• We did not get the tape at all; send another one.
• We don't remember getting the tape; send another one.
• The person you sent it to is no longer with the station and we have no way of determining receipt. If you want us to consider your PSA, send another one.

• Many stations do not have a good log system to tell them if they received a particular PSA or not.
• Many stations won't take the time to look through their stack of PSAs because they are understaffed and overworked.
• Many stations will say anything to get the caller off the phone because they receive so many calls asking the same questions that he quickest way to terminate the conversation is to ask the caller to ‘send another tape’ which is very costly to the PSA producer.

Distribution

Q: Why should we retain the services of an external distributor; wouldn't it be much cheaper to buy media lists and distribute the PSAs ourselves?

A: As with many things in life, you get what you pay for. In a few cases of which we are aware such as the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, PSAs can be distributed successfully using internal resources, but they have spent years developing local coalitions which help them get PSAs to stations.

There are a variety of things to consider in PSA distribution above and beyond just having a media list. For example, TV stations now prefer getting PSAs in a variety of different dub formats (we distribute PSAs in six different tape formats) and if you don't send stations what they want, your chances of getting airtime are slim. In a universe of at least 40,000 mass media outlets, you also must know which media outlets do and do not use PSAs to maximize your resources. Finally, there are complex evaluation procedures that require sophisticated reporting software to provide meaningful results.

A professional distribution service offers these services and can handle all the other details associated with getting a campaign out to the right person at the right time and in the right format saving valuable internal resources. If you were to factor all your costs – including staff time - to do the job internally and weigh that against what you get in media exposure, professionally distributed campaigns are probably a better value.    Finally, a good distributor will help guide you through the entire process of PSA campaign development from positioning to placement and that should be a valuable consideration.

Q: We have a PSA that has been distributed previously, but is still very relevant. Is it possible to “recycle” it to save production costs and will it get used?

A:   Sending PSAs to stations a second time - if properly executed - can actually generate more exposure the second time around. Some of our military clients have re-distributed TV PSAs two and even three times (see article by clicking on the link below.) Keep in mind that there is a tremendous turnover in community affairs personnel at most broadcast stations and they often don’t have a good logging system to tell them what has been aired previously.

If you decide to re-distribute your PSA, there are two things you should consider:

For more information, including a graph showing results of campaigns that have been re-released, click on:   Recycling TV PSAs - How to Stretch Scarce Production Budgets.

Q: Are more stations moving to digital tape formats instead of analog?

A: You have raised a very good question, but a difficult one, because no one knows when the shift to digital among TV stations is going to be complete and when each station will have new equipment.

We track the preferred video tape format for every station in the U.S. and currently the mix of tape formats is shown in the graph below.What we are seeing is a gradual shift away from the analog formats to more digital, including DVDs. As we approach the switch to HDTV in February of next year there will unquestionably be more demand for digital tape. Typically we request our clients to have their agencies or production houses provide a Digi Beta master because it provides much greater quality than analog formats and thus any tapes replicated from the higher quality master have improved quality as well. While all digital formats provide significantly greater quality, they are also typically more expensive than analog and thus we need to strike a balance between what the stations want and our distribution budget.    As dub houses install more digital replication equipment and their volume increases, prices of digital tapes will be less expensive.  The graph below shows the current dub format break down for all broadcast and cable TV stations in our master database as of late 2008.

Q: How do you build a distribution list?

A: There are several factors we consider when building a distribution list and this generally applies to all media. First, you should know the previous usage practices of the media outlets in your distribution plan.   The highest priority are those that have used a particular client’s PSAs previously, then we look at something called the Previous Usage Index (PUI) for the media outlet – the number of times they have used all our clients’ PSAs.

For radio, we look at the PUI as well as the program format for the station and attempt to match the station’s radio program format with the client’s primary audience.  Also, with radio there many stations which simulcast programming – broadcasting the same basis programs on their AM and FM stations.  To avoid duplication and save money, we send PSAs to only the FM station because it typically has a stronger signal.

For print media, we build custom magazine mailing lists with publications that reach the client’s target audience and for newspapers, we use the PUI, the type of newspaper - dailies vs weeklies - and circulation size to build our distribution lists.

Q: Is it better to distribute more than one PSA on the same tape?

A: It depends upon what you are trying to accomplish and your budget. If the choice is between sending two different PSAs in the same length, versus sending the same PSA in different lengths, we would usually recommend the latter. Giving stations as much flexibility as possible on spot lengths is critical to getting your message on the air because of the random nature of unsold air time. If you have the spot length that matches the “avail,” you stand a much greater chance of getting something aired.  However, there are no absolutes in the PSA distribution business.

For example, if you have two spots - one with a mainstream message, and the other more controversial, you may want to include both in the same package to give stations options. Obviously it is better that you get something on the air than nothing. However, in many cases, by offering too many options, you will be competing against yourself.

We believe you would get a lot more mileage out of the PSAs by releasing them in two waves, versus distributing them all at the same time. There is only so much time available, and most public service directors are not going to use all the PSAs you send them just because they happen to be on the same tape. But here again, other circumstances need to be considered such as budget. If you can only afford to send out one campaign, and you have a number of different PSAs in your library that are current, you may want to send them to give stations flexibility in subject matter and spot length.

You do need to know, however, that putting more than five or six PSAs on a videotape will increase your cost without question because you must use a much longer video tape than normal (five minutes is the cost break). Also, it may cost more to track via A.C. Nielsen (ten is the maximum number of spots for the basic fee), and you may have to do a different type of storyboard than is typical to accommodate the different spots.

There is very little data to support the "more versus less" distribution strategy. For one client that distributed ten different PSAs in the same package (most were the same spot length) they generated no more exposure than a typical PSA package with only four spots in it (same spot, different lengths). Obviously other factors such as message content, production values, local impact, etc. have some bearing on the results, but generally less is more in this context IF you provide maximum flexibility on spot lengths and print ad sizes.

Q: With today's satellite technology, why shouldn't PSAs be distributed via satellite, rather than going to the expense and time to replicate and distribute PSAs via tape and CD?

A: Satellite distribution works very effectively with Video News Releases (VNRs), and ANRs (Audio News Releases), or   anything directed to the news side of the broadcast station. However, PSAs are not directed to broadcast news departments; they are sent to public service or community affairs directors who are not used to getting PSAs via satellite. They presently get all the PSAs they could ever hope to use, dropped conveniently on their desk without worrying about satellite coordinates or interfacing with the news department. Accordingly, adding anything that requires work by the public service director is one more reason for them not to use your PSA.

In a test for the National Eye Institute, a PSA was distributed via both hard copy and satellite, and then tracked separately by SIGMA. Feedback on satellite usage included a half dozen stations, all of them in smaller markets, versus usage on 91 stations which aired the hard copy version 2,606 times including many large market stations. This test indicated hard copies were used on significantly more stations, than usage generated by satellite transmission.

For radio, some of the same principals that apply to TV are true, but due to the large number of radio stations, many stations can not be reached by satellite techniques and tracking is either non-existent or prohibitively expensive.  Increasingly, PSA producers and distributors are employing a “pull” strategy, meaning they post radio and print PSAs on their website and then notify the media to download them.  For TV, file size and quality preclude using websites to deliver PSAs via this method at this time.

Q: What's the relationship between the networks and their affiliates - if we get the networks to use our PSAs, does it mean they will run nationally?

A: While you should attempt to get the "big five" (Warner Brothers and United Paramount Networks don't use PSAs at this time) to accept your PSAs, it doesn't mean they are going to air them on national television. The networks feed PSAs to their affiliates in what is called an “uncovered position,” meaning they can be pre-empted by local affiliates in favor of a locally paid spot, a locally-produced PSA, or even one that is distributed to them by a national distributor. In these situations, they have no obligation to use PSAs fed to them by their parent network. For this reason, it is very important that you also distribute a hard copy videotape with your PSA to the network affiliates which greatly increases your chance of getting something on the air. For more information about this subject, see the article entitled: Network Clearance - A Producer's Checklist.

Q: What is the best way to package PSAs to maximize usage?

A: Depending upon your budget, you can spend more than $10 each for just the TV package in which your PSAs are sent to stations, but we do not believe overly elaborate packages increase usage, and in fact, can actually have a negative impact on how they are viewed by gatekeepers.  Keep in mind, by definition, you must work for a non-profit or governmental agency to qualify for PSA airtime and space.  If you produce very expensive packages, the media may wonder if you are using your organization’s resources judiciously.

For our clients, we use the very lowest cost, highest impact packages we can produce with the goal of using our distribution budget to target the maximum number of outlets.  For samples of how we package client PSAs, send an email to bill@goodwillcommunications.com.

Q: What is the best way of packaging Spanish PSAs?

Where possible, you should include both English and Spanish PSAs all in the same video or audio package, even though they will be used by completely different types of stations. The same is true if you have a radio PSA aimed at discrete audiences such as college students, African-Americans, etc. There are some media outlets that will use both formats because they have both English and English speaking audiences. Most importantly, by ganging the PSAs together, it saves you a significant amount of money as compared to producing a completely separate package. Obviously if you are releasing the two different campaigns at different times this packaging procedure won't apply. However, for the most part ganging both English and Spanish together works well because you take advantage of the fact that your costs are covered via the English package and there is up to five minutes of video time and 80 minutes of capacity on a CD to work with. Also, keep in mind that only the creative message itself needs to be in Spanish as most people working in American media outlets are bi-lingual.

Q: To whom should I send my PSAs?

A: The key contact is different depending on the medium. For television, there may be several people who typically make the PSA decision, depending upon the size of the station and their community affairs policy. It is either the Public Service Director, the Director of Community Affairs, or the Program Director. At smaller stations the General Manager may be the contact person. The GM usually has a heavy influence on program policies, regardless of size. At radio stations the decision-making is more diffused, and again, it depends upon the size of the station. Larger stations will likely have a Public Service Director, but at smaller stations the Program Director, Station Manager, and perhaps even the Engineer or disk jockey could get involved in putting your PSAs on the air.

At print outlets, and this is very important, don't send PSAs to the editorial department. Remember, print media - like all others - is split into two camps... business and editorial. PSAs - are advertisements - even if they are being run pro-bono - and should be directed to the Advertising Director,   Publisher or Production Director for both magazines and newspapers. Most importantly, to the extent possible, you should send PSAs to a specific person, rather than to a generic title. Being aware of all the little details can help you get your message on the air, or in print, and the personal touch can make the difference in getting your materials used or sent to the round file. And, speaking of the personal touch, don't forget to say thank you to those media outlets that use your PSAs. These dedicated professionals provide non-profits with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of free time and space each year. Don't you think that deserves a simple thanks?

If you don't think so, read the article by clicking on this link: "Hard Being Good - Worthy Causes but Unworthy Ads".

Q: What are the best times to distribute a PSA?

A: While most any time of the year is appropriate given the long shelf life of a typical PSA campaign, there are some times that are better than others and it also differs by medium. For TV, there is generally more time available in the first half of the year in terms of unsold inventory, particularly the first quarter. However, that is also when more organizations distribute PSAs, so things could be a little tight until new releases are absorbed into the system. For radio, the summer time is when there are more people out of home and in their cars so that is a good time to distribute a campaign, particularly if you are trying to reach young people. For all media, the fourth quarter, particularly right after the Thanksgiving holiday is not the best time to distribute PSAs, due to the heavy paid schedules prior to Christmas. Perhaps the most optimum time is the week immediately after Christmas because it is a very slow sales period among the media and you can pre-empt other organizations that will be distributing their campaigns at the first of the year.

Also, it is a good idea to tie the release of your campaign in with other promotional activities and special community events such as the Race for the Cure, the MS Walkathon or Earth Day. The media often focuses editorial attention on these issues which can reinforce the impact of your PSAs.

Q:  What is the best way to distribute outdoor PSAs?

Due to the high cost of producing outdoor billboard paper and other unique attributes, outdoor needs to be handled very differently than other kinds of media.   Rather than spending a lot of money to produce sizes that may never be used, our approach is to solicit the media on the types of sizes and quantities they will use prior to producing the billboard paper and then fulfill based on our solicitation requests.  We have completed this type of placement effort for a number of clients with considerable success.  For additional information on how we distribute outdoor, send an email to Bill Goodwill at: bill@goodwillcommunications.com for a password.

Evaluation:

Q: Beyond the normal metrics of advertising equivalency, Gross Impressions, etc., how else can PSA values help a non-profit?

A*: There is an important, but widely unknown rule governing how "in-kind contributions" are treated by non-profits, which includes PSA air time value. There is a rule issued by the Financial Accounting Board in 1993 called Financial Accounting Standard number 116 (FAS 116), titled "Accounting for Contributions Received and Contributions Made." This line item can be found in the non-profits' 990 tax return.

FAS 116 is a quick and easy way for non-profits to legitimately manipulate their financial results. Those results, in turn, are open to the public and used by rating organizations such as GiveWell, Charity Navigator, or the Better Business Bureau, to evaluate non-profits. In this era of complete transparency, there are large and small donors who also look at this ratio to catch scams and identify the most efficient organizations.

This rule requires that non-profits recognize the value of all donated services on their financial statements. The donation can be, for example, free rent in an office building, free legal services, or free media advertising time/space. These donations must be added to cash and other donations in arriving at revenues, to show the full amount of resources provided to the organization. Then, the organization must show the amount of free services provided as an expense. The expenses might be rent (for donated office space), legal expense (for donated legal services), or promotion expense (for free media, like from a PSA). These expenses are then classified as either “cause/mission related," or “overhead.” PSAs are generally classified as cause related expenses. Generally speaking, a non-profit wants their books to reflect the maximum spent on mission related activities, and wants to minimize the amount shown as overhead or administrative expenses.

So where is the benefit for a non-profit? It comes in measuring the ratio of cause expenses to total revenues. In the case of a PSA, the expense is cause related because it provides the public with information about the cause and thus 100% of the PSA airtime generated, can be treated as a cause related expense. If a non-profit wants to increase the percentage of total revenue spent on cause related expenses - a key ratio by which non-profits are evaluated - adding PSA values to cause related expenses really helps.

But there is more. Because every dollar spent in PSA expenditures generates many more times what is spent in ad equivalency, PSAs become a powerful tool to improve an organization’s financial ratio. That is because ad equivalency has a multiplier-effect between the amount spent to produce and distribute a PSA and ultimate values generated, with 25, 50 and even 75 to 1 multipliers being common. Most important of all, this is not an abuse of the accounting rule, but a required application of the rule.

*The technical explanation was provided by a Certified Public Accountant with experience in PSA valuations.

Q: Aren't most PSAs broadcast in "junk time" from midnight to 6 AM when no one is watching TV or listening to radio?

A: Various studies, particularly data from the Nielsen SIGMA system show that in one campaign after another, the majority (from 50-65%) of all PSAs air in the more desirable dayparts - from 7 AM to 11:30 PM. A benchmark composite showing usage from seven different PSA campaigns showed that on average, 56% of all PSAs aired in these dayparts. You may say that with so many working women today, PSAs that air during the day don't reach enough people.

But if that is true, Proctor and Gamble should fire their advertising agency because they sure buy a lot of paid spots during this time. Also, if young people are your primary target, they like to stay up late and watch music videos, movies and other programs that are broadcast in the late evening. So again, late night is not necessarily bad time. The graphs below show usage by daypart for two typical campaigns using SIGMA data.

If you think all PSAs are used when no one is listening or watching, take some time to browse the articles under PSA Bibliography - Campaign Effectiveness; it may change your thinking.

Q: I've never seen our PSAs...do they really work and how do we know?

A: The scholarly literature on the subject is somewhat limited, but there certainly is empirical evidence that PSAs are a cost-effective way to reach the public about important issues and causes. Notice we didn't say anything about changing behavior or attitudes which is a complicated undertaking and a long-term objective. However, if delivering impressions to an audience, getting people to phone, visit a website, or getting volunteers are your goals, there is ample evidence that PSAs can meet these objectives. For example, a campaign we launched for the USDA generated over 31,000 requests for a packet on soil conservation. Over a seven year period our Peace Corps PSA work generated 782,000 leads, resulting in 58,558 applications, 21,456 invitations to join, and 18,028 actual Volunteers. Another campaign we launched for the National Institute on Aging generated over 40,000 requests for their exercise brochure uniquely promoted in their TV PSAs.

The research data on PSA effectiveness includes two studies posted to our Research Center. One compares the effectiveness of paid advertising vs PSAs, and the other was conducted by the Advertising Research Foundation. For more details, click on this link Campaign Effectiveness.

For broadcast TV, which will generate the majority of PSA exposure, we use the A.C. Nielsen’s “SIGMA” monitoring service which tracks PSA usage in all 212 U.S. TV markets. Each month a report is generated to show in exact second detail when and where exposure has been generated. For more detail see question below on SIGMA tracking.

Q: How much dollar value can we expect to generate from our PSA campaign?

Obviously there are many different factors that affect how much usage any given PSA campaign will receive, including the relevancy of the issue, time of year it is released, media awareness of your issue, how the PSA was distributed, promotional activity, creative quality and which media you use just to name a few. Assuming a multi-media approach and professional distribution, the following benchmark data is taken from dozens of campaigns we have distributed.

On average a broadcast TV PSA itself will generate exposure in 166 markets on 213 stations and 13,000 airplays for six months. If our cable distribution service is included in the distribution plan, cable usage will add 11,000 more airplays on average to the total.

For radio, you can expect to have your PSAs used more than 50,000 times on nearly 600 stations, generating $732,000 in value (a reminder postcard will generate about 10 percent additional value). Print PSAs will be used on average by 1,299 publications (986 weeklies, 288 dailies and 25 magazines) generating an average value of $325,000.

Also, the length of time you monitor your campaign can have a significant impact on values. The number of broadcast TV airplays on average increases to 22,000 if you extend monitoring of your campaign for twelve months. The following graph shows the results of tracking at different periods.

Q: Are there other methods to tracking of radio PSAs other than just business reply cards (BRCs)?

A: Yes there are new electronic tracking procedures being developed and we have tested on of them called MediaGuide, which tracks PSA usage on 2,500 radio stations in major markets. It uses passive monitoring technology, meaning that there is no code that has to be embedded on the creative master such as the case with the Nielsen TV tracking system. The schematic below shows how the technology works and our software is programmed to avoid redundant reporting between this data and that received via BRCs.

Miscellaneous Questions

 

Q:What are "ISCI codes" and how do I get one for my next TV PSA release?"

A: When submitting TV PSAs to the "big four" broadcast networks in New York, they may require that you add an ISCI Code to your PSA which stands for "International Standard Commercial Identification," a code assigned to each commercial (and some PSAs) for identification purposes. ISCI's 4.4-billion codes are issued by the American Association of Advertising Agencies. To get an ISCI code assigned to your next project, contact: Louise O'Gara, Manager, ISCI Phone: 212-682-2500 or email: louise@aaaa.org.

Q: Where does my organization get help ... how can we get started in developing a campaign?

A: See the list of organizations that can possibly help you by clicking on Getting Help.

Many local - and in some cases - national, highly respected advertising agencies will produce your PSAs pro-bono, although you will still most likely have to defray production costs and direct expenses. Another technique is to contact a good broadcast or print journalism school and involve them in your effort. Some schools of mass communications are very sophisticated, and with assistance from faculty, can produce some very creative messages.

Or, perhaps your area has an advertising club that will take on your campaign as a community service project. Finally, don't overlook possible funding sources from corporations, foundations, or associations with a vested interest in your subject. Increasingly many companies know that getting involved with social issues makes good marketing sense.

For more information on how corporations are tying in with non-profits to sponsor cause marketing programs, click on Cause Marketing.

Q:  Print PSAs seem to be the “weak sister” of our campaign.  What can we do to get more print PSAs published, particularly magazines?

From a distribution perspective, print in some ways is the most challenging medium to get PSAs placed because of the diffused decision-making at newspapers and magazines.  Unlike broadcast media, where there is usually one or two people who make the decision about PSA usage, it could be a variety of different decision-makers at print, ranging from the Ad Director to the Production Department.  Our clients who have been most successful with magazine placements had their staff make follow-up phone calls to magazines to insure that the appropriate person got the PSAs and if not, new packages were sent.  Also, you can ask your distributor to sort their mailing list by circulation size or by type of publication so you zero in on those that are most important to your issue.

Some of the blame could be due to weak creative.  For a treatise on this subject, review the article, Why Bad Things Happen to Good Causes or perhaps more importantly, make sure your creative team or ad agency reads this important document. For additional information, read: The Case for Print PSAs.

Q: What are the standard banner ad sizes?

A: According to the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), which is the leading online global advertising industry trade association, the following sizes are standards in the industry:

Standard Banners: (sizes in pixels)

Banners & Buttons
728 x 090
468 x 060
120 x 240
234 x 060
125 x 125
120 x 090
120 x 060
088 x 031

Rectangles
180 x 150
240 x 400
250 x 250
300 x 250
336 x 280

Skyscrapers
160 x 600
120 x 600

For additional information on banner ads, go to Banner Report.