Glossary A–ZLetter S
Spot
A spot is a short advertising item that runs as part of the loop, usually a video or an image with a fixed duration.
The term comes from television and radio advertising.
It is booked by frequency and time window: so many times per hour, on these days, at these times, on these screens. The length of a spot follows the ad slot in the loop; a few seconds is common. A spot for screens in public spaces usually runs without sound and therefore has to be understandable without speech.
Every play of a booked spot is reported back and shown in the report to the advertiser. If a spot is longer than the booked slot, it shifts the loop or gets cut off; operators should therefore check length and format before approval. A spot made for a different aspect ratio quickly looks small or distorted on screen.