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Strategic Public Relations
An Overview of Public Service Announcements
Introduction
Many nonprofit
organizations use Public Service Announcements (PSA) to
get word out to the community about an event or issue,
to encourage public attendance or to mobilize public
support and involvement. Media outlets accept PSAs from
non-profit organizations because they consider the
announcements to be in the community’s interests. It
also shows their support for community activities and
their responsiveness to local issues, and helps polish
their public image by building loyalty among readers,
listeners, or viewers.
PSAs primarily run on local radio and television
stations, although local newspapers occasionally take
print PSAs. When a radio or television station decides
to air a spot for your organization, it is donating free
airtime to your cause. You should thank and recognize
the station in your organization’s promotional material
(or on your website) to ensure an ongoing relationship
(you may want the station to air another PSA in the
future).
Two main elements define PSAs:
• PSAs promote views. They are not advertisements for
products or services
• PSAs are not scheduled to air at specific times
(unlike paid advertisements)
Radio PSAs
For many reasons radio is often the forgotten medium.
Yet, it is a powerful and effective tool for
communicating with a wide range of people for two
reasons:
• It has a captive audience—people in their cars,
often stuck in traffic, for example.
• Repetition—radio stations repeat news items and
announcements frequently, and this factor is key in
getting your message to stick in the minds of your
audience.
Television PSAs
Placing PSAs on television is much more difficult than
placing them on radio, largely because producing a PSA
that meets television stations’ broadcast standards
requires resources that may be more than many
organizations can afford.
If your organization faces budget constraints, you might
consider trying to persuade a local television station
to become a sponsor of your cause or event. If your
event or cause-related campaign has wide appeal among
viewers in your area (and is not political), you might
succeed in doing so. And if you do, the television
station might donate resources and expertise for
producing a PSA. Here’s how you should proceed:
• Write a short proposal describing the cause or event,
the audience to whom you are appealing, the reason the
station should get involved, and the exposure and
recognition the station will receive in your
organization’s materials or at the event.
• Several months before your event (or the kickoff of
your cause-related campaign), make an appointment with
the PSA director (community affairs director) of the
local television station to make your pitch for
sponsorship. If possible, bring along an official or
citizen with standing in the community to show that your
cause has support and to bring pressure to bear on the
station. (Because local television stations are
competitors, you should approach one station at a time.
No station will agree to share sponsorship with
another.)
• Be persistent (but not overly aggressive) in following
up with the community affairs director after the
meeting. Because the station will be considering many
requests for sponsorship and free airtime, the director
and producers will probably need a couple of weeks to
make a decision.
Conclusion
PSAs are no different from any other piece for the
media. Media outlets receive hundreds of these
announcements every month, and because their free
airtime is limited, they must choose those that are most
timely, well written, and relevant to a large audience.
Your cause or event may be extremely important to the
community, but you’ll still have to write or record a
good PSA to get the attention of editors and
producers—and to get it on the air. Read Andy Goodman’s
article, “Aiming
at Ears to Reach Hearts and Minds”, for some
creative tips on utilizing radio to make your message
heard.
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