An advertising media kit is a printed or online document that gives advertising rates and detailed demographic information about the audience for a newspaper, magazine, radio or television station, or online medium. The aim of a media kit is to convince potential advertisers and advertising agencies that your station, publication or site offers the most cost-effective way to communicate with their target audience.

Step 1

Describe the audience for your publication or program. Provide a detailed demographic profile of your audience in terms of age, sex, location, occupation and household income. For business-to-business media, describe the sizes and types of businesses and the job titles of your audience. Use independent figures supplied by a market research firm or publish your own research. Include details of readership surveys carried out by industry organizations, such as the National Newspaper Association, which promote the general benefits of advertising in a particular medium.

Step 2

Demonstrate the purchasing power of your audience. List the types of products they buy by category and include examples of major brands that advertise with you. Provide statistics on the comparative purchasing power of your competitors’ audiences.

Step 3

Include case studies that describe successful advertising campaigns in your publication, station or site. Focus on campaigns with strong results, such as a sales increase of more than 15 percent. Provide background on the client’s marketing and advertising objectives, as well as the advertising challenges. Explain why your outlet provided the best solution to meet the campaign objectives. Describe the results of the campaign in detail and include a quotation from the client.

Step 4

Describe your editorial policy and your importance to your audience. Explain why the editorial policy is relevant to advertisers. Provide a calendar of upcoming special programs or editorial features that provide strong commercial opportunities for advertisers.

Step 5

Produce a complete list of rates for different advertising formats. Cover the costs of different ad sizes or lengths of commercials, positions or time slots, together with discounts for series insertions or premiums for special positions. Describe the design and production requirements and lead times for different types of advertisements. Describe the services available to advertisers, such as campaign planning, design and copywriting, market research, and support for test marketing. List the facilities available in digital editions of print publications.

Step 6

Design the media kit using a desktop publishing system or by commissioning the services of a graphic designer. Print copies of the document for distribution to advertisers and advertising agencies. Create a digital version of the document that advertisers can download from your website.

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