2015 Trends in Public Service Announcements

Trends in Public Service Announcements
20152015

ExecutiveSummary
 Preference for digital downloads at TV stations has increased from 35% to 75% over the
past four years, while preference for tapes has decreased significantly from 51% to 2%.
 Flexibility is key when you’re providing a PSA to a station. If you have budget for multiple
lengths, try a :30, :15 for TV and a :30 and :60 for radio.
 If your PSA has a time-specific message, make sure to send it at least one month prior to
the desired airtime.
 For the first time this year we also asked if paying for some spots run would affect a PSA For the first time this year, we also asked if paying for some spots run would affect a PSA
Directors’ ability to also run it as a PSA; a surprising 62% said “no.”
 Almost half (40%) of the stations keep a PSA message in rotation for about 1-6 months.
So, when we asked PSA Directors how often they would prefer to receive new creative,, y p ,
62% said every quarter or mid-year.
 For the fourth year in a row, January, February, July, and December were the months with
the most PSA inventory.
 Only one-third of the TV stations that participated in the survey would air a PSA directly
asking for donations, but about a quarter said they evaluate it on a case-by-case basis.
22015 Survey: Trends in Public Service Announcements | Williams Whittle

Top10 Delivery Lengths Lifespan Promos Activity Frequency Inventory Cause Message Factors
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
MethodofDelivery
Over the four years surveyed, TV stations show a significant increase in preference fory y , g p
digital downloads over tapes for the method of delivery for PSAs. Preference for digital
downloads has increased from 35% to 75% over the past four years, while preference
for tapes has decreased significantly from 51% to 2%. Surprisingly, radio stations are
now lagging behind TV stations with digital preference, with 17% preferring a PSA on a
CD or jump drive.
75%
51%
29%
35%
50%
60%
Some type of tape
29%
20%
2%
Digital Download
2012 2013 2014 2015

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
PSASpotLengths
The most popular lengths for PSAs on TV are mid-length (:15 and :30) TV spots, whilep p g g ( ) p ,
most radio stations preferred mid- to long-length radio PSAs (:30 and :60). PSA spots
on either end of the length spectrum (:05 and :90) are less favored across the board no
matter TV or radio.
75.15%
80.72%
TV Spot Length
80.9%
Radio Spot Length
19 03%
45.40%
34.13%
52.69%
38.2%
58.8%
19.03%
13.19%
:05 :10 :15 :20 :30 :60 :90
5.9%
13.2% 14.7%
2.9%
:05 :10 :15 :20 :30 :60 :90

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
PSALifespan
Five out of ten of radio stations had no preference on the shelf life of a PSA messageFive out of ten of radio stations had no preference on the shelf life of a PSA message,
with the other four preferring evergreen PSAs and one with no specific preference.
Among those willing to receive time-specific PSAs the majority (62%) prefer to receiveAmong those willing to receive time specific PSAs the majority (62%) prefer to receive
the PSA at least a month before. Only 12% of participants says that it doesn’t matter
when they receive it.
10% 52% 26% 12%
A week before A month before A few months before It doesn't matter

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
PromotionalMessages
When asked about the preference of holiday-specific PSAs most TV and radio stationsWhen asked about the preference of holiday specific PSAs, most TV and radio stations
are open to these PSAs, with an average of 55% of participants saying that holiday-
themed messaging does not make an impact on their decision to air the spot and 32%
preferring holiday-specific PSAs. For the first time this year, we also asked if paying forp g y p y , p y g
some spots run would affect a PSA Directors’ ability to also run it as a PSA; a surprising
62% said “no.”
Every survey since 2012 eight out of ten radioEvery survey since 2012, eight out of ten radio
and TV stations say they would place a PSA on air
based on its relevancy in the news.
Does a paying for some spots
to run affect your ability to
also run it as a PSA?
Yes
No

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Activity
Over the years TV and radio stations have seen an increase in the amount of PSAs thatOver the years, TV and radio stations have seen an increase in the amount of PSAs that
they receive each week; this year the majority of stations say they receive more than 10
PSAs every week, but fewer than 20.
70%
80%
90%
100%
40%
50%
60%
70%
21+
10-20
10 or fewer
0%
10%
20%
30%
0%
2013 2014 2015

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Frequency
On average, 60% of PSA Directors at both TV and radio stations estimate their stationsg ,
run 10-40 PSAs each week.
<10 10‐20 20‐30 31‐40 40+
22% 31%
18%
10%
18%
More than a quarter of all stations say they will run a PSA indefinitely and almost halfMore than a quarter of all stations say they will run a PSA indefinitely and almost half
(40%) keep a PSA message in rotation for about 1-6 months. So, when we asked PSA
Directors how often they would prefer to receive new creative, 62% said every quarter
or mid-year
8
or mid-year.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Inventory
Although 65% of stations say that their PSA inventory changes from year to year thereAlthough 65% of stations say that their PSA inventory changes from year to year, there
seems to be a consistent trend over the years. According to the stations surveyed,
January, February, July, and December were the months with the most PSA inventory.
25.00%
30.00%
10.00%
15.00%
20.00%
0.00%
5.00%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Cause
Most PSA directors (72%) have no preference in particular PSA subject matters YetMost PSA directors (72%) have no preference in particular PSA subject matters. Yet,
when asked, these are the top 5 subject preferences.
• Education
• Children
• Disease/Health
• Environment
• Military
1

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Message
Generally, only one-third of the TV stations that participated in the survey would air a
PSA directly asking for donations. Although a quarter of stations (not including
networks) said they evaluate it on a case-by-case basis. Unlike TV stations, half of the
radio stations would air spots directly asking for donations.
Three out of four TV and radio stations do not care whether or not a celebrity is
included in a PSA and only 12% are ok with messages with celebrities.
Most stations said they would run other PSA “materials,” but mostly in editorial ways—
in news stories (33%) or have anchors talk about specific issues on air (64%).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
DeterminingFactors
We also asked TV and radio stations to state their determining factors for deciding
what PSAs to air. In the past four years surveyed, appealing to a local audience has
been the top factor for stations to air the PSAs.
It appeals to our local audience Well executed packaging and messagingWell executed packaging and messaging
32%
70% Availability of airtime Alignment with station policy/partners
61%
40%

ContactUs
We are a full-service ad agency that focuses on delivering effective and creativeg y g
integrated marketing for nonprofits, some of which include the USO, the American Red
Cross, SCORE, National Park Trust and others.
Want to know more about Public Service Announcements and how they can work for
your nonprofit? Contact us, we’re always happy to chat.
Rob Whittle
President & CEO
703-836-9222 x 124
rwhittle@williamswhittle.com
Read our nonprofit-focused blog posts at:
www.williamswhittle.com/agency-voice
2015 Survey: Trends in Public Service
Announcements | Williams Whittle
13

2015 Trends in Public Service Announcements

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