Digital pricing
Digital proposals price advertising by playback frequency, spot duration, and the ad-block structure of each display. This page covers how the price is determined for a digital placement.
For the overall proposal model, see proposals. For discounts and caps, see discounts and limits.
Key terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
Frequency |
How many times the ad plays per cycle. Expressed as a count per period — for example, 10 plays per 60 seconds. |
Spot duration |
The length of a single ad playback. |
Ad block (block duration) |
The total length of one rotation loop on the display. Configured on the price list. |
Impressions |
The total number of ad plays over the placement period. Calculated from the frequency and the period length. |
Price-list lookup
When you add a display to a digital proposal and set the frequency and duration, the system looks up a matching price in the display’s price list.
The lookup requires an exact match on three values:
-
frequency count,
-
frequency period,
-
spot duration.
If the exact combination is not present as a price row in the price list, the display gets no price — the cost shows as empty. There is no interpolation, rounding, or nearest-match fallback.
This means that a price list must contain an explicit entry for every frequency-and-duration combination the sales team will use. If a display shows no price after being added to a proposal, check that the price list contains a row matching the chosen frequency and duration exactly.
Impression calculation
Once a price is found, the system calculates the number of impressions for the placement period:
impressions = (period duration / frequency period) * frequency count
The cost for the period is then derived from the per-impression (or per-unit) cost and the impression count, according to the sale rule on the price list.
Sale rules
The sale rule on the price list determines how cost accumulates over time:
| Sale rule | How cost is calculated |
|---|---|
Per ad show |
Cost per impression, multiplied by the impression count. |
Per hour, per day, per week, per month, per year |
Cost per time unit, prorated across the placement period. Partial units at the boundaries are prorated proportionally. |
Fixed price |
A flat amount for the placement, regardless of period length. |
Custom |
An administrator-defined rate. |
Per-item cost and discount
Each display row in the proposal carries:
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Cost for period — the calculated cost before any discount.
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Discount — a percentage reduction, initially set by the automatic quantity discount from the price list (if one qualifies) and adjustable by the user.
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Cost with discount — the after-discount amount.
Editing the cost recalculates the discount; editing the discount recalculates the cost.
The system does not recompute the price from the price list when the proposal is saved. The values the user sees and edits are what get persisted.
Bulk price and discount operations
Two bulk operations are available from the proposal toolbar:
- Update Prices
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Apply a single cost value to selected rows or to the entire period.
- Set Discounts
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Apply a single discount percentage to all rows in the period. When setting a target total cost, the system back-solves a blended discount percentage that accounts for any quantity discount already applied.
Custom price-list surcharges
If the organization has defined custom (non-default) price list types — for example, installation or production costs — matching surcharges appear as additional cost lines alongside the rental price.
Custom surcharges are calculated independently for each item and summed into the proposal totals. They do not receive a discount.