What is CPRP in advertising?

The cost-per-reach point (CPRP) is the cost of achieving a 1% gross rating point (GRP), or 1% of all households with access to television. The gross rating point formula is a simple calculation of the cost of the advertisement, divided by the GRP percentage number. CPRP is a standard measurement of a linear TV ad campaign performance, and helps advertisers evaluate whether the ad slot purchase was cost-effective or not. This evaluation can be helpful information for networks at the Upfronts, who use high CPRP results from previous season’s ad campaigns as leverage in price negotiations for the next season’s ad slots.

What is a gross rating point?

Cost per rating point is inherently based in the calculation of gross rating points (GRPs). GRPs are sticky and weighted, ultimately measured with consideration for how long an ad was watched. In order to achieve a full point, the ad needs to be watched to near completion by 1% of households.

CPRP is, like many of the standard measurement systems in TV advertising, an estimate. While CPRP evaluates the exact cost of exposure, exposure itself is based on a household-by-household basis and not on individuals. Therefore, while a household may view an ad, there could be, for example, a football viewing party in the household, which means the ad actually engaged 10 sets of eyeballs. The exact individual impressions – whether it is watching on a connected TV (CTV) or a more traditional one – is impossible to pinpoint, but exposure by household or account is a close metric for the industry.

Because CPRP is calculated based on all households with access to television, it is often useful to also look at audience demographic information. It is valuable information for advertisers to consider how their target audience aligns – or misaligns – with who actually opts to watch their ad.'

For example: Was there an age group who was not targeted who actually tends to tune in during the ad’s run time? If people aged 65+ were not targeted during a 7a.m.- 8a.m. ad slot, yet many households in that age group in fact tuned in during that slot, how much exposure was missed? When running a second campaign to increase audience reach, or to scale, including that demographic in the target audience can snag more gross rating points, and thus a higher CPRP.

In any advertising campaign, the cost per reach is paramount to measuring success. However, advertisers cannot be remiss to forget the qualitative value of each household who is reached by an ad. Anyone looking to run a TV advertisement needs a trusted audience target development partner to ensure that their ad dollars are going towards the prospects most likely to convert into customers, not just happenstance viewers.

Without a defined audience, and with disregard for who makes a valuable customer, many ads may reach households who aren’t interested in the product, and serve them campaign-over-campaign simply because it’s airing on a hot network or a prime-time slot.

Our proprietary TV+® planning and buying platform has a solution for that. TV+ runs all the possibilities through its algorithm to consider demographic factors and viewing behaviors that match the model customer, while also considering less top-of-mind time slots and networks where those model customers may be found. This eliminates the possibility that a mismatched household will be served an ad; that a mismatched household will receive the same ad repetitively, as is the case with campaigns with aimless frequency; and, finally, that ad dollars aren’t spent through the lifecycle of a campaign without consideration for how it is performing along the way.

Ultimately, the cost-per-impression measured by our technology allows for the most cost-effective solution to linear TV and CTV advertising. While the cost per reach point (CPRP) does offer a view of the ad’s exposure, it does little to predict how those exposures may lead to direct sales in the way that audience targeting and campaign pivoting can provide.