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Volume 10, Issue 2
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Preferences for PSA Pitching
by Lynn Harris Medcalf
A survey completed in August of 2007 of 75 randomly sampled radio Public Service Announcement (PSA) Directors in the top-75 markets, finds only ten percent of stations are exclusively using prerecorded PSAs, with thirty-seven percent using a combination of both scripted and prerecorded PSAs. Fifty-three percent of stations prefer only the scripted version of public service announcements, allowing them to have their local on-air talent voice the PSAs. Sixteen percent of stations are using 60-second PSAs. Twenty-four percent of stations prefer the shortest format, 15-second PSAs, and sixty percent will use PSAs ranging from 15 to 30-seconds in length.
Public service announcements are produced audio notices or written scripts, generally running 15 to 60-seconds in length, generated for on-air use by radio stations and/or networks to promote a specific social message aimed at increasing public awareness or having listeners take action about a particular issue. Through PSAs, organizations can build or improve their image and stations can provide important information regarding compelling social issues to their audience.
All stations surveyed have a public service announcement rotation, with the average station filling twenty-four PSA slots in a typical week. With this many slots to fill, organizations that provide timely, local and compelling information in the format the station prefers, will likely find their PSAs in rotation. That is if they call the station first.
Pitching PSAs may seem like a foreign concept to some, but it’s a practice that 100% of our survey participants favor. Pre-pitching allows the PSA Director to know what public service announcements are available and plan his or her rotation accordingly. In addition, it allows the organization to have a gauge on the number and types of stations that plan to use its PSAs.
While many organizations are spending big budgets on glossy packaging, expensive productions and large mailers to stations, very few of them contact stations first. The stations we surveyed prefer to know what’s coming their way and have a say as to what kind of PSAs they receive. This two-way communication allows for more appropriate targeting of PSAs and allows organizations to maximize their budget.
Targeting Key Audiences
by Curtis H. Gill
One of the most important factors in a successful public relations campaign is reaching the maximum number of people with your message. Too often though, pitches are limited to targeting one particular type of listener. The variety of radio station formats presents the opportunity for the same story to be broadcast to a wide range of audiences.
For example, travel tips are just as important to business executives on the go as they are to soccer moms on holiday, but these audiences should not be approached in the same way. While the business traveler might be more concerned with saving time, families are usually more concerned with saving money. This does not mean that certain radio station formats should be eliminated, but instead it is best to tailor the message to reach both audiences to maximize impact.
Pitching stories to a variety of radio formats means that along with the possibility of appearing on the morning show of a news station in Houston, a spokesperson may also find themselves being interviewed by an adult contemporary talk-show host in Boston. Targeting different types of formats can provide a great opportunity for organizations to deliver their message to a cross-section of audiences.
If spokespeople are able to field questions pertinent to various demographics by providing statistics geared to each specific audience, it will only make the interview richer and more compelling for the listener. This does not mean that preparation has to involve volumes of information, as many of the same issues are important across the board. The key is to know that some listeners will have needs that differ from others and tailor the message accordingly to reach the broadest possible radio audience.
Conversely, certain initiatives will require a more refined approach to targeting specific stations and particular formats. Celebrity spokespeople, for example, are often more appealing to one type of listener than another. In the past, we have found that shows such as TLC’s Trading Spaces and Animal Planet’s Emergency Vets garner more interest from female-heavy or family audiences like those tuning into adult contemporary stations. The target audience of these TV programs is often similar to this particular radio station format, and as a result, the best response will come from pitching formats with similar demographics. Likewise, TV shows with a high male audience, such as Discovery’s MythBusters and Dirty Jobs will find a more suitable home on the airwaves of male-oriented stations such as those found in the classic rock and album rock formats.
The “Call-in” Connection
by Martha Sharan
“We’ll be right back with your questions or comments, so don’t go away!” That’s a phrase we hear more and more as we tune into our favorite radio talk show. And we look forward to hearing the questions, hoping a fellow listener will be brave enough to call in and ask our question for us. This type of programming is popular with listeners – it’s live, unrehearsed, and gives listeners the opportunity to feel connected to the issues, to the hosts and to their guests.
Those of us regularly booking interviews are finding that more and more producers are carving out half-hour time slots in their shows for call-in segments and asking media representatives to prepare their spokespeople to take questions from listeners.
Producers are telling us that call-in segments increase the quality of information that goes out over the airwaves, and it increases the usefulness of the information listeners are getting, because they are asking specific questions that concern them. This narrows the focus of the subject matter and increases the sense of intimacy between listeners, hosts and guests.
The entire tone of the program becomes lively, sometimes confrontational and always spontaneous, as a two-way flow of information is exchanged between callers and studio personalities and/or guests.
The best topics for this format include:
- Consumer tips, scam alerts and investment advice;
- Health news and information; and
- Legal issues and concerns
For well-prepared spokespeople, call-ins are a wonderful tool that can be used to gain credibility, popularity and be identified as “an expert” in a particular field. Listeners like to feel that they have someone on their side who wants to help them on an individual basis and can sort through complicated issues, while at the same time giving them solid, free advice.
So, if your spokesperson wants to connect with an audience, one of the best ways is to let the talk show host open up the lines and say, “Go ahead caller from Atlanta, what’s your question?”
Two Ps in a Podcast
by Megan Heffernan
When it comes to radio, the term podcast brings two words to mind: preservation and perseverance. Podcasting challenges the preservation of traditional radio broadcasting as consumers become increasingly selective with their preferred content, download that content from audio hubs, such as iTunes, and sometimes circumvent the radio station altogether.
However, podcasting also represents the perseverance a radio station can demonstrate, honoring consumer individuality and embracing a technology that instructs stations on how to reach listeners on an even more unique level. It is evident that commercial music-formatted radio has more often preserved existing formats, in spite of podcasting, while public radio and news-talk radio appears to persevere in this new renaissance media era, right alongside podcasting.
Podcasts may have a smaller presence within commercial music-oriented radio because stations with a music-driven format are restricted by copyright laws preventing Internet downloads. It is also difficult to find a finite chunk to download as a podcast if a station format is song after song as opposed to scheduled programs. For example, Z100 in New York has a lengthy list of podcasts on its website that are recorded interviews conducted by the stations on-air personalities.
As for listener-generated content, websites of stations owned by Clear Channel Radio encourage artists to submit their music for on-air and online consideration, but there is no mention of podcasts and no other opportunity for submissions. KYOU-AM in San Francisco appears to be one of the only all-podcast radio stations exclusively populated by listeners. This site is brimming with content ranging from A to Z, yet it remains one of the only radio stations choosing this type of format.
Podcasting is a perfect fit for public radio, news and talk radio because of already existing segmented shows that can easily be downloaded at the listener’s convenience. For example, on the NPR podcast directory more than 50 public radio stations and producers collaborate to bring listeners podcasts, amounting to more than 500 podcasts to choose from to date. The news and talk format also lends itself well to posting audio editorials and, in turn, listener feedback as podcasts.
One such station, WUSF-FM in Tampa, produces niche programming as podcasts highlighting local current events and audio sessions breaking down local news. This mode of news gathering and broadcasting is extremely beneficial for PR companies because an ANR can live on as a podcast, reaching a more specifically targeted audience. As for listener-generated content, NPR offers a clearinghouse of original podcasts on the site alt.NPR.org, where innovative, dynamic and eclectic podcasts from professional and non-professional contributors can be found.
Both news and talk stations and NPR appear to have successfully persevered through the podcasting technological breakthrough, serving as a destination where listeners can retrieve already existing programming, post feedback and generate original content. Commercial music formatted radio stations, faced with licensing challenges and formats that don’t easily fit into podcasts, overall tend to lack in the podcast arena. Perhaps podcasting has taken commercial music radio on a journey right back to itself, revealing a preservation of the novelty of being live and on the air.
When and Why is Sponsoring Worth It?
by Susan Matthews Apgood
Sponsorships are something you hear more and more about as a marketing tool, regardless of the industry. The sponsoring of an event or activity with a particular audience is widely recognized as an effective way to make that audience aware of the sponsor's capabilities, products, or services. But when and why is sponsoring worth it? When it makes strategic sense, sponsoring events and trade shows can be a powerful marketing tool, allowing for business-to-business outreach. Many clients are using the sponsorship of trade organizations to establish both credibility and presence in an industry.
Sponsorships can financially support member organizations as well, which allow organizations to put on events for affordable prices, bring technology to members and run the day-to-day operations of an organization. In return, the sponsor benefits by being linked to the content of the event and the credibility of the organization.
At News Generation, we use strategic sponsorships with groups like PRSA, on the national (www.prsa.org) and local level in our home markets of Washington, D.C. (www.prsa-ncc.org) and Atlanta (www.prsageorgia.org). However, we understand, as our clients do, that this does not help us in the public relations aspect of our business, but rather, assists in further positioning our company within the industry.
Also in the mix, somewhere between advertising and true public relations, is co-op advertising/marketing. While many in the PR industry may use co-ops to gain presence for an organization, this method groups many organizations together, whether or not the organizations like being linked. And, smart consumers are able to see through such co-ops and know they are a form of advertising instead of earned media time.
In order of editorial control, advertising has the most, followed by co-ops and sponsorships, and then media relations, which allows for the least amount of control. While media relations provides the least amount of editorial direction, this method of outreach does provide the greatest amount of credibility for an organization, as the organization “earns” its airtime by having a compelling story to tell.
The bottom line for organizations: be aware of what you will get with each method of outreach and plan accordingly to maximize impact in all arenas of the public relations and marketing mix.
Tuning In newsletter is produced and distributed bi-annually. The goal of the newsletter is to educate clients on radio trends and industry tips, as well as highlight case studies and release survey information.
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