Station Survey Reveals PSA Preferences Are Evolving

Connect360 recently conducted a survey of Public Service Directors at TV and radio stations across the country regarding their PSA delivery and usage preferences.   The results revealed the following:Television:
• 90% of respondents indicated a preference for receiving PSAs digitally (either via digital delivery or by visiting a digital platform). The remainder noted combinations of digital delivery, digital platform and/or hardcopy as the preferred ways for receiving PSAs.

• 55% of respondents noted that they would accept PSAs with an appeal for donations; 45% indicated they would not accept donate PSAs.

• 95% of responding stations said they would accept PSAs that feature a nonprofit’s social media platforms, icons or hashtags; 5% of respondents indicated they would not accept these types of PSAs.

Radio:
• 62% of respondents indicated a preference for receiving PSAs digitally (either via digital delivery or by visiting a digital platform). 25% of respondents noted combinations of digital delivery, digital platform and/or hardcopy as the preferred ways for receiving PSAs.  The remaining respondents prefer digital platform only or hardcopy only.

• Nearly 50% of respondents indicated that they would accept PSAs with an appeal for donations; the remainder noted they would not accept donate PSAs.

• 33% of responding stations said they would accept PSAs that feature a nonprofit’s social media platforms, icons or hashtags; over 60% of respondents indicated they would not accept PSAs with these references.

These results underscore the importance of meeting stations’ delivery needs and preferences when developing a PSA campaign.   Stations are also becoming more flexible in their acceptance of donate PSAs and those that include social media references.   While these offer good opportunities for nonprofits to generate donations and expand their social media presence via PSA campaigns, not all stations will air these types of PSAs.   Therefore, it’s important to also include PSA versions without an appeal for donations or social media references within a distribution in order to help maximize placement opportunities and results.