When we’re getting ready for that initial sales meeting with a new client we all make sure we’re dressed appropriately, our hair looks good and maybe we even pop in a breath mint. Why? Because we all know the value of making a good first impression. 

But what kind of first impression does your media kit make? Is it professional, well-produced, recently updated and easy to understand? Is the main thing you’re trying to get across to your new potential advertiser popping off the page? 

Here are a few of the common mistakes we’ve seen with station media kits. 

Outdated info: Some stations go years without redoing their media kits and often have outdated information about DJs, promotions, events and sometimes even positioning statements. 

Too wordy: Too much verbiage can kill a media kit. Nobody wants to read a novel written by someone they just met. Editing copy to take out redundant or unnecessary words and phrases will help make the important info jump off the page. 

Too many pages: Resist the urge to include information on every single thing the radio group has done over the past year or worse, drop in a boatload of one sheets. 

Amateur graphic design: When we’re trying to sell ourselves as marketing and advertising experts the last thing we want to do is hand someone a media kit that looks unprofessional and dated. Groups that can’t afford to keep a professional graphic designer on staff should at least hire a third party to have their media kits professionally designed. 

Here are a few good examples of media kits from outside of radio: 

Fast Company A+ Incredible! 

Runner’s World B+ Pretty good. 

Conversely, here are a couple outside of radio that aren’t that great: 

A&E D- Looks a little dated. 

Vanity Fair C- Not very visually pleasing. 

With all of that in mind, how would you rate your media kit?

If you’d like a free outside opinion on your media kit, email it to me at andy@radiostationconsultant.com. We also do graphic design in house and can recommend other outside graphic designers as well.

Pic designed by creativeart for www.freepik.com.