Susquehanna Business Life

Sales and Marketing Strategies

Media kits are crucial communication tools for any business, and they are taking on a new format in the technology age.

Powerful Publicity

by Randy Hines

In its classic form, the media kit is a 9x12 folder containing key information about an organization. Journalists are the primary recipients. It’s useful for news conferences, anniversaries, open houses and those inevitable crisis situations. The cardboard or plastic folder cover can be printed with a colorful logo or design so one can quickly see what company is featured inside.

The latest tools

Most public relations practitioners who create media kits are adopting the latest tools. Online media kits, found on organizations’ Web sites, bring many advantages to the efforts of communicating effectively with journalists and the public.

Cost savings is one of the biggest pros for going online. No longer do organizations have to contend with printing, paper, photo development, covers, assembly and delivery expenses. A related advantage is the 24/7 accessibility factor, especially crucial during a crisis. Without delays for publishing and mailing kits, breaking news can be posted instantly online for access by reporters. The media can get specific information when needed, often in the evenings when PR offices are empty.

Variety of material

One major explanation why online media kits are becoming fashionable is the extent of data accessible to consumers and journalists. A variety of print and electronic material is available, unrestricted by what fits inside a fancy folder. A blogger may be researching local business histories. The station manager at a radio station may need sound bites. The business journal editor may want a position statement with bios. An organization should supply its 24/7 media kit with more items than anyone could possibly want, from a one-page fact sheet, to a PowerPoint presentation, to a video feed of the CEO. Visual and audio options allow broadcast outlets to use what they need. Previous efforts by an overworked PR practitioner to customize each folder for individualized media outlets are unnecessary.

With social media tools becoming a common method of distributing information to clients and customers, the online newsroom is a storehouse of articles, visuals and company history just waiting to be plucked and passed along.

Likewise, the daunting and expensive task of distributing kits becomes unnecessary. Instead of mailing a thick print version to just one reporter at a media outlet—who may not want it—several journalists can concurrently obtain the online materials they need for assignments. Even freelancers, bloggers and other social media participants working on stories, who previously would be overlooked in a print media kit distribution system, can access the online newsroom anytime.

Array of advantages

A cost advantage for the Web kit is that updated subject matter does not necessitate a recall of former print kids. A few clicks on the computer keyboard will add new substance, eliminate dated material, and even fix typos that might somehow show up. Some companies like to keep former items on their Web site to serve as an archive for eager reporters.

Yet another plus for going online is the environmental impact of print vs. Web kits. An outdated (or unwanted) media kit is typically trashed, adding tons over the years to landfill waste.

Several surveys this decade have shown a strong preference for online kits among journalists. Responses have even surprised PR practitioners, who did not realize how valued they were by members of the media. One of the biggest complaints to avoid, however, is not making it easy to navigate. Online newsrooms should have key contact information in an easy-to-spot location. Many writers get fed up after looking in vain and go to another company’s site for answers they need. To make this a two-way communication tool, it’s wise to have a comment section that’s checked regularly.

Print documents still needed

High tech hasn’t replaced items from typical media kits, of course. There’s still a need for helpful print documents such as news releases, media advisories, fact sheets, biographies, backgrounders and position papers. Timely news releases are the backbone of mainstream media relations. It’s wise to create two versions for print or broadcast outlets. Advisories simply remind journalists about upcoming events or changes in previously released schedule. Fact sheets are one-page lists with practical tidbits of information useful for reporters or bloggers. Updated bios provide journalists with information about officers in the organization. Backgrounders give media resource material about a company’s history or an issue. Another lengthy document is the position paper, in which an organization examines a topic and takes an editorial stand for or against an issue.

Visual and audio materials—such as color and black-and-white photographs, color slides, logos, audio recordings, and video—can be economically posted online. They can be complemented in a Web newsroom with podcasts, streaming video, PowerPoint shows, links to relevant multimedia documents and other downloadable productions.

Dr. Randy Hines, APR, is a professor in the Department of Communications at Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove. A Fulbright Senior Specialist, he spent part of 2009 consulting in business and communication departments at an Australian university. His latest book is Print Matters: How to Write Great Advertising with Bob Lauterborn (Racom Books, 2008).