A commercial rate for a 30-second spot inside the Daytona 500 telecast topped out at $600,000. That would have been a cost per thousand viewers at $36 if the ratings equaled the 2013 highs. But they didn’t. According to Forbes, the expected number was 16.7 million and, instead, they peaked at 11.5 million. That’s down more than 30 percent or a CPM of about $33.
So, you see, it’s cheaper on a cost per viewer basis to control your own messaging and aim your message to communities who might buy your product. I imagine that Red Bull is more popular among the younger people using Facebook than the older crowd watching a 3.5 hour race on FOX.
And that doesn’t include the production costs of creating the spot. In the case of the car sliding down the hill, there were few costs beyond getting the car there, servicing it and taking it back home. It’s easy to imagine the number of people who will see all the Red Bull branding over the next week or so could top the 12 million who watched the Daytona 500.
I said all that to say that viewers aren’t the only people cutting the cord with broadcast television. Advertisers are also leaving, at least the smart ones who can reach defined audiences somewhere else.
