cost per thousand

Definition

The cost to deliver 1,000 ad impressions, abbreviated as CPM where 'M' is the Roman numeral for 1,000 because marketing loves needlessly confusing acronyms. It's the pricing model that treats eyeballs as commodities.

Example Usage

We're paying a $12 CPM for banner ads that nobody clicks, but at least we're efficiently wasting money at scale.

Origin

Broadcasting and print advertising term from the early-to-mid 20th century, adopted by digital advertising in the 1990s.

Fun Fact

The very first web banner ad in 1994 cost about $30 CPM, while today's average is around $2.80, proving digital ad inventory became worthless.

Source: Media buying and advertising pricing terminology

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