Separate a playable’s shared build cost from per-network adaptation
A playable used in several placements has shared production work and destination-specific adaptation. A reproducible illustrative example with editable inputs and explicit limits.
A playable used in several placements has shared production work and destination-specific adaptation. Dividing the entire project price by a hoped-for number of deployments can conceal the work that repeats. This worksheet keeps common build costs separate from the adaptation required each time.
Define the calculation before using it
Enter shared build cost, confirmed deployments and adaptation cost per deployment. Add repeated adaptation work to common cost, then divide by the deployment count. Use comparable confirmed adaptations, not every network logo in a sales deck. Represent a materially different destination as a separate cost when necessary.
Work through the synthetic example
A synthetic project with a 4,000-unit build, four deployments and 500 of adaptation each costs 6,000 in total, or 1,500 per deployment. Adding a deployment changes both numerator and divisor. The extra version does not become free merely because the original playable already exists.
| Output | Worked-example result |
|---|---|
| Total production cost | 6000.0000 |
| Average per deployment | 1500.0000 |
Use the artifact and preserve its assumptions
Open the editable calculator to change the inputs and inspect the sensitivity view. The CSV records synthetic inputs and expected outputs; the JSON fixture keeps the equations available for reproduction. These calculations have been checked against the stated example. No measured campaign data is included.
The sensitivity rows vary only deployments by 20% below and above the entered value. They are scenarios, not confidence limits or a forecast distribution. A row outside the model’s constraints is labelled rather than turned into a plausible-looking result. Save the chosen inputs with the decision so another reader can distinguish a changed assumption from a changed formula.
Evidence and limits
Google distinguishes served cost from billed cost after adjustments. Choose and document the cost basis used in this worksheet; its production, contribution and cash assumptions are our teaching examples, not provider benchmarks. See Manage your spend in Google Ads, especially “Access your billing and cost data; View costs from reports”.
Licensing, maintenance, rejections and unequal adaptation difficulty are excluded unless entered. This calculation does not certify any network specification or build acceptance.
Background: A Creative Brief Template That Playable Teams Actually Use and Playable ad file size budgets by network. These existing articles provide context; the present calculation does not verify every archived claim.
