Audience Planning
Part of Gaming campaign economics
Comparing gaming CPMs with qualified reach
Compare gaming CPM quotes against distinct eligible Australian reach, with a worked example and the limits of reach estimates.
Define the audience each proposal could reach under the same brief, then compare gaming CPMs. CPM prices a thousand counted impressions. Qualified reach counts distinct eligible recipients under a stated method and period. A lower CPM can therefore be a more expensive way to reach the audience you need.
Set a common qualification rule
For an Australian campaign, specify location signal, approved games, devices, placement and dates. Name the reach unit: people, households, accounts or devices. Ask how the seller removes overlap across games and devices. If that method is unavailable, keep unlike units separate.
Use comparable impression definitions and buying terms. Request the same qualification rule and period for both forecasts. If visibility matters, ask whether the seller can report distinct recipients of viewable impressions. A viewability percentage applied to ordinary reach does not establish viewable people or devices.
Key Metrics for Australian Gaming Campaigns
- Eligible audience unit
- People, households, accounts or devices
- Common qualification rule
- Location signal, approved games, devices, placement and dates
- Viewability reporting
- Must distinguish visibility from delivery
- Deduplication method
- Required to remove overlap across games and devices
Calculate impression cost and reach cost
For a CPM quote, billable impressions ÷ 1,000 × CPM gives media cost. Where a seller supports a distinct qualified-reach estimate, media cost ÷ qualified reached units × 1,000 gives media cost per thousand qualified reached units. Name the unit. This second ratio is an analytical comparison, not the seller's billing rate.
The following figures are hypothetical arithmetic, not market prices or forecasts:
| Proposal | Billable impressions | CPM | Media cost | Qualified device reach | Media cost per 1,000 qualified devices |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 100,000 | AUD $10 | AUD $1,000 | 20,000 | AUD $50 |
| B | 80,000 | AUD $15 | AUD $1,200 | 40,000 | AUD $30 |
B costs more per impression but less per qualified device reached. That conclusion depends on comparable eligibility, deduplication, counting and periods. Include creative and measurement costs separately when comparing whole campaigns.
Check the gaps before choosing
Ask how much forecast delivery is ineligible or unclassified. A game's player total cannot fill a gap in placement-level reach. Ask for expected frequency: extra impressions on the same device do not add a newly reached device.
Ask what evidence supports an impression count and whether the measurement distinguishes visibility from delivery. Compare the applicable measurement; do not treat unknown visibility as viewable.
Use CPM to compare the price of counted inventory. For an audience-reach objective, use cost per qualified reached unit only when both estimates support that comparison. If one seller cannot establish qualified reach, report the priced impressions and the evidence gap instead of inventing a reach-efficiency figure.
