How To Get Results With PSAs
by Margie Goldsmith

Once seen only in print, the public service announcement, or PSA, has sprouted electronic wings. With technology's boost, the television PSA far outdistances its traditional print version and multiplies enormously the size of the publics that can be reached. If you are looking for a way to get your client's message across to millions of TV viewers, enhance the client's image, and serve the community interest as well, the PSA may be the vehicle you need.

Unlike the video news release, designed as a local "news item," the PSA looks very much like a commercial, but the airtime doesn't cost a cent. In terms of value received, a PSA, usually shown nationally, about 25 to 30 times by each station, is worth several thousands of advertising dollars. And it can also be used for press events, presentations, or other tie-ins.

Chances of getting your PSA aired are excellent. On the average, each station airs 205 PSAs a week. Overall, an average of 1 to 1.5 PSAs are aired per broadcast hour, making a total of 47 billion impressions on American television viewers. MG Productions, Inc. made a study of 25 PSAs it distributed between January 1984 and September 1985, and found that a 30-second PSA sent to 200 TV stations will average:

  • Between 60 and 100 TV stations reporting usage
  • 130-500 telecasts
  • 20,000,000 to 45.000,000 households reached
  • 54,000,000 to 121,500,000 impressions (at 2.7 per household)

The broadcasting station determines the tastes, needs, and desires of its public and employs that list of community problems, needs, and interests - such as health, safety, social services, civic activities, and environmental concerns-as a guide for determining which PSAs will be aired.

A most important consideration is whether the client and a particular subject matter will mesh. One illustration of an ideal match is AT&T's sponsorship of a PSA on illiteracy, with the Assault on Illiteracy Program as the nonprofit sponsor. When we discussed topic selection with Al Winters, district manager for corporate advertising at AT&T, he explained: "We want a subject related to information and communications, because that's the business we're in. We also want the public to know that while we are a gigantic corporation, we're committed to performing deeds in the public interest. Illiteracy affects people of all ages, so we know we'll get exposure in all broadcast time slots." With follow-up, we found that the AT&T spot went to 400 TV stations, aired 1,374 times on 296 stations, and made an estimated 682,280,000 audience impressions.

When you are planning your PSA, keep the following in mind:

  • The topic you've chosen should reach the market you've targeted. Stations can broadcast PSAs in time slots that coincide with a particular audience: child-related topics run in the early morning; alcohol and drug abuse run late at night. Subjects that appeal to the general audience are shown throughout the broadcast day.
  • Stations frequently devote a specific time period (a week or a month) to a particular campaign or issue such as Heart Month, United Fund Drive, or Better Hearing Month.
  • There are instances when a PSA should not be considered, for instance: when the organization is perceived as controversial, such as a religious or political group; when you are promoting alcohol, cigarettes, or games of chance; when there is no relationship between the client and the subject matter.

If you have the equipment, facilities, and staff, you can produce your PSA in-house. You could also do it partly out-of-house, or use an outside firm for the entire job. If you do it in-house, you will probably accumulate more hours than you'd imagine, unless you have the expertise available and do it frequently. Otherwise, don't expect a professionally polished product. You may end up with jump-cuts, poor narration, background music that fights with the message, or titles that are either too small and defeat your purpose or too large to be within "TV safety" perimeters, so that part of the title is lost in the transition to TV.

If you are creating your own PSA and billing your client by the hour, set up a schedule, to allow enough time for each step, and to provide a record of time spent.

These are logged tape "hours." Shooting in film takes even more time because there are additional elements involved, such as work prints from the lab, negative matching, optical effects, mixing studios, and answer prints.

If you decide to do part of the job out-of-house, using an outside crew, editor, and director, you will probably want to supervise part of the job and should budget those hours accordingly. If you choose an outside PSA production firm, you will spend the least amount of time. Your client will be charged for fewer

hours, and your time will be free for other services. However, you should always plan to spend about an hour in the editing room to approve the final cut.

PSAs vary in length from 10 to 60 seconds. Thirty seconds is the ideal length; it corresponds to most TV commercials. Sixty-second spots will get 15 to 25 percent less airplay. Only use a 60-second length if you cannot possibly tell the message in less time. PSA directors specifically request that you don't submit 15-second PSA alone; they prefer two for a "split :30." Very often, 60-, 30-, and 10-second versions of the same spot are sent together, increasing the PSA's chances of being aired. Ten-second spots get the most exposure in heavy viewing periods, particularly in major cities.

Creating the PSA is only half the job. Distribution and follow-up really determine results. A PSA is generally distributed to 200 TV stations. One hundred stations barely saturate market and will not get substantial results. Four hundred will get at least double the results of 200 and, if budget allows, this is recommended. You should determine:

  • Which stations are using which types of spots
  • Which stations do not take outside-produced PSAs but run their own community-affairs program instead
  • Which format they want (3/4-inch, 1-inch, or 2-inch broadcast tape)

Public service directors prefer tape to film. It saves having to transfer to tape, and making it easier form them makes your chances of airing better. They generally prefer that the tape be 3/4-inch. Each director should also receive:

  • A letter explaining the spot, written on the stationery of the nonprofit sponor and signed by the sponsor.
  • The sponsor's tax-exempt number
  • A script of the enclosed PSA
  • A self-addressed, stamped reply card
  • Any other information your client wants to include (how-tos or tips brochures).

The follow-up will need full-time attention: preferably two full-time people per spot, to telephone the public-service directors. You will average between three and eight phone calls per station, and it will take one person two to three weeks, full-time, to contact 200 stations.

Your results will be based on the return-reply cards and telephone queries. Don't expect immediate results. It can take up to three months for a public-service director to schedule a spot into the run-of-schedule (r.o.s.) of run-of-reel (r.o.r). Once your PSA airs:

  • Obtain first results one week from the initial air date. Start with reply cards. Be careful not to overwhelm station directors with telephone calls.
  • Determine TV households, estimated audiences, and market rank by using a rating service book - Arbitron or A.C. Nielsen. These provide the size of the audience, household, and market rank for each station.
  • Have a computer report generated for your client about three weeks after the initial airing.
  • Give your client a minimum of three reports: initial, interim, and final.
  • Have the final report generated after the PSA has aired for three months.

Usually even larger firms and corporate public relations departments employ outside distribution services. These can include: tape copies, letters to PSA directors, script, self-addressed cards, telephone calls, and distribution reports. The average cost for such services is $8,000 to $12,000 for 200 TV stations and $14,000 to $17,000 for 400 stations.

When choosing an outside distributor, ask for a copy of their report and read it carefully. Find out:

  • If they reach cities in the major market areas
  • If they have repeat clients
  • If they will make phone calls for your spot only, without asking the PSA director about another spot they might be distributing for another client
  • How many reports they will give you
  • How much time is needed after an additional report is requested.
  • If they have "frequentuser" lists of stations that use PSAs in special catagories, such as health or sports.

If you plan to use a production company that also does distribution, the cost for the entire PSA package should run from $20,000 to $35,000, depending on "extras" (i.e., locations, talent, props, number of shooting days). Whichever route you choose, a PSA should take no longer than three to four weeks from inception to the time it arrives at TV stations, and no more than three months for the final report. That is still half the time it would take, using any other medium, to get your client's message across and tally the results.