How it is bought
Two prices are only comparable if they are the same unit
In out-of-home the number says nothing on its own: it depends on whether you buy a face or a circuit, and whether the period is a fortnight or a month. Comparing a circuit price against a single-face price is the costliest error made in this market, and it is made constantly.
The units, one by one
Face
Each visible side of an advertising structure. A double-sided billboard is two separately sold spaces, and they are not worth the same: the one facing traffic entering the city almost always costs more than the one facing out. When asking for a price, specify the face and traffic direction, not just the billboard's address.
Circuit
A group of faces sold as a package. Sometimes fixed, sometimes rotating, so your artwork moves location during the period. The per-face price beats buying them individually, but you lose control over exactly which one you get and when. Before accepting one, ask for the list of faces it contains.
Fortnight (catorcena)
A fourteen-day period. It is a booking unit inherited from media planning and some Dominican operators still use it, though contracting by month is now the most common in the DR. It matters for one practical reason: a fortnight price looks far cheaper than a monthly one and it is not.
Month
The standard unit in the Dominican Republic and the one to request by default so you can compare. If one operator quotes by fortnight and another by month, normalise both to the same unit before deciding which is cheaper. It is simple arithmetic and it prevents expensive decisions.
When comparing
Three frequent traps
A circuit dressed as a face
A low price that turns out to be a rotating circuit where your brand appears part of the time in locations you did not choose. Neither worse nor better: it is a different thing. Always ask whether the price is for a fixed face.
Different periods
Fortnight versus month is a difference of more than double, and sometimes it only shows in the proposal's fine print. Normalise before comparing.
Production in or out
A price with the vinyl included and one without are not comparable. Ask what each covers before putting both numbers in the same table.
We normalise it for you
When we quote several suppliers we return everything in the same format and unit. That is literally the job: letting you compare without translating proposals.