Planning guide
CPM, and how to
compare media honestly.
What cost per thousand means in out-of-home, how to calculate it for any format, and how to spot the assumptions vendors bury inside a flattering number.
Short answer
CPM is the cost of one thousand advertising impressions: total campaign cost divided by impressions, multiplied by one thousand. It is the only way to compare a billboard against transit against bike advertising, because it normalises for wildly different unit prices. The catch is that in outdoor, impressions are almost always modelled rather than counted — so a CPM is only as trustworthy as the assumptions under it.
| Step | What to ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cost | Does this include production, install and design? | Excluded costs quietly inflate the real CPM |
| 2. Impressions | Counted, modelled, or estimated? | Modelled numbers are assumptions, not delivery |
| 3. Duration | Over what period? | Longer flights spread the same cost further |
| 4. Audience | What share is your actual target? | Wasted reach makes a good CPM meaningless |
Ranges for other formats are commonly published US market figures collected for planning comparison — they are indicative, vary widely by market and vendor, and are not quotes. The bicycle seat cover rate is ours.
The formula
CPM = (total campaign cost ÷ total impressions) × 1,000. A $1,200 campaign that delivers 4,000,000 impressions has a CPM of $0.30. Run the same arithmetic on every quote you get, using the total cost including production, and the comparison gets a lot clearer.
How we model bike campaigns, stated plainly
We assume roughly 80 street-level views per cover per day, drawn from typical rider mileage and sidewalk footfall in the districts we distribute in. Delivery-rider fleets index higher because riders are out longer; parked-heavy campus runs behave differently again.
These are planning estimates, not audited delivery, and we label them that way everywhere on this site. We confirm the range for your specific market before you commit, and for campaigns that need hard attribution we add a QR code or short link to the creative.
Why lifespan belongs in the calculation
A four-week billboard has a hard stop. A cover keeps working while the rider keeps using it, so impressions accumulate past the notional campaign window. That tail is real, but it is not guaranteed — treat it as upside rather than as the basis of a plan.
From $1.20 per cover, 250 minimum. Managed campaigns from 1,000+ bikes.
Estimate my campaign →Campaign Estimator
Price your own
campaign in a minute.
Five questions gets you a campaign shape, an estimated exposure range and an indicative budget band. A media planner reads every brief.
Estimates use an illustrative model of ~80 street-level views per cover per day. They are planning ranges, not guaranteed delivery.
FAQ
Questions buyers ask.
What is a good CPM for outdoor advertising?
It varies by market and format, and any single benchmark number should be treated with suspicion. The useful exercise is comparing like-for-like quotes you have actually received, with production included on both sides.
Are outdoor impression figures reliable?
They are models built from traffic and footfall data. That makes them useful for planning and unsuitable as proof of delivery. Ask any vendor, including us, whether a figure is counted or modelled.
How do I measure results from a bike campaign?
Put a QR code or a short vanity URL on the cover and track scans, and run a simple brand-awareness check in the target district before and after the flight.
What CPM does a bike campaign model to?
Use the estimator below: it gives an indicative budget band and an illustrative exposure range for your run size and duration, which is everything you need to compute the modelled CPM yourself.