Strategy question
What are the general price ranges for ads that you have seen?
- Ask Media
- Strategy
- Easy
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What this question tests
Practical market awareness of ad pricing, checking you can speak to real ranges rather than dodge the question.
How to approach it
- Clarify the ad format and channel in question, since price ranges vary widely by display, video, search, and native.
- Frame the answer around CPM ranges you are aware of, using clearly marked assumptions rather than presenting them as precise facts.
- Give a rough range for display, an illustrative low single-digit dollar CPM for open exchange versus a higher rate for premium guaranteed placements.
- Give a rough range for video, generally higher CPMs than display given higher production and attention value.
- Note the variables that move price the most: audience targeting precision, seasonality, and inventory scarcity.
- Acknowledge that exact numbers vary by market and platform, and offer to reason through a specific scenario if the interviewer has one in mind.
What a strong answer includes
- Clearly labels all numbers as illustrative estimates rather than claiming precise market data.
- Explains why video and connected TV command higher CPMs than standard display, tying it to attention and completion rates.
- Mentions seasonality, for example holiday quarter CPMs rising due to advertiser demand, as a driver of price range.
- Shows judgment by noting that guaranteed premium inventory prices well above open exchange rates.
Common mistakes
- Stating exact dollar figures as if they were verified facts rather than estimates.
- Giving one flat number for all ad formats without distinguishing display, video, and native.
- Ignoring the effect of targeting precision and seasonality on price.
Likely follow-up questions
- Why would video CPMs typically be higher than display CPMs?
- How would seasonality change your pricing recommendation for Q4?
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More questions from Ask Media
Learn the skill behind it
Chapters of the AI PM course that teach what this question tests.
- Chapter 4: Discovery and strategy for AI products
- Chapter 9: Prove it paid off: outcomes, economics, and pricing
- Chapter 14: Get the job: the AI PM interview loop