Glossary A–ZLetter S
Slot allocation
Slot allocation describes which ad slots in a network are taken by which campaigns during a given period.
It is usually recorded in an allocation plan that shows, for each site, day and slot, what has been booked. The plan shows what is still free to sell.
If an advertiser books one slot in the loop of twenty screens for two weeks, the network operator enters this allocation in the plan. The plan is turned into the schedule that the players actually play. Category exclusions, blocked times at the site and house ads also become visible there.
Operators should keep allocation and actual playout apart: scheduled does not mean played. Double bookings easily arise when several people or sales channels access the same inventory; a shared, binding plan prevents this. Short-notice changes should remain traceable so that the play report later matches the booking.