PSAs struggle to see the light of day
In cause marketing, we are frequently asked, "won't the stations run our commercial as a PSA? It's for a good cause." There is a Kaiser study illustrating the challenges with getting meaningful airtime for a non-paid public service announcement.
What the study does not address is the percentage of PSAs aired by stations that are tied to station-sponsored causes. Examples of this are the station-sponsored Coats for Kids drives, station telethons and emergency causes like disaster relief. This cuts into availability for the deluge of non-profit PSAs stations receive.
A colleague of mine who has over two decades of experience working with television station and consults with the Partnership for a Drug Free America supports the study findings. He says that unless an organization can put some dollars against their PSAs, they are not very likely to see the light of day.
We encounter non-profits that want to produce PSAs with the hope of getting free air time. We counsel them to invest their production dollars in other outreach activities instead of wasting money on a spot that won't be seen enough to make an impact with their target audience.
The one bright spot on the horizon for PSAs may be in social media where there are many targeting opportunities and considerably more ways to get a video message out there. Creative non-profits are finding ways to tap into these new channels to promote their cause and engage advocates.
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