CPM is the most-used and most-misunderstood advertising metric. Why a low CPM is not automatically better and what you should actually measure.
30-second takeaway: CPM measures cost per 1,000 impressions — not the quality of those impressions. A low CPM on an irrelevant screen burns money. At adyoutiser you don't buy CPM — you buy a share of airtime on a specific screen.
What CPM actually means
CPM = (campaign cost / impressions) × 1,000
Spend €100, get 10,000 impressions, your CPM is €10. Sounds simple — and that is exactly the problem.
The three big CPM lies
Lie 1: "Lower CPM = better deal" — A €5 CPM on a screen your audience never sees costs you €5 plus opportunity loss.
Lie 2: "Impressions = attention" — In DOOH "impression" often means "anyone theoretically in line of sight". Did they look? Did they remember?
Lie 3: "Comparable across providers" — Provider A counts everyone, B counts 2-second dwell, C counts repeats. €10 CPM at A may equal €30 CPM at C.
What to measure instead
Effective Reach — Unique people exposed at minimum frequency. Visual Attention Score (VAS) — Modeled or measured attention probability. Cost per Effective Reach (CPeR) — The honest version of CPM.
Concrete example: Two Vienna screens
Vienna boutique, 7 days (made-up numbers, just for the maths):
Screen A — large train station, €5 CPM — 60,000 impressions/day, 3-sec dwell, ~6,000 attentive contacts → cost per attention: €0.07
Screen B — Innere Stadt cafe boulevard, €15 CPM — 18,000 impressions/day, 12-sec dwell, ~5,400 attentive contacts → cost per attention: €0.052
Screen B has 3× the CPM but lower cost per attention.
How we communicate CPM
We don't quote a CPM. You buy a share of airtime per screen; prices per screen and day are on /screens. From €2. One day is enough. Your dashboard shows measured plays, modelled contacts (always flagged as estimates) and the airtime share delivered. Glossary at dooh-glossar.
When is CPM useful?
As a sort filter when comparing screens, as a budget estimator. Never as the sole decision criterion.
Now run the numbers
Use dooh-rechner — see the price for your screen selection. More on pricing: dooh-werbung-kosten.
Christian Starzengruber
Founder, adyoutiser
Ich habe Adyoutiser 2025 in Wien und Bratislava gestartet, weil Bildschirmwerbung keine Agentur brauchen sollte. Wir haben ein Buchungs-Tool gebaut: Bildschirm auf der Karte auswählen, Werbung hochladen, zahlen — live in unter 5 Minuten, ab €2. Wir veröffentlichen unsere Roadmap öffentlich und antworten auf jede E-Mail innerhalb von 24 Stunden.
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