What is Rate Card?
Rate Card is an advertising term describing the documents in which the publisher states the price of their ad inventory. The term dates back to print publications such as newspapers.
Rate Cards typically contain information such as: pricing, deadlines, policies, demographics, and other information necessary for advertisers to understand the value of the publisher’s ad inventory. It’s also important to understand rates for different ad types and for different ad placement (e.g. classified ads and centerfolds for print, display and video ads for online, etc.).
Advertisers can also use rate cards to compare each publisher’s pricing methods (CPM, CPC) and placement structures (position on the page), as well as the potential reach.
Typically, the prices advertised on Rate Cards are much higher than advertisers are expected to pay. Publishers and advertisers can negotiate the price based on current demand for the ad inventory, ad units (volume), or other factors.
Rate Cards also state remnant space, which is sold at a lower price but doesn’t guarantee satisfactory placement to advertisers. Remnant space is similar to Run of Network and Run of Site methods, and is best used for awareness and branding campaigns as it doesn’t guarantee reaching an advertiser’s desired audience.
