Configuring Campaign Slot Dependency Settings¶

Overview¶

Slot Dependency Settings are used when a Lucit campaign is scheduled into an external player system that rotates multiple copies of a campaign in a loop on the same screen. In that scenario, the advertiser may want the creative selection to behave differently depending on which slot position the campaign is playing in.

This feature lets a campaign tell the scheduler, "for this slot, use a different creative / avoid repeating the selected slot / repeat a prior creative / avoid repeating the last creative," instead of treating every slot in the loop as identical.

This is especially important for screen loops where the same campaign appears in multiple slot positions and the content should feel intentional rather than random.

Objective¶

By the end of this guide, you will be able to:

confirm whether your player supports slot-based scheduling
configure dependency rules for individual slots
choose the correct behavior for each slot in the loop
understand how these settings affect generated export URLs

When to Use This¶

Use Slot Dependency Settings when all of the following are true:

The campaign is being scheduled into an external player system.
The player is rotating the campaign across multiple slots or positions in a loop.
The advertiser wants the creative selection to vary by slot, not just by campaign instance.
The scheduler is able to request a specific slot using a slot-aware URL.

This is usually relevant when:

The external player supports multiple slot_number values
The campaign needs different behavior per screen position
There are repeated copies of the same campaign in a loop
The creative must behave as a coordinated sequence across slots

Common player integrations that use this pattern include:

Apparatix
Blip
Watchfire
Other external systems that support slot-aware scheduling

Prerequisites¶

Before configuring Slot Dependency Settings, confirm the following:

1. The player must support slot-based scheduling¶

The player or integration must be able to schedule a given campaign into specific numbered slots on the screen.

2. The user must be able to schedule specific Lucit URLs or packages into specific slots¶

This is the most important requirement. If the user cannot assign a specific Lucit URL or package to Slot 1, Slot 2, Slot 3, and so on, then slot dependency logic has nothing to act on.

3. The player must use a slot-aware campaign request¶

The integration must be able to pass a value such as slot_number=1, slot_number=2, and so on in the URL request.

4. The export or puller configuration must include the dependency settings¶

The configuration is stored under the export settings structure, and the URL generation logic checks for values such as:

puller.slot_dependency_settings.slots
slot_number in the generated URL

If no slot settings are configured, Lucit falls back to a standard unscoped URL.

How the Settings Work¶

The slot dependency form allows each slot in the loop to be assigned a mode.

Normal¶

No special behavior
The slot behaves like a standard campaign slot
Content is not forced to repeat or advance relative to another slot

Advance¶

The slot attempts to display a different creative than the last time this slot was pulled
This helps avoid immediate repetition for that position

No Repeat¶

The slot attempts to display a different creative than the selected slot
This is used when the advertiser wants to avoid repeating the same creative from a specific earlier slot in the loop
The operation still uses a repeat_from_slot selector to define the comparison point

Repeat¶

The slot repeats the creative from a previous slot
This is used when the advertiser wants one slot to match another slot in the loop

The form also includes a repeat_from_slot value so a slot can be configured to repeat or avoid repeating from a specific earlier slot.

Example Scenario¶

Imagine a screen has an 8-creative loop with slots numbered 1 through 8.

An advertiser sets the following dependency rules:

Slot 1 = Normal
Slot 2 = Repeat from Slot 1
Slot 3 = No Repeat from Slot 1
Slot 4 = Advance
Slot 5 = Normal

This means:

Slot 2 will try to show the same creative as Slot 1
Slot 3 will try to avoid repeating the creative from Slot 1
Slot 4 will try to avoid the previous creative it just showed
Other slots remain standard

This gives the advertiser a very specific visual pattern across the loop.

Step-by-Step: Configure Slot Dependency Settings¶

Open the campaign or export settings for the campaign being scheduled to an external player.
Find the Slot Dependency Settings section in the custom form.
Add the slots that are used in the player loop.
For each slot, choose a mode:
Normal
Advance
No Repeat
Repeat
If using No Repeat or Repeat, select the slot that should be used as the comparison point in the Repeat From Slot field.
Save the campaign settings.
Continue the scheduling flow for the external integration.

Once configured, the scheduler can generate slot-specific URLs for the campaign.

How This Affects Generated URLs¶

The URL-generation logic checks whether slot dependency settings are configured.

If configured, it generates one URL per slot, for example:

&slot_number=1
&slot_number=2
&slot_number=3

If not configured, it falls back to a single default URL without a slot number.

This is important because external players often need a separate content request for each slot in the loop.

For integrations like Apparatix, these URLs are surfaced in the UI and can be copied directly into the external player schedule or live link configuration.

What Happens After You Save¶

After the configuration is saved, Lucit can generate slot-aware campaign URLs for the external player.

This allows the player to request the correct creative for each slot in the loop, rather than treating all copies as identical. The result is a more intentional, slot-aware playback pattern that matches the campaign design.

Best Practices¶

Use Slot Dependency Settings only when the campaign truly needs slot-specific behavior. If the campaign is a simple loop with no dependency requirements, the default Normal mode is usually sufficient.

It is best to keep the configuration simple and intentional:

only configure slots that are actually used
only use Repeat when the advertiser explicitly wants a match to a previous slot
use No Repeat when the goal is to prevent a slot from repeating the selected comparison slot
only use Advance when the goal is to avoid duplicate creatives in the loop

Common Questions¶

Do I need this for every campaign?¶

No. Use it only when the campaign is being scheduled into a multi-slot loop and the creative behavior must vary by slot.

What happens if my player does not support slot-aware requests?¶

The feature will not be useful unless the player can request a specific slot. In that case, the campaign should remain on the standard unscoped URL behavior.

Can I use this with integrations beyond Apparatix or Blip?¶

Yes. Any player integration that supports slot-aware scheduling and passes slot_number in the request can use this feature.

Is it required to generate separate URLs for every slot?¶

Typically yes, if the external player relies on a slot-specific request for each position in the loop.