In advertising, a tear sheet is a page cut or torn from a publication to prove to the client that the advertisement was published. Media buying agencies are often required by clients to provide tear sheets along with a post analysis of any advertising campaign. With the emergence of online advertising tear sheets often now appear in the form of a PDF file, known as a "virtual tear sheet", or "electronic tear sheet".[1] Tear sheets are also used by writers and photographers as proof that their article or photo was published.
In finance, a tear sheet provides a one-page summary of a company or portfolio, containing current and historic information on the company such as market cap, sector, graph of historic share price. They can also be referred to as "Fund Fact Sheets" or "Ditos".
In the United States Department of Defense, a tearsheet is a draft message (e.g. memo or email) a subordinate writes for and sends to his superior for review, editing, and sending along as her own.
Elements of a tear sheet
A tear sheet should include the following elements:[2]
- Headlines: the captivating headline should be related to the product or service.
- Dates of publication: the date that the article was published in a publication.
- Name of publication: the name of the publication that the article was published in.
- Torn appearance: it should look as if it were actually torn from a publication.