Remainder advertising (also known as remnant advertising or last minute advertising) refers to the advertising space that a media or out-of-home company has been unable to sell. Remnant or last minute advertising is rarely discussed in outdoor advertising since few operators ever want to admit they have it, but everyone has it. Remnant space or inventory is typically available for three reasons: 1) it does not sell; 2) last minute cancellations; or 3) in periods of advertising industry softness or times when not everything is going to sell. The availability of remnant space is erratic and unpredictable but when an advertiser can find it - it often presents a great outdoor advertising opportunity if you can move quickly and are flexible. A significant amount of remnant space is now available through programmatic ad auction platforms in most mediums. Outdoor advertising has taken longer to adopt technology so the industry is moving into this space slowly. Keep in mind that often remnant ad space buys are pre-emptable meaning advertises can be bumped off if the operator sells a fixed contract. Fliphound is pioneering online buying for the outdoor ad and OOH industry and helps operators sell premium inventory and remnant inventory when it is available.
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