Digital Out-of-Home CPM Calculator (DOOH)

Calculate digital outdoor advertising media and traffic dual-level cost-effectiveness, supports bidirectional media CPM and traffic CPM conversion.

Suitable For：Marketing、PR｜Metric Type：Impressions、Cost

🔢 Conversion Coefficient

multiplier

Provided by media, used to convert media impressions and traffic impressions (required)

Budget

$

Optional, used with CPM to calculate impressions, or with impressions to calculate CPM

Media Level Data

times

Actual screen plays, can use helper tool below

$

Cost per thousand media impressions (provided by media)

👥 Traffic Level Data

times

Actual people reached (media impressions × Multiplier)

$

Cost per thousand traffic impressions (media CPM ÷ Multiplier)

Result: Waiting for input
Please enter values above and click the "Calculate" button. Results will be displayed here.

How to Use This DOOH CPM Calculator

Using this digital outdoor advertising CPM calculator requires understanding the dual-level concept, follow these steps:

  1. Enter Multiplier (required):Fill in media-provided traffic multiplier, used to convert media and traffic impressions
  2. Choose Calculation Level:Media level (calculate play cost) or audience level (calculate actual viewing cost, requires DEC)
  3. Enter Known Values:Fill in any two of three fields at that level (budget, impressions, CPM)
  4. Optional DEC Data:To calculate audience CPM, need to enter location's daily effective circulation (DEC)

What is DOOH CPM?

DOOH is "Digital Out-of-Home," referring to digital outdoor advertising like elevator electronic billboards, mall LED screens, bus stop digital ads. DOOH CPM is unique in "dual-level calculation": media level (screen plays) and traffic level (actual reach). Through Multiplier (traffic multiplier), can convert media impressions to traffic impressions, e.g., Multiplier 10 means 1 screen play reaches 10 people.

Dual-Level Calculation System

DOOH advertising uses dual pricing model of media fees + audience data

Media Level

  • Number of times ad plays on screen
  • Similar to traditional outdoor advertising play fees
  • Does not consider actual viewers

Audience Level

  • People who actually see ad (DEC × plays)
  • Adds traffic data and device sensing technology
  • More precisely reflects actual exposure effectiveness

Play Count Multiplier

Number of times one ad plays on one screen daily, depends on campaign length and rotation frequency.

DOOH CPM Calculation Formulas

1. Media Level → Traffic Level Conversion

Traffic Impressions = Media Impressions × Multiplier Traffic CPM = Media CPM ÷ Multiplier

Example: Media impressions 200,000, Multiplier 10, media CPM $500 Traffic Impressions = 200,000 × 10 = 2,000,000 times Traffic CPM = 500 ÷ 10 = $50

Media Impressions = Traffic Impressions ÷ Multiplier Media CPM = Traffic CPM × Multiplier

Example: Traffic impressions 2,000,000, Multiplier 10, traffic CPM $50 Media Impressions = 2,000,000 ÷ 10 = 200,000 times Media CPM = 50 × 10 = $500

3. Budget and Impressions Relationship

Impressions = (Budget ÷ CPM) × 1,000 Budget = (CPM × Impressions) ÷ 1,000 CPM = (Budget ÷ Impressions) × 1,000

Example: Budget $100,000, media CPM $500 Media Impressions = (100,000 ÷ 500) × 1,000 = 200,000 times

Audience CPM = Media Cost ÷ (DEC × Plays ÷ 1000)

Example: Media cost $50,000, DEC 20,000, 100 plays Audience CPM = 50,000 ÷ (20,000 × 100 ÷ 1000) = $25

Total Impression Count

Total Impressions = DEC × Plays × Days

Effective Reach = Total Impressions × Unique Rate

Unique rate typically 60-80% (depends on location and time)

Example: DEC 20,000, 100 plays daily, 7 days campaign Total Impressions = 20,000 × 100 × 7 = 14,000,000 people

Why Calculate DOOH CPM?

Understanding DOOH CPM is critical for digital outdoor advertising investment decisions. Through dual-level CPM calculation, you can:

  • Compare Media Effectiveness:Uniformly use traffic CPM to compare different DOOH media (elevator, mall, bus stop) effectiveness
  • Cross-Media Comparison:Compare DOOH traffic CPM with digital ads (Facebook, Google)
  • Evaluate Investment Value:Understand actual reach and cost, determine if ad investment is reasonable
  • Budget Planning:Based on target traffic impressions and budget, plan appropriate delivery mix

DOOH CPM Related Terms

DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home)
Digital outdoor advertising, using electronic screens for outdoor ads, can update in real-time, rotate multiple ads.
Media Impressions
Actual times screen plays ad, does not consider viewers.
Audience Impressions (Traffic Impressions)
Actual people reached, calculated as: media impressions × Multiplier.
Play Count Multiplier
Number of times one ad plays on screen daily, affects total impressions.
Loop
Mechanism where multiple ads rotate on same screen. Plays = total campaign length ÷ single loop time.
Programmatic Buying
DOOH through automated systems for real-time bidding on ad slots, can dynamically adjust by time, weather, traffic.
DSP (Demand-Side Platform)
Demand-side platform, allows advertisers to programmatically buy DOOH ad slots.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How is Multiplier calculated?

A: Multiplier usually provided by media vendor, calculated as: average viewers per play. E.g., elevator averages 5 people each time, Multiplier is 5. Different media have vastly different Multipliers: elevators ~3-8, malls ~50-200, outdoor large screens ~500-2000. Higher Multiplier means better reach per play.

Q: Should I compare using media CPM or traffic CPM?

A: Recommend using traffic CPM for comparison, as it reflects actual reach, closer to digital advertising CPM concept. Media CPM only reflects plays, cannot directly compare different media effectiveness. E.g., elevator media CPM $500 ÷ Multiplier 5 = traffic CPM $100, then comparable with Facebook CPM (~$150-300).

Q: What is reasonable DOOH traffic CPM?

A: DOOH traffic CPM varies by media type. Generally: elevator media ~$50-150, mall screens ~$30-80, outdoor large screens ~$10-30, bus stops ~$40-100. Compared to digital advertising (Facebook ~$150-300), DOOH traffic CPM usually lower but audience precision also lower.

Q: Are this calculator's results accurate?

A: This calculator uses standard DOOH CPM formulas, calculation logic is accurate. However actual effectiveness depends on Multiplier accuracy, recommend requesting calculation basis from media vendor (like field survey reports). Additionally, DOOH effectiveness also affected by ad content, play timing, audience attention. Recommend using CPM as baseline metric, combine with actual effectiveness tracking (brand search volume, store visits) for comprehensive evaluation.