What a $5m Super Bowl ad can buy in digital media in 2019
Another year, another Super Bowl, another chance to gawk at ridiculously expensive ads. This year, running a single spot in the Super Bowl went for between $5 million and $5.3 million. Having regrets or feel relieved not to have made the huge purchase?
Maybe this will help: Here’s everything else online you could afford instead of a $5 million single spot. (See our previous tallies here, here and here.
6.3 million paid clicks on sponsored Amazon ads
Not all people will be completely tuned into the TV come Super Bowl Sunday. Some might be browsing online or buying football jerseys ahead of time. The cost-per-click rate for sponsored ads on Amazon falls between $0.80 and $3, according to ad buyers. With $5 million, you could see anywhere from 6.3 million clicks on Amazon to 1.6 million clicks.
2.5 million paid clicks on Amazon search ads
For Amazon search ads, the cost-per-click rate lies around $2. With that $5 million, you could generate 2.5 million paid clicks.
1.7 billion impressions on either Instagram or Facebook
On Facebook and Instagram, ad buyers see $3 to $5 CPMs across in-feed ads and Stories. That means with a $5 million budget, you could generate between 1 to 1.7 billion impressions on either platform.
2.5 billion impressions on Snapchat
Ad buyers say CPMs on Snapchat currently range from $2 to $3, so if you have $5 million to spare, you can get between 1.7 billion and $2.5 billion impressions on Snapchat.
172,414 Shopify storefronts
A basic Shopify account starts at $29 a month and includes a website, blog, seller support and the ability to sell on channels like Amazon, Instagram and Facebook. With $5 million, you could launch 172,414 businesses for one month or 14,367 businesses for a year. That’s a lot of online real estate.
195 ads on TED Radio Hour
A 60-second host-read endorsement during the TED Radio Hour podcast, a high-cost podcast, goes for $25,650 per episode and generates 1.4 million impressions, according to Dan Granger at agency Oxford Road. Putting $5 million toward that, you could air 195 ads on the popular podcast and generate 263.3 million impressions. For mid-tier cost podcast Best of Barstool Radio, a similar ad goes for $3,500 an episode and generates 150,000 impressions, Granger said. For a $5 million Super Bowl budget, you could air 1,429 ads and bring in 214.3 million impressions.
1.7 billion impressions on Pinterest
Promoted pins on Pinterest range from $3 to $4 CPM, according to ad buyers. A budget of $5 million can get you between 1.25 billion to 1.7 billion impressions on Pinterest.
625 million impressions on LinkedIn
The CPMs on LinkedIn might be higher than other platforms, but with $5 million, you can do a lot of damage. Ad buyers see CPMs on the platform around $8 to $12, and with $5 million, that comes to 417 million to 625 million impressions.
1.7 billion impressions on Reddit
Ad buyers say CPMs on Reddit fall between $3 to $5. With $5 million, you can generate between 1 billion and 1.7 billion impressions, similar to Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram.
100 Twitch campaigns
In September, Twitch becomes a little friendlier toward advertisers. Advertisers have to spend at least $50,000 for programmatic video campaigns. With $5 million, that comes to a neat 100 campaigns you can launch on the platform.
500 million impressions on connected TV
For those leaning toward the connected TV over linear TV, expensive Super Bowl ads stand as perfect examples of the peak differences in price. The simplest way to compare is to look at the cost per impressions from both formats. One Super Bowl spot can drive 110 million impressions, according to Philip Inghelbrecht, co-founder and CEO of media buying company Tatari. A $5 million spot comes to $50 CPM. A connected TV ad can be bought for about five times lower, around $10 CPM, according to Inghelbrecht. So a $5 million spot could buy you 500 million impressions. Of course, it would be difficult to even get 500 million CTV impressions, said Inghelbrecht. “It will take a while to find enough inventory and then deliver them all, possibly weeks,” he said.
20 Instagram posts from Kendall Jenner
According to both Fyre Festival documentaries this past week, Kendall Jenner was paid $250,000 to post on Instagram once promoting the Fyre Festival. With a budget of $5 million, you could get Jenner to post 20 times to her 103 million followers on the platform.
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