ADVERTISE WITH US
Put Your Brand In Front Of An Engaged Underground Press Audience
Advertising should get your brand noticed without getting in the way of the content people came to read.
Underground Press takes a deliberately controlled approach to advertising. Rather than filling the website with intrusive banners, pop-ups and excessive commercial placements, we maintain a limited number of advertising positions throughout the publication.
Our advertising system uses rotating placements, allowing multiple campaigns to share available inventory while keeping the Underground Press experience clean, focused and content-driven.
Whether you are promoting an event, festival, business, product, service, entertainment project or brand, we can help put your message in front of our digital audience.
How Underground Press Advertising Works
Underground Press advertising operates through a rotating advertising inventory.
Your advertisement is added to the active advertising rotation and can appear within designated advertising positions throughout the website.
- Category Pages: Two advertising module positions are available within the category-page layout.
- Article & Content Pages: One advertising module position is available below article content.
- Sidebar: One square advertising module position is available within the sidebar.
Advertisements rotate with other active campaigns according to available inventory.
A specific advertisement may therefore not appear on every page view or in every available position. Specific page, article, category or individual module placement is not guaranteed unless expressly agreed as part of a separate campaign.
Actual exposure depends on website traffic, campaign duration, the number of active campaigns and available advertising inventory.
Advertising Options
Standalone Advertising
From R3,500 per month
Standalone advertising is designed for businesses, organisations, brands, events, agencies and individuals who want promotional exposure on Underground Press without joining the Network Partner programme.
Standalone advertising may include:
- Rotating Underground Press website advertising
- Category-page advertising inventory
- Post-content advertising placement
- Sidebar advertising inventory
- One-month campaign period
- Campaign setup and management
- Use of available advertising inventory during the campaign period
Standalone advertising is subject to availability, creative approval and our advertising policies.
Network Partner
R2,500 per month
The Network Partner programme is designed for organisations, agencies, brands, artists, promoters and businesses that require an ongoing publishing relationship with Harmony Media Group.
Network Partners receive priority handling throughout the month according to the agreed publishing schedule and available network capacity.
Network Partner Benefits
- Guaranteed Priority Publishing
- 10–15 releases per month across participating platforms
- Same-Day Priority Access
- Do-Follow Links where applicable
- SEO Management
- Enhanced Prominence
- Special Formatting
- Monthly On-Platform Performance Analytics
- Priority access to Harmony Media Group publishing opportunities
Network Partners may also have eligible content considered for enhanced editorial placement at the discretion of the Underground Press editorial team.
Network Partner status does not automatically guarantee HERO placement or any other specific editorial position.
Network Partner + Advertising
R3,500 per month
Combine the Network Partner programme with dedicated Underground Press advertising exposure.
The combined package consists of:
- Network Partner: R2,500 per month
- Underground Press Advertising: R1,000 per month
This provides an ongoing publishing relationship together with advertising exposure through the Underground Press advertising rotation.
Advertising Includes
- Rotating website advertising
- Category-page advertising inventory
- Post-content advertising placement
- Sidebar advertising inventory
- One-month advertising campaign
- Campaign setup and management
Network Partners may also submit content for consideration for enhanced editorial visibility.
Advertising exposure and editorial featuring are separate benefits. Neither guarantees a particular HERO or featured position.
Featured Content & Editorial Visibility
Advertising is not the only way to gain visibility on Underground Press. Selected content may receive enhanced editorial placement within the publication.
This is particularly relevant to clients promoting events, festivals, music releases, films, television projects and other content that aligns strongly with the Underground Press audience.
Featured placement is an editorial decision and should not be confused with standard advertising inventory.
HERO — Premium Editorial Visibility
The Underground Press homepage contains a dedicated HERO section with four prominent featured-content positions.
The HERO section is specifically focused on:
- Music
- Film & Television
- Events
These areas represent a core part of the Underground Press editorial focus and may receive priority consideration for prominent homepage visibility.
Featured content may also appear prominently at the top of the relevant category page where the website layout supports this placement.
For example, an eligible event or festival may be featured on the Underground Press homepage and at the top of the Events category page.
HERO placement is entirely at the discretion of the Underground Press editorial team. Purchasing advertising, Express Priority publishing or Network Partner status does not automatically secure HERO placement.
OFF THE PRESS — Additional Editorial Visibility
OFF THE PRESS provides additional visibility for selected content from the wider Underground Press news and entertainment offering.
This placement is separate from the HERO section and is intended for eligible content that does not fall within the primary HERO focus.
Eligible OFF THE PRESS categories currently include:
- Comedy
- Literature
- Cultural
- Business
- Education
- Gaming
- Technology
OFF THE PRESS does not currently include Hidden Gems, Interviews, Reviews or Features.
These categories are therefore not part of the OFF THE PRESS promotional placement offered through the advertising or Network Partner structure.
Lifestyle is also excluded from OFF THE PRESS.
Lifestyle operates through its own dedicated section of the Underground Press homepage and is not included within the OFF THE PRESS placement structure described above.
Featured Placement Is Editorial
Featured placement should not be confused with advertising.
An advertiser does not automatically receive HERO or OFF THE PRESS placement simply because they have purchased advertising.
Likewise, payment for Express Priority publishing or Network Partner membership does not guarantee a specific editorial position.
Eligible content may nevertheless be considered for enhanced editorial visibility where it is appropriate for the publication.
Editorial decisions may take into account:
- Relevance to the Underground Press audience
- Editorial quality
- Newsworthiness
- Timing
- Audience interest
- Category relevance
- Available featured positions
- Current editorial priorities
Music, Film & Television and Events generally receive priority consideration for HERO placement because these areas form a central part of the Underground Press editorial focus.
Featured Content Promotion
For clients who require a defined promotional campaign rather than standard rotating advertising, Featured Content Promotion may be available by quotation.
A campaign can be designed around a specific event, festival, release, product launch, announcement or other major promotional opportunity.
Depending on the campaign, this may include:
- Prominent promotional placement
- Front-page promotional visibility
- Relevant category promotion
- Rotating promotional banners
- Supporting advertising modules
- Campaign-specific content promotion
- Defined campaign duration
Featured Content Promotion is a commercial promotional service and remains separate from independent editorial selection.
Availability, placement and pricing depend on campaign requirements and available inventory.
Our Approach To Advertising
Underground Press is deliberately not designed to look like a digital billboard.
We limit our advertising inventory because we believe readers should be able to explore music, entertainment, culture and news without being overwhelmed by commercial messages.
Our objective is straightforward:
- Visibility without unnecessary clutter.
- Promotion without compromising the reader experience.
- Commercial opportunities without surrendering editorial independence.
Advertising Creative
Advertisers may supply their own creative material, subject to our technical specifications and approval.
Advertising material must be suitable for display on Underground Press and must not contain material that is unlawful, deceptive, malicious, misleading or otherwise unsuitable for publication.
We reserve the right to reject advertising creative or destination URLs that may:
- Compromise website security
- Contain malware or malicious code
- Facilitate phishing or fraud
- Promote unlawful activity
- Mislead users
- Damage the reputation of Underground Press
- Conflict with our editorial or commercial standards
Creative production, resizing or substantial modification of supplied advertising material may be quoted separately where required.
Do-Follow Link Policy
Underground Press may provide do-follow links as part of qualifying advertising, publishing or promotional services.
However, do-follow links are not guaranteed for every destination.
We reserve the right to reject, remove or disable links at our discretion where a destination is considered unsuitable, potentially harmful, spam-related or inconsistent with our editorial and SEO standards.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- Pornographic or sexually explicit websites
- Adult products, including sex toys
- Gambling and betting websites
- Payday loans and predatory financial services
- Cryptocurrency and high-risk financial platforms
- Malware, phishing or suspicious websites
- Low-quality or spam-oriented websites
- Websites containing unlawful or misleading material
Our objective is to protect the long-term integrity, reputation and search performance of Underground Press.
Social Media Promotion
Social media promotion is not automatically included with standard Underground Press advertising.
Where Facebook, Instagram or other social media promotion forms part of a campaign, this will be clearly specified in the agreed package.
Additional social media promotion may be available by quotation.
Editorial Independence
Advertising does not purchase editorial endorsement.
Payment for advertising, Express Priority publishing or Network Partner services does not guarantee:
- Positive editorial coverage
- A favourable review
- A favourable rating
- HERO placement
- OFF THE PRESS placement
- Other featured editorial placement
- Editorial endorsement of a product, service, organisation or claim
Underground Press retains editorial independence over its published content.
Where commercial promotional material is used as part of a paid campaign, it may be identified or presented separately from independent editorial coverage where appropriate.
Campaign Performance
Advertising performance can vary according to:
- Website traffic
- Campaign duration
- Number of active advertisers
- Available advertising inventory
- Placement rotation
- Audience interest
- The nature of the campaign
We therefore do not guarantee a fixed number of impressions unless a specific campaign arrangement has been agreed in writing.
Where campaign reporting is available and included in the agreed package, available performance data may include views, clicks, engagement or other relevant on-platform measurements.
Advertising Terms
All advertising is subject to availability.
A campaign is confirmed once the required payment has been received, the advertising material has been approved and the campaign requirements have been agreed.
Advertising inventory is limited and Underground Press reserves the right to control the number and type of active advertising campaigns displayed at any given time.
Advertising placement may change where necessary because of technical, editorial, website-design or inventory requirements.
Advertising does not constitute endorsement by Underground Press or Harmony Media Group.
We reserve the right to refuse or discontinue advertising where a campaign conflicts with our legal, editorial, technical, ethical or commercial requirements.
Advertising rates may change from time to time. Existing campaigns remain subject to the rate agreed for their confirmed campaign period.
Choose Your Advertising Option
Standalone Advertising — From R3,500 per month
Rotating advertising exposure on Underground Press.
Network Partner — R2,500 per month
Ongoing priority publishing through the Harmony Media Group network.
Network Partner + Advertising — R3,500 per month
Network Partner publishing benefits plus Underground Press advertising.
Featured Content Promotion — By Quotation
A customised promotional campaign for events, festivals, releases, campaigns and major announcements.
Ready To Promote Your Brand?
Whether you are promoting a festival, launching a new release, building a business, announcing an event or looking for an ongoing publishing relationship, Underground Press offers controlled advertising and promotional opportunities designed to put your message in front of an engaged digital audience.
Advertise without overwhelming the audience.
Publish without compromising editorial independence.
Promote with purpose.