Cost Per Rating Point (CPP)
How much it costs to buy one rating point of audience.
Formula
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Example
$60,000 for 120 GRPs → CPP = $500
How it works
Cost Per Rating Point (CPP) tells you the average amount of money spent to generate one gross rating point of media exposure. It works by dividing the total campaign cost by the total GRPs delivered, so if two campaigns have different budgets but one delivers more audience weight, CPP lets you compare how efficiently each campaign bought reach and frequency. A lower CPP generally means you paid less for each unit of audience delivery.
When to use it
Use CPP when evaluating TV, radio, or other mass-media buys where performance is reported in GRPs. It is especially useful for comparing media plans, negotiating with vendors, or checking whether one campaign bought audience exposure more efficiently than another.
Worked example, step by step
Suppose a campaign costs $84,000 and delivers 168 GRPs. CPP = Cost / GRP CPP = 84,000 / 168 CPP = 500 So the cost per rating point is $500 per GRP.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Using audience reach instead of GRPs in the denominator
- Forgetting that CPP is an average cost per point, not the total campaign cost
- Comparing CPPs across campaigns without considering whether the GRPs came from the same market, channel, or time period
Did You Know?
CPP lets planners compare the efficiency of different channels and dayparts.
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