"They get relegated to junk time when no one is watching or listening."

"They're expensive, and there's no way to evaluate their impact."

"They're only suited for creating general awareness-they don't motivate the public to take action."

These misperceptions about PSAs, and public service advertising in general, are just a few that have floated around government agencies and non-profit organizations for years.

To paint a more balanced picture of PSA effectiveness, Goodwill Communications analyzed data resulting from over 20 radio and television PSA campaigns which the firm evaluated for clients in the past two years. Following is a summary of our findings.

As for being broadcast during "junk time," our analysis for the U.S. Coast Guard, using data from the Broadcast Advertisers Reports, refutes this assumption. Our analysis indicated that a majority (58 percent) of the Coast Guard's 2,538 TV PSAs for the year were broadcast during daytime hours (7 a.m. to 5 p.m.) and that another 23 percent were shown during the early fringe (5-8 p.m.) or prime time (8-11 p.m.). Late and fringe PSAs, airing in so-called junk time, accounted for only 19 percent of the total.

Next, there's the question of how well PSAs perform when motivating the public to take some type of action. Here again, if the campaign is properly designed with a toll-free telephone number that is used in all forms of media for reinforcement, the data suggest PSAs can be effective.

A study conducted by the National Cancer Institute indicates that in nearly every category of measurement, television PSAs were the single most important medium for generating inquiries about cancer risks. The study showed that 55 percent of all inquiries were generated by TV PSAs, while the average for other types of media (radio, health publications, health practitioners) was only four percent.

Regarding the question of expense, PSAs can be big budget extravaganzas, or they can consist of live announcer copy printed on the reverse of a postcard and sent to radio stations for minimal cost. We distributed a series of four-color radio postcards for Navy Recruiting and Coast Guard that cost about 57 cents each for the entire package. On average, they generated nearly $450,000 worth of airtime per release, and one, distributed for the Navy during the height of the Persian Gulf crisis, generated nearly $700,000. An ongoing analysis of data from the Coast Guard's Opportunities Information Center also suggests the power of television PSAs in generating recruiting referrals. Of the total incoming calls processed by operators handling toll-free inquiries, slightly less than 80 percent were generated by television PSAs.

Finally, a research study published last month by the Advertising Research Foundation measured viewers' awareness of a TV spot devoted to colon cancer, as well as changes in beliefs and their intention to take action. ARF president Michael Naples called the year-long research effort a "break-through study" in PSA effectiveness. He went on to say that the Ad Council, which participated in the study, "now has the information to show the spot's success, and that (PSA) accountability is no longer an issue.

The bottom line for government mass communications specialists is that PSAs are alive and well. When properly designed and distributed, they can help educate, inform and motivate the public on a variety of topical issues.