Cost Per Thousand (CPM) is more than just a number on your marketing report—it’s the backbone of how most digital advertising is bought and measured in 2025. As online competition heats up and privacy rules evolve, understanding CPM is crucial for any Australian business or marketer looking to maximise their ad budgets and reach the right audience.

What Is CPM and Why Does It Matter?

CPM, or ‘Cost Per Mille,’ is the price you pay for 1,000 ad impressions—meaning how often your ad is shown, not necessarily clicked. If a publisher charges $10 CPM, you pay $10 every time your ad appears 1,000 times on their platform. Whether you’re running Facebook campaigns, streaming ads on YouTube, or banners across news sites, CPM remains a universal metric for comparing costs and reach.

Why is CPM so important in 2025?

Transparency: CPM gives you a clear, apples-to-apples way to compare ad buys across platforms.
Budget Planning: Knowing your CPM helps you forecast how many people you’ll reach with your budget.
Market Trends: As more platforms introduce AI-driven ad auctions, CPM can fluctuate rapidly, making it vital to track.

How CPM Is Changing in 2025: Privacy, AI, and New Channels

The digital landscape is shifting fast, and CPM rates in 2025 reflect new realities:

Privacy Regulations: With Australia tightening its Privacy Act and following global moves like the EU’s Digital Services Act, third-party tracking cookies are disappearing. This is making targeted impressions more expensive—and driving up CPMs for premium audiences.
AI-Driven Bidding: Google, Meta, and other platforms now use machine learning to optimise ad delivery, often in real time. This can lead to more efficient CPMs for advertisers who use first-party data well, but also greater competition for high-value impressions.
Emerging Channels: Connected TV (CTV), digital audio, and in-game advertising are all gaining ground. Average CPMs for CTV in Australia reached $26–$32 in early 2025, significantly higher than traditional display ($4–$7) but often delivering deeper engagement.

For example, an Australian fintech brand launching a national streaming TV campaign in April 2025 reported CPMs of $28—double their display ads but with a 3x lift in brand recall.

Optimising Your CPM: Strategies for Australian Marketers

Chasing the lowest CPM doesn’t always deliver the best results. In 2025, savvy advertisers balance cost with quality, targeting, and overall return. Here are actionable tips:

Leverage First-Party Data: Build and use your own customer lists for targeting, which can lower CPMs on platforms like Meta and Google as privacy changes limit third-party data.
Test Emerging Channels: While CPMs may be higher on CTV or digital audio, the engagement and conversion rates often justify the premium.
Monitor Frequency: Tools now let you cap how often the same person sees your ad, reducing wasted impressions and keeping CPMs efficient.
Negotiate Direct Buys: For large campaigns, buying directly from publishers (rather than programmatic exchanges) can secure better CPMs and premium placements.

Don’t forget to benchmark your performance: compare your CPMs against industry averages, but also track cost per action (CPA) or return on ad spend (ROAS) to ensure you’re getting value—not just volume.

The Bottom Line: CPM Is Evolving—So Should Your Strategy

Cost Per Thousand remains a cornerstone metric for digital advertising, but its meaning and impact are changing in 2025. With privacy tightening and new channels emerging, Australian marketers need to go beyond the headline CPM figure. Focus on audience quality, creative engagement, and data-driven optimisation to get the most from every dollar spent.