Here are a few words about advertising in the Great Falls Gazette. We are picky. We do not allow ads that are misleading or scammy. We do NOT accept ads for clickbait websites or for “companies” that make wild promises that are not true or proven. We reserve the right to refuse ANY ad from any party that is not local, state, or federal government (those ads often have contracts that require us to print their ads verbatim.)
Please NOTE: With the ongoing election cycle, ad inventory (the space we may use for advertising in our paper, as defined by our policy and postal regulations) is highly fluid. Currently, ALL ad quotes are only valid for 24 hours, and invoices based on quotes over 24 hours old may be canceled due to the quote’s expiration. We hate these short timeframes as much as anyone, but it is the fairest way to keep ad rates as low as possible for those who move quickly. We expect more stable ad prices again after the 2024 election cycle.
Ad production
Great Falls Gazette and Foxys Publishing Co can only provide simple ad production. Generally, we charge $25/hr for simple ad production. We work with several graphics designers and production companies for more complex tasks and are happy to provide references. We do not charge for scanning a business card and tracing a logo. We do not charge for production if you have a print-ready ad; you only pay for the actual ad rate. Changing special text, menus, etc, counts as simple production.
A note about print ready. We WILL assist in sizing issues and small “tweaks” to adjust an ad to fit the papers; however, anything beyond that is AD PRODUCTION and must be charged. In one week, we gave away 14 hours of production time beyond even simple production; that’s about $700 in lost wages. That will not continue. Additionally, any work we do on ANY ad is copyrighted by Foxys Publishing and may NOT be used in any other media without our express permission.
Any production for political ads, ads for PACs, or political organizations must be prepaid. Any excess payment will be refunded. We hate doing this; however, due to non-payment on several large ads, we have no recourse but to require this of all political ads.
Ad Quality
We are very proud of our paper and require high-quality, non-offensive ads. This means no offensive language or images. Implied violence, sex, or suggesting the commission of a crime are not permitted. We do not allow ads that appear to be stories!
Political Ads
All political ads are REQUIRED to be boxed (an outline around the ad), and the words POLITICAL AD in at least a 9-point font shall be prominent. All political ads MUST disclose who is paying for the ad. Once the election is over, it WILL be dropped (1 ad thanking voters is permitted in the issue directly following an election. If the campaign purchases more than five ads, this ad will be free.) All political ads MUST be pre-paid. No Exceptions.
Web Advertising
Get your ad on our website! 350px x 350px ads are placed throughout the website. Currently, an average ad is viewed about 1,000 times per month. Foxys Publishing now accepts web-only advertising. Our rate for a 350px x 350px ad is $5 per month per ad. Our print advertisers get a very special rate. For print advertisers, you may place an ad (either your print one or one specially developed for the web) for only $2 per month per ad.
Web-only advertising has many of the same requirements as our print ads, and it does require a URL target for the ad. We reserve the right to refuse a web ad based on the link’s destination, in addition to the same criteria for ad content as our print ads.
Political ads MUST follow all of our political ad requirements. Political web ads are the same rate as regular ads, as there is currently no quantity discount.
Guaranteed placement of Ad
All ads we accept for prepayment will have space reserved for your ad as long as we have your ad on file. If your ad is NOT on file by the prior week’s deadline, you will NOT be guaranteed placement. This is called standby. If you MUST have an ad in the next issue, you should get your ad to us more than a week before the deadline for the issue. Advertising often determines the size of our paper, so if we don’t know we need the space, we will not allocate it. We always try to get standby ads into the paper, but there isn’t a guarantee. If an ad does not run because of a problem with content or because you request us not to run it (even if you change your mind later), it will NOT be guaranteed. If we do not place a guaranteed ad, you will not pay for that ad, and a makeup placement (for free) will be made.
Ads on terms also will have their most common ad space reserved. If you change the size of your ad with less than seven days’ notice, we can no longer guarantee your spot. Again, if we can not guarantee your space, we will try to get the ad in the paper. Generally, the more time we have, the more likely we can get it in the paper.
Special Areas of the Paper
Obituaries, Faith Directory, and the Front Page Banner Ad (at the bottom of the front page) are special ads with different pricing and requirements. For pricing on these ads, you can either fill out the form below, and we’ll send you an estimate, or you can call us at (406) 604-8929, and we would be happy to discuss these special areas with you.
The Front Page Banner ad is limited to one advertiser, must be prepaid, and is first come, first served. Because of its location, we reserve the right to refuse any ad for any reason. Currently the Front Page Banner is NOT available…
Obituary Ads are limited to Funeral Services, Cemeteries, grief counseling, and Churches / Faith Centers. Over-sized Obits, or out-of-area obituaries, are handled on the form located on our Obituaries page.
Pricing
All display ad pricing is based on Columns/Inches of space. A column in our paper is generally 1.75″ wide. So a 3 1/2″ wide ad is two columns wide. If that ad is 2″ tall (the same size as a business card) then the ad is 4 column/inches (2 columns wide X 2″ tall=4 column inches) In this manner, any ad can be calculated for size and inclusion in the paper. The largest single ad we accept is 8 columns/ x 9 inches tall (adjoining pages, 2-page ad.) Because full and two-page ads are required by postal regulations to be charged for the margins, a single-page ad is 38 columns/inches, and a two-page adjoining ad is 76 columns/inches. We can do sequential ads, so many one and two-page ads are sequenced to accommodate larger ad spaces.
Ad pricing shown on this website is for General Range of Paper (ROP) ads. Ads specific to a particular page may have a higher or lower price, depending on the page they reside on. Generally, it is more expensive if the ad needs to be on a particular page. An exception is the Obituary and Faith Directory Sections. All ads in the Obituary section MUST be for funeral homes, funeral services, cemeteries, mortuaries, grief counseling, or other related services. All ads in the Faith Center must be faith-related (and may contain the permitted services of Obituaries.)
Note: Long-time advertisers and organizations with certain circumstances may have different ad rates. The pricing and rate charts are very general. It is usually best to work with us to find a package which will achieve your goals and follow your budget.
Refunds / Credits
Refunds or credits will ONLY be given on prepaid ads if your ad did not run through no fault of your own. If you pull an ad from an issue and do not provide a replacement, you only qualify for a refund if you give at least five business days’ notice before the Ad deadline. If an ad is prepaid, but no ad is submitted (and no default ad is on file), we will refund 25% of the ad fee, as we cannot offer the unused ad space to another person. If this happens repeatedly, we will NOT reserve space for your ad, and you can only buy stand-by ads (no guarantee of placement.) Political ads do not qualify for refunds.
Invoices
We use digital invoicing everywhere we can. This helps reduce overhead and lowers the price of all ads. HOWEVER, paper ads are available. A $2 paper invoice charge will be added to all paper invoices. This is to cover postage, materials, and handling of paper invoices. If you wish to pay your digital invoice by check, please print the ENTIRE invoice and include with your check for fastest processing. If you receive deliveries of papers from subscriptions or for retail sale, you may request we drop a paper invoice off with your delivery. There is no charge in this case, as we do not have to put it in the mail. However, this does NOT change the due date of your invoice, which is generally seven days from the billing date.
Terms and payments
Foxys Publishing has eliminated contracts. All ads are subject to current Foxys Publishing Advertising guidelines and policies. Discounts are based on a sliding 1-year history of ads. Each ad placed (and more than one can be placed in an issue) contributes to the next pricing tier. Tiers are based on billed ads.
We require pre-payment on new accounts if your company does not meet our Terms criteria. Once an account is established, you may be placed on monthly billing. You will receive a bill at the end of the month for all unpaid ads, retail copies, or business editions due. Bills are Net7; you have seven days to pay the bill, or a late fee of 1.25% is added to the bill. If your bill is more than five days delinquent, your account is placed on hold, and no new ads will run. If a bill is more than ten days delinquent, you will be placed on pre-payment, generally for at least one year. Delinquent accounts mean that everyone else must pay more for their ads. We would rather not do that. If you know your bill is going to be late, contact us. We are reasonable and will work with people who have things come up.
ALL POLITICAL ads are REQUIRED to be prepaid. Discounts are applied based on the number and size of ads at order time. Political ads CAN NOT RUN UNLESS PAYMENT IS MADE, and there is no price guarantee until payment is made.
Unpaid ads planned for the future do NOT reduce your rate until those ads are billed. Ads that are billed MUST be paid promptly. Invoices (if on invoicing or Terms) that are five days delinquent will RESET your discount history and increase your ad rate immediately. Invoices over ten days delinquent will put your account on pre-paid only. If you are prepaid and you pre-pay for ads to be used in the future, they will count towards your discount (and it will be immediately applied), provided that the ads are used in the next year. We never allow ads to be prepaid more than a year in advance; any ads prepaid more than a year ago are lost. Improperly using discounts could reduce your discount rate for the next year.
The following chart shows an example of discount tiers and rates:
These are NOT current pricing; they are simply examples of how our discount tiers and rates work. For exact current pricing, contact sales for a quote.
| W | H | CI | $4.00 0-7 Ads | $3.50 8-15 Ads | $3.00 16-23 Ads | $2.75 24-31 Ads | $2.50 32+ Ads | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.75″ | 1″ | 1 | $4.00 | $3.50 | $3.00 | $2.75 | $2.50 | |
| 1.75″ | 2″ | 2 | $8.00 | $7.00 | $6.00 | $5.50 | $5.00 | |
| 3.5″ | 2″ | 4 | $16.00 | $14.00 | $12.00 | $11.00 | $10.00 | Business Card |
| 3.5″ | 3″ | 6 | $24.00 | $21.00 | $18.00 | $16.50 | $15.00 | |
| 3.5″ | 4″ | 8 | $32.00 | $28.00 | $24.00 | $22.00 | $20.00 | |
| 3.5″ | 5″ | 10 | $40.00 | $35.00 | $30.00 | $27.50 | $25.00 | Quarter Page |
| 3.5″ | 6″ | 12 | $48.00 | $42.00 | $36.00 | $33.00 | $30.00 | |
| 3.5″ | 6.5″ | 13 | $52.00 | $45.50 | $39.00 | $35.75 | $32.50 | Third Page |
| 3.5″ | 7″ | 14 | $56.00 | $49.00 | $42.00 | $38.50 | $35.00 | |
| 3.5″ | 8″ | 16 | $64.00 | $56.00 | $48.00 | $44.00 | $40.00 | |
| 3.5″ | 9″ | 18 | $72.00 | $63.00 | $54.00 | $49.50 | $45.00 | Half Page |
| 7″ | 3.25″ | 13 | $52.00 | $45.50 | $39.00 | $35.75 | $32.50 | Third Page |
| 7″ | 4.5″ | 18 | $72.00 | $63.00 | $54.00 | $49.50 | $45.00 | Half Page |
| 7″ | 9.5 | 38 | $152.00 | $133.00 | $114.00 | $104.50 | $95.00 | Full Page |
