Media kit on diskette gets noticed

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, July, 1989 by Kevin Sghia

Media kit on diskette gets noticed

Willoughby, Ohio--A new media kit in the form of a computer diskette, replacing a printed media kit, has proven cheaper, easier to use and decidedly more attention-getting for The Business Review, a local business journal serving small business owners in northeast Ohio.

"We had a top-notch media kit before going to diskette, but it didn't affect our sales," says Bruce E. David, publisher of the journal. "The diskette has had a few people talking and that's the name of the game in this business."

The kit allows media planners with IBM or IBM compatible computers access to any information contained on the disk. The menu-driven data contains background information on the Worth Promotions, Inc., publication, as well as an editorial calendar, circulation figures, reader survey data, a rate card and small business statistics. All information can be viewed on-screen or printed out.

The disk is easy to update and, according to David, cost only $1,250 to produce--less than half the cost of the title's last printed kit, largely because a friend programmed the kit for free. The programming could have cost as much as $1,000, David says, adding that the price would more than pay for itself in costs saved during revisions.

Missing the message?

The diskette is a fresh idea that will probably get noticed, agrees media kit consultant Lee Crumbaugh, president of Glen Ellyn, Illinois-based Forrest Consulting. His concern, however, is that the magazine's message could get lost if media buyers or clients aren't computer literate or don't have compatible equipment.

In certain situations, Crumbaugh adds, the diskette would be an effective supplement to a printed kit. "If it were my publication," he says, "I would hesitate to do it without a printed offering."

Preliminary reports are positive from the 146 advertisers and agencies that received the media kit. "People have said it's a clever idea and very useful," David says. "It makes filing a lot easier."