cost per mille

Definition

The cost per thousand impressions in advertising, from the Latin 'mille' meaning thousand. It's the pricing model where you pay for eyeballs, whether or not those eyeballs care about what they're seeing.

Example Usage

We're paying a $12 CPM, which means every thousand people who scroll past our ad costs us twelve dollars we'll never see again.

Origin

Borrowed from Latin via traditional print advertising, where circulation numbers made thousand-unit pricing practical

Fun Fact

Despite being called 'cost per mille,' everyone pronounces it 'cost per M' and just accepts that we're using Roman numerals for our digital advertising metrics.

Source: Standard advertising pricing terminology

Related Terms

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cart abandonment rate

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Advanced

boomerang effect

When a marketing message achieves the exact opposite of its intended effect, causing the audience to reject the brand or idea being promoted. The marketing version of telling someone not to think about pink elephants.

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emotional triggers

Psychological hot buttons marketers press to provoke specific emotional responses that drive action—fear, joy, anger, or FOMO. The puppet strings of persuasion, ethically questionable but demonstrably effective.

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brand positioning

The deliberate crafting of how a brand occupies a distinct place in the consumer's mind relative to competitors, usually involving flowery language about being 'authentic' and 'innovative.' It's astrology for products, except with focus groups.

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Advanced

Omnichannel

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brand

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