Inventory

Inventory is all the advertising space available to buy on a network of screens: which screens, where, at what times, and how much airtime is still free on each one.

How does it work?

For digital out-of-home (DOOH), meaning screens in streets, malls and stations, inventory is not just a list of screens. Each screen plays a loop of ads all day. So the real unit for sale is time: slots in that loop, on a given screen, on given days and hours.

That is why inventory changes constantly. A screen can have free slots on weekday mornings and be fully booked on Saturday afternoons. Part of the inventory is sold in advance as fixed, guaranteed slots, through direct buying. Another part is sold through automated platforms, closer to the moment the ad plays.

Inventory is also described by type of place: roadside, transit, shopping malls, gyms, pharmacies, offices. Grouping screens this way helps buyers find the environments where their audience spends time.

Example

Illustrative example: a network has 200 screens, each playing a 60-second loop with room for 6 advertisers. In any given hour, that is 1,200 slots. If 900 are already booked for next Saturday afternoon, the available inventory for that hour is 300 slots, and many of them may be on screens you would not have chosen.

Why it matters when you plan a DOOH campaign

A big inventory number sounds reassuring, but it says little about your campaign. What counts is the inventory available where your customers are, at the hours they are there, for the dates you need.

So look past the total. Ask which screens are free around your store or your target neighborhood, at which hours, and whether the slots are guaranteed or can be taken by someone else. Some of the most useful screens can only be booked directly with the network that runs them: a gym, a pharmacy, a neighborhood mall.

And plan ahead for busy periods, such as the holidays or a local event: good local slots go first.