What is a Press Kit?

(And Why a Press Kit is Essential for Your Business)

Press kits are electronic packages of documents, images, and content that “help explain the core facts of your company to journalists, reporters and the media . . . .” They include biographies of company leaders, key business facts, mission statements, logos, relevant images, and recent press releases and coverage. Press kits save everyone time, as journalists will not need to keep reaching out with questions. They also make you look more professional and prepared.

A press kit is not a media kit

While “press kit” and “media kit” are often used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. A press kit provides important information about your brand with the goal of gaining press coverage.

As adobe (which provides press kit templates) explains, “Electronic press kits—which often include fact sheets and images for media outlets to use—are usually sent to journalists along with timely press releases to assist with their reporting. Press kits help you sell a (positive) story, not the brand, while offering information about your business.”

A media kit, on the other hand, is used to solicit collaborations, partnerships, and business promotion. “[A] media kit is sent to the people you’re planning to work with. In this case, you are trying to sell your brand and its longevity, not just its relevance for the moment.” Moreover, as Nora DePalma, a PR executive, explains, “A media kit is something that a publisher or influencer creates to help potential advertisers and sponsors understand the editorial mission and reach of the media outlet or influencer community.” A media kit contains facts and figures, such as the number of followers or demographics of a business’s audience, to help advertisers and potential partners “understand the value of investing with the platform.”

A media kit is usually found on a company’s website, while press kits are sometimes emailed to journalists and sometimes stored on a company’s website.

The importance of press kits

Journalists receive hundreds of pitches each day. They are busy people, sifting through a lot of information quickly. Press kits are important because they make life easier for journalists. “If you are lucky enough to get a journalist to cover your startup or product launch, you want to make it as simple as possible for them to write about you without needing to dig for the right information.” Press kits provide essential information, so journalists have the tools to tell the most compelling and accurate story. This is even more important when a journalist is up against a tight deadline or there is breaking news related to your business or industry and you need to share information quickly.

They also allow businesses to thoughtfully control their branding and narrative. In a press kit, you can decide which facts to highlight and which elements of a story to share.

Public relations professionals send reporters press kits at press conferences, at networking events, after interviews, or even when they are pitching story angles. “By providing thorough background information, a neatly packaged press kit improves the likelihood of accurate and comprehensive media coverage.”