of just $20, illustrating the networks’ continued tug of war with marketers eager to reach an ever-declining audience of over-the-air viewers outside of live events.
The prime-time CPM story is still a strong one, however, in particular when viewing the comparable CPMs to Cable TV.
Then, there is Radio, with a CPM of $6.75. Given the mobile and OOH CPM ranges shown in the chart below, compared to OTT and both mobile and desktop video, Radio’s CPM stands tall as one of the most cost-efficient major advertising media in the U.S.
Interestingly, the data dispel the notion that OTT (over-the-top television) currently has the most expensive CPMs. But, with a median CPM of $30, it isn’t far off.
The analysis did not explicitly cover breakouts for Connected TV, streaming services, and such. That said, with CPMs for desktop video at $10.64 and mobile video at $10.47, these are currently are among the most expensive media buys.
The report did not cover social media advertising costs.
In the OOH category, out-of-home media ranging from transit shelters on the low-end to digital place-based media buys on the high end were seen as affirmations of out-of-home’s “critical role in the media mix” — one that the radio industry’s leaders and the Radio Advertising Bureau may wish to tout, too.
