A public service announcement (PSA) is a short, community-oriented message that TV/radio stations air at no cost in order to fulfill their obligation to serve the public interest. PSAs are a cost-effective way for non-profit organizations to raise awareness about the benefits their organizations provide. Radio stations receive PSAs as audio files – typically recorded as :30 or :60-second messages. These files can be accompanied by scripts for announcers to read live on air. Through appropriate distribution, they can be targeted to preferred demographics and markets.
TV/Radio stations have a vested interest in serving their communities, and they really do want to help promote your non-profit message. However, depending on the time of year and the markets you want to reach, there might be dozens of other organizations competing for airtime.
The top 5 things you can implement as you conceive, write and produce your public service announcement to ensure your message reaches and resonates with the right audience.
- Be Authentic
PSAs must be linked to a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, non-profit organization with local or national recognition. One way to ensure that your public service announcement gets the attention of radio station public affairs directors is to include an appeal on your organizational letterhead, signed by your communications director or your president. You’ll also want to direct their attention to your website and social media pages where they can find more information about your organization. If you are active and making an impact in your community, it should be visible online which will help increase your credibility and improve your odds of having your message air.
Every station has a different vetting process, but here’s a typical example from a station website of their requirements for submitting a PSA:
To Submit a PSA please email our Public Affairs Director with the following info:
501(c)(3) Charity/NonProfit official name
Description of event, initiative or cause
Name of event, date, time and location, and a website if there is one.
Description of who your organization benefits, and how donations work (what portion of the proceeds go to the beneficiaries)
Your name, title and phone number - Keep It Simple – Easy – Quick
The key to getting a quick response is to make it simple for stations to access the PSA and reply. Provide them with an easy way to download the PSA and script from a website and an automated way to let you know if they’re using it. Years ago, we would record the PSAs onto CDs which we mailed to stations with an introductory letter, a copy of the script, and a self-addressed stamped postcard for them to respond. It worked fine then, but now our PSAs are submitted digitally and we get a much higher rate of participation and trackable response. - Carefully Select Format & Delivery
It’s best to create both a :30 second (65-90 words) and a :60 second (150-180 words) version of your public service announcement and to include the scripts of both versions, or alternate scripted versions. Some stations won’t air the produced piece but will instead enlist one of their hosts to read it on-air — we call that a “live reader.” For an American Cancer Society PSA, we produced recorded versions of a 60-second and 30-second PSA, and a 15-second live reader script as well, after several stations requested something shorter than the 30-second option. - Follow-up & Track
Some radio stations may post a disclaimer about PSAs saying that “due to the volume received, we are not able to acknowledge receipt of your submission.” This is why it is essential that your campaign employs a well-planned effort to follow-up through phone calls and emails to as many stations as possible. This subsequent contact is also another opportunity to pitch the merits of your cause and persuade the station representative into airing your PSA.
Make it easy for stations to respond to your request for airing a PSA, even if the answer is “no, thank you.” We’ve had a lot of success with including a short response form on the same website page where stations download the audio and scripts. For a recent PSA about Opioid Abuse targeted to the State of Illinois, we used an online form, and followed up with emails and phone calls, resulting in nearly 50% of the responding stations using it as recorded, or doing live reads. - Measure Success – What is a good response?
The frequency and duration of how stations air public service announcements vary greatly. Some of the bigger stations might commit to daily airings for only a few weeks, depending on how many other PSAs they are running at the same time. However, if the content is “evergreen,” meaning that the PSA isn’t connected to a specific event in time and doesn’t contain information with an expiration date, it might be put into on-air rotation for several months. Expect a variety of air dates and time slots.
Blogger-Akash Shinde😍 (Assistant Director)
Student of Journalism and Mass communication.
Migrant Worker 