What is cost per view (CPV)?

Cost per view (CPV) is a pricing model in which an advertiser is charged for every view their video ad receives.

Unlike other bidding methods, such as cost per thousand (CPM), cost per view requires viewers to engage with an advertisement or spend a certain amount of time watching it. This is a welcome perk for advertisers. In the chance a campaign does not perform well and viewers immediately click out of an ad, the advertiser is not charged.

How does a cost per view ad work?

When setting up a CPV ad campaign, advertisers specify how much they are willing to pay each time their ad is viewed. This amount is typically determined by the value they place on the exposure and the engagement they expect from their target audience. The ad is then served to potential viewers, and the advertiser is charged when the ad is watched for a specified duration or when a viewer interacts with it, such as by clicking on a link within the ad.

The cost for each view in a CPV campaign can vary widely due to factors such as the ad's placement, the video content's appeal, and the level of viewer engagement. The focus is on the viewer's engagement with the video content. Advertisers might expect to pay anywhere from a few cents to several dollars per view, depending on these factors. The CPV model allows advertisers to budget for actual viewer engagement, making it a potentially cost-effective way to measure the impact of their advertising efforts.

How do I measure cost per view?

The cost per view formula is as follows: CPV = advertising cost/video views

The definition of a video view varies on the source. Google’s TrueView system for distributing YouTube-based advertisements is commonly used by advertisers. In this instance, Google defines a view as a viewer who interacts with or watches the first 30 seconds of a video ad. Twitter, on the other hand, defines a view as two seconds of watching with at least half of the video on-screen.

Other platforms have taken hold of this bidding model, too. TikTok, for instance, now offers CPV bidding, which is defined as a viewer who watches 6 seconds of a video longer than 30 seconds, the entirety of a video shorter than 30 seconds or an interaction with a video.

What’s the difference between CPV and CPM?

While cost per thousand (CPM) refers to the price of 1,000 ad impressions, CPV determines the price of a single view. Cost per impression can be applied to any type of advertisement, whereas CPV is used solely for video ads.

How can Simulmedia help cut down on CPV costs?

One way to offset the risk of getting a high CPV when targeting prospects is to make sure you have clearly defined your target audience. Simulmedia’s TV+® platform takes a data-first approach to gathering audience data that goes beyond the minimalistic basics of sex, age, location attributes. By looking at more and more specific identifiers, advertisers can create defined target audiences, and from there increase attribution by building look-alike audiences, which are audiences with similar potential to engage. That way, when you take your campaign to scale, you won’t have to settle for simply increasing frequency and potentially numbing users to your ads.