Advertising: Rate cards

A rate card is a document or matrix provided by a publisher featuring the available rates for advertising. The rates are referred to as the Media billing methods. Rate cards have different types of Media billing methods that give you the final cost of an advertisement and decide how to charge for the advertisement.

Example: A publisher offers advertisement space for the monthly magazine at a flat rate. The card with the flat rate must be configured before an order can be entered.

In This Article 

Creating rate cards

To add a new rate card, do the following:

  1. Go to Advertising > Settings > Media assets.
  2. Click the link under the Rate Cards column for the media asset you want to create the rate card for. If there are existing rate cards, they are listed in the Rate cards tab.

  3. Enter the Rate card name. It is suggested to include the year in the Rate card name, since rate cards can change from year to year.
  4. Select the Ad type or click the + icon to add a new Ad type.
  5. Select the Media type.
  6. Select the Media billing method:
    • CPM - Cost per thousand (CPM), is a term used to represent the price of 1,000 advertisement inserts for print advertisements, such as an insert in a magazine (see Web CPM below for the web equivalent). If a magazine publisher charges $20.00 CPM, that means an advertiser must pay $20.00 for every 1,000 inserts of its advertisement. If the advertiser orders 100,000 inserts, the cost of the advertisement is $2,000. Review the following information to understand more about the CPM billing method:
      • The "M" in CPM represents the Roman numeral for 1,000.
      • Advertisers pay publishers a set fee for every thousand inserts of an advertisement.
    • Flat rate - Publishers set their prices at a flat rate, for example $4,000/month for a banner advertisement on the website’s homepage or $3,000/month for a full-page advertisement in the association’s monthly journal. This rate is sometimes the preferred method for publishers and advertisers because it is easier to understand and is a more predictable revenue stream.
    • PCI - Per Column Inch is a rate used to determine an advertisement’s cost by the column inch size of the advertisement. The cost entered in the rate card is for every column inch purchased. For example, an advertisement that is 3 columns wide by 6 inches high takes up 18 column inches (3 columns wide multiplied by 6 inches high). Review the following information to understand more about the PCI billing method:
      • The PCI rate card must only have one row in the rate card details matrix. If there is more than one row, the media order reflects the bottom row’s values.
      • When creating the media order, the price is calculated based on the frequency and the associated prices entered in the rate card details.
      • The following is how iMIS calculates PCI media orders:
        • Column x inches = Ad size
        • Ad size x Rate card cost = Ad cost
    • Per word - The advertisement’s cost is determined by the number of words included in the advertisement. This billing method is typically used for classified advertisements, generally dealing with offers or requests for jobs, houses, apartments, used cars, and so forth.
    • Sponsorship - Sponsorship advertising is a type of advertising where a company pays to be associated with a specific event. For example, if you are hosting a charity event and have sponsorship banners hanging up around the venue. The advertisement size would be the size of the banner at the event.
    • Web CPM - Cost per thousand (CPM), is a term used to represent the price of 1,000 advertisement impressions for web advertisements, such as a banner on a web page (see CPM above for the print equivalent). If a website manager charges $2.00 Web CPM, that means an advertiser must pay $2.00 for every 1,000 impressions of its advertisement. If the advertiser orders 500,000 impressions, the advertisement cost is $1,000. Review the following information to understand more about the CPM billing method:
      • The "M" in CPM represents the Roman numeral for 1,000.
      • An impression is a metric that counts the number of advertisement views or viewer engagements that an advertisement receives. While an impression measures how many times an advertisement is displayed, it does not measure whether an advertisement is actually seen.
    • Booths - Vendor booths are seen at events, conferences, or festivals. Define the size, placement, and cost of the booth in the rate card details.
  7. Enter the From and To dates. These dates indicate the time period that the rate card is active.
  8. Click Create Rate Card. The new rate card is added below in the list of rate cards.

  9. Continue creating rate cards.
  10. Click the pencil icon to edit a rate card. The input fields are automatically populated with the rate card's contents. Make changes to the fields, then click Update Rate Card.

Copying rate cards

To create a copy of a rate card and its details within a media asset, do the following:

  1. Go to Advertising > Settings > Media assets.
  2. Select the link in the Rate Cards column for the media asset containing the rate card you want to copy.

  3. Click the copy icon for the rate card.

  4. The rate card information populates the Add rate cards fields. Enter a unique Rate card name, and edit the remaining fields as necessary.

    5. Notes: If the Rate card name is not unique, an error occurs, and the rate card does not save. Ensure the Rate card name is unique from other rate cards in the media asset.

  5. Click Create Rate Card.
  6. The rate card and its details are duplicated. Select the new rate card to review or edit its details. For more information, see Editing and deleting rate card details.