Guide · DOOH
DOOH loops and slots, explained
A digital screen doesn't show one ad. It cycles through several. Here's how that cycle works, and how to turn it into numbers a client understands.
Updated
The loop
A loop is the playlist a screen repeats all day. If the loop is 60 seconds long, the same sequence of ads starts again every minute, from the moment the screen switches on until it switches off.
The slot
A slot is one ad's place in that loop, usually 10 or 15 seconds. A 60-second loop with 10-second slots has six slots, so up to six advertisers share the screen.
Plays per day
Every time the loop repeats, your slot plays once. So:
Plays per day = hours on × 3,600 ÷ loop length × slots booked
A screen on from 6 am to 11 pm is on for 17 hours. With a 60-second loop and one slot booked, that's 17 × 3,600 ÷ 60 = 1,020 plays a day.
Airtime and share of voice
Airtime is how long your ad is on screen in a day: 1,020 plays × 10 seconds is 170 minutes. Share of voice is the part of each loop that's yours: one slot of six is about 16.7%. Booking two slots doubles both.
Quoting it clearly
- Always state loop length, slot length and screen hours with the price.
- Give plays per day and plays over the campaign, not just the monthly rate.
- If the client books only some days of the week, multiply by the days actually booked.
- Cost per 1,000 plays makes screens with different loops easy to compare.
Want the numbers without the arithmetic? Use the DOOH plays calculator.