PSA- A Long and Positive Tradition

As a category, public service advertising has existed in this country since 1942. Then as now, it is the domain of philanthropic organizations interested in communicating to a broad constituency on issues of public need.

An estimated $3.2 billion of equivalent media time and space is donated for Public Service Announcements (PSA’s) each year by the media. Today thousands of media outlets regularly give PSA inventory away. There are approximately:

From the perspective of a company buying public service advertising, the proliferation of media outlets has provided opportunities as well as unmet expectations. More media outlets have meant that audiences are more fragmented than ever.

Some Advertising Media Categories Have a Stronger Commitment to PSAs

Not all segments of the media are equally receptive to public service advertising nor do they all have the same potential impact. It is important to understand each medium’s Public Service Advertising reach and historical acceptance of using PSA advertising.

TV Stations Receive on Average of Between 11 and 25 PSAs Each Month

The August 2004 Director Gatekeeper survey conducted by PlowShare Group revealed that, on average, stations receive between 11 and 25 public service announcements per month. Most of those PSAs come from local organizations that are more likely to secure donated media time and space since they are from the local community. Half of the survey respondents indicated that the number of PSAs they receive is increasing, which suggests the number of non-profits using public service advertising is on the rise.

The survey also revealed that the number of PSAs that stations are reporting using is decreasing over time.

Bottom Line Pressure Suggests Real PSA Limits

In 1984 the FCC deregulated much of the broadcast television industry. As a result, stations were no longer required to place a percentage of commercial inventory toward public service announcements. Additionally, stations became attractive investment opportunities; the resulting pressure for financial performance made the commitment to public service advertising wane. Compounding this, a significant number of non-profit organizations began to enter the category. Also, paying advertisers have been placing pressure on the broadcast television industry to limit commercial “clutter.” The competition for PSA time and space has never been keener.

Public service advertising is best when it is delivered over long periods of time with a consistent theme, tone and manner. PSA advertising does provide an excellent return on investment with ROI rates hovering around 65-1.

PSAs Are Best Used for the Long Haul

PSA campaigns such as the National Crime Prevention Council's "McGruff the Crime Dog", United Negro College Fund’s “A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste,” and the U. S. Forest Service’s “Smokey Bear” have all been successful because they have provided a consistent message over a significant number of years.

Public Service Advertising Can Provide Continuity Between Time-locked Campaigns

Public service advertising can provide a consistent presence between time-locked high-visibility campaigns. It can provide a maintenance level of visibility and continuity. It can also provide visibility in small and medium-sized markets, markets that we would be unable to reach via a paid or sponsored effort.

When Paid Ads Make More Sense:

They Offer Guaranteed Media Time During Highly Visible Day Parts: It offers a guarantee and a focus that a PSA schedule cannot offer. It allows us the opportunity to focus our message by target audience and/or geography.
The Message Content Can Meet Needs More Directly: Media outlets contacted by PlowShare indicated that they would not run a public service announcement that directly asks for financial contributions. They indicated that they would consider running such a message if it were linked to a specific disaster. By purchasing media time, we have significantly greater control over the message content and how direct we are able to make a financial “ask” in the advertising. In July 2004 we conducted research that polled television, radio and newspapers about their willingness to use PSAs that made a strong appeal for money. Stations tended to be more favorable to running a public service announcement that makes a strong “ask” during a critical period and were almost universally against a strong appeal during non-episodic times.
They Build Effective Message Awareness Faster: Public service announcements build media frequency only after months and sometimes years of exposure. By paying for media time and space you would benefit from a much faster message build. This concentrated period of visibility would support time-locked marketing efforts such as direct mail and telemarketing and be more efficient with internal resources.

The Drawbacks to Purchasing Media Time Must Be Considered

There are two drawbacks to paying for media time:

1. It may be difficult to revert back to an all-PSA strategy. During a research survey conducted in July 2004, we discovered that 8% of the responding stations would be very likely to use a PSA locally after the same spot was used as a part of a network-sponsored buy; 36% said they would be somewhat likely to use the spot in their PSA rotation and 48% said that they would be not at all likely to use the spot as a PSA after a network buy.

2. An impressive 37% of stations indicated that they would run a paid ad, pro bono, after the paid schedule had lapsed.