A public service announcement (PSA) is a short, community-oriented message that radio stations air at no cost in order to fulfill their obligation to serve the public interest. PSAs are a cost-effective way for non-profit organizations to raise awareness about the benefits their organizations provide. Radio stations receive PSAs as audio files – typically recorded as :30 or :60-second messages. These files can be accompanied by scripts for announcers to read live on air. Through appropriate distribution, they can be targeted to preferred demographics and markets.
Radio stations have a vested interest in serving their communities, and they really do want to help promote your non-profit message. However, depending on the time of year and the markets you want to reach, there might be dozens of other organizations competing for airtime.
Here is our list of the top five things you can implement as you conceive, write and produce your public service announcement to ensure your message reaches and resonates with the right audience.
PSAs must be linked to a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-profit organization with local or national recognition. One way to ensure that your public service announcement gets the attention of radio station public affairs directors is to include an appeal on your organizational letterhead, signed by your communications director or your president. You’ll also want to direct their attention to your website and social media pages where they can find more information about your organization. If you are active and making an impact in your community, it should be visible online which will help increase your credibility and improve your odds of having your message air.
Every station has a different vetting process, but here’s a typical example from a station website of their requirements for submitting a PSA:
To Submit a PSA please email our Public Affairs Director with the following info:
The key to getting a quick response is to make it simple for stations to access the PSA and reply. Provide them with an easy way to download the PSA and script from a website and an automated way to let you know if they’re using it. Years ago, we would record the PSAs onto CDs which we mailed to stations with an introductory letter, a copy of the script, and a self-addressed stamped postcard for them to respond. It worked fine then, but now our PSAs are submitted digitally and we get a much higher rate of participation and trackable response.
It’s best to create both a :30 second (65-90 words) and a :60 second (150-180 words) version of your public service announcement and to include the scripts of both versions, or alternate scripted versions. Some stations won’t air the produced piece but will instead enlist one of their hosts to read it on-air — we call that a “live reader.” For an American Cancer Society PSA, we produced recorded versions of a 60-second and 30-second PSA, and a 15-second live reader script as well, after several stations requested something shorter than the 30-second option.
YOUR OPTION :60 SECOND SCRIPT
YOU NOW HAVE OPTIONS. IT’S YOUR CHOICE!
Did you know tests that could save your life from cancer are now available for little or no cost, thanks to the health care law called the Affordable Care Act?
Let this be the year you get screening tests that can prevent cancer or detect it early, when it’s most treatable.
Don’t let concerns get in your way. Talk to a doctor or other medical professionals to learn more about the best cancer testing options for you.
NOW YOU HAVE OPTIONS. IT’S YOUR CHOICE! LET’S DO THIS!
To learn more about how the health care law can help you and your family get tested for cancer, contact your American Cancer Society at cancer.org or call 1-800-227-2345 that’s 1-800-227-2345.
And for answers to questions about the law or enrolling in a health care plan, visit HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596.
YOUR OPTION :30 SECOND SCRIPT
YOU NOW HAVE OPTIONS. IT’S YOUR CHOICE!
Did you know that tests that could save your life from cancer are now available for little or no cost, thanks to the healthcare law called the Affordable Care Act?
Let this be the year you get screening tests that can prevent cancer or detect it early, when it’s most treatable.
Don’t let concerns get in your way. Talk to a doctor or other medical professional to learn more about the best cancer testing options for you.
YOUR OPTION :15 SECOND SCRIPT
Did you know that tests that could save your life from cancer are now available for little or no cost, thanks to the healthcare law called the Affordable Care Act?
Contact your American Cancer Society at cancer.org or call 1-800-227-2345.
And for answers to questions about the law, visit HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596.
Hearing a few examples might also be helpful as you think about how to write a public service announcement. You can hear a :30 second and a :60 second example that we produced for the USDA called “Eat Smart, Play Hard,” on healthy food choices and staying active. See our Public Service Announcement page.
Keep in mind that emails with multiple attachments (like audio files) from unknown senders often get flagged by an email server as spam. To help prevent that from happening, craft an introductory email that includes a letter, the text of the PSA, and a link to a website or a Dropbox folder from where stations can easily download the audio and scripts.
This is where our experience and digital training work for you. Let MediaTracks Communications manage all the parts and pieces of not only drafting your message but also the digital delivery system to maximize ease and efficiency of distribution.
Stations often schedule the rotation of their PSAs weeks or even months in advance. If you are promoting a time-sensitive event, you’ll want to begin reaching out to stations 6-8 weeks prior to the event date. For content that is Health and Wellness Awareness related, consult our calendar to help you plan ahead.
Do you have questions about writing a PSA?
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Some radio stations may post a disclaimer about PSAs saying that “due to the volume received, we are not able to acknowledge receipt of your submission.” This is why it is essential that your campaign employs a well-planned effort to follow-up through phone calls and emails to as many stations as possible. This subsequent contact is also another opportunity to pitch the merits of your cause and persuade the station representative into airing your PSA.
Make it easy for stations to respond to your request for airing a PSA, even if the answer is “no, thank you.” We’ve had a lot of success with including a short response form on the same website page where stations download the audio and scripts. For a recent PSA about Opioid Abuse targeted to the State of Illinois, we used an online form, and followed up with emails and phone calls, resulting in nearly 50% of the responding stations using it as recorded, or doing live reads.
The frequency and duration of how stations air public service announcements vary greatly. Some of the bigger stations might commit to daily airings for only a few weeks, depending on how many other PSAs they are running at the same time. However, if the content is “evergreen,” meaning that the PSA isn’t connected to a specific event in time and doesn’t contain information with an expiration date, it might be put into on-air rotation for several months. Expect a variety of air dates and time slots.
Some stations give priority to local nonprofits and it’s impossible to know how many other organizations are also competing for airtime, so a usage rate of 35-50% is considered a success. Anything above 50% is a home run!
Radio PSAs provide highly cost-effective, community-focused outreach for charitable organizations. While there are costs associated with writing, production, targeting, distribution, tracking and reporting, the airtime you get on radio stations is ultimately free.
Radio reaches more than 243 million consumers weekly. At MediaTracks Communications we are dedicated to using AM/FM Radio to distribute your message and advance your cause. A well written and produced public service announcement can deliver enormous exposure and benefit for both your organization and the communities it serves. We offer a full range of PSA services including scripting, production, station targeting, distribution, tracking and reporting to ensure the message gets heard by the widest possible audience. You can learn more about that here or contact us today to get started.
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