Average CPM today?

Query regarding current CPM rates in the industry.

[sfmilstead]

Thanks in advance for any responses.

I'm currently in the process of proposing a new content driven website for a large entertainment corporation. This website would serve two purposes: promote the existing product and collect ad revenues.

As a former dot-com guy for an ecom site, I've got the costs laid down pretty tightly, and I've been able to derive some traffic estimates as well by looking at competitor sites.

However, in trying to come up with a model for projected ad revenues, I'm at a loss as to what I should be putting in as an average CPM for banner ads. I've seen everything from $2 CPM for smaller companies and ad networks, to $10 for Woman's Day's online site [womansday.com] and the Las Vegas Sun, to $37.00 CPM for Wall Street Journal [advertising.wsj.com].

Does anyone have any insights as to the rhyme or reason of setting a CPM price point? We would be selling our own advertising ourselves, supplementing unsold space with an ad network. Target demographic would be Males 18-34.

Thanks again for the input.

Salud,
Sean

[rfung]

I've known of small amateurish affiliate marketing sites that pull in $40/CPM, while I've seen similarly built sites in a different industry pull in $1/CPM.

If you put this information with what you have, I think the conclusion is that 'it depends', and unless you have information on the exact niche you are interested in , then all this comparison is apples to oranges.