Looking to give your PSAs a shot in the arm --- and a better shot at making air? Try and get health-related PSAs into your PR mix. They're more likely to be aired by TV and
radio producers than any other topic, according to a recent survey conducted this summer by the News Broadcast Network. The survey, which took the pulse of thousands of radio and
television personnel, said that children's issues, charitable organizations and community/educational topics were popular runners up to health-related PSAs. News Broadcast
distributed the PSA survey to 1,200 radio stations (62 responses), and 780 TV stations (31 responses). Here's some nuggets from the study:
- 79% of radio producers most often used a local angle to evaluate a PSA for broadcast; 87% of TV personnel relied on such an angle
- 10% of radio respondents and 6% of TV respondents said that use of a celebrity spokesperson would increase the likelihood of running a PSA
And while it may seem a throwback, Beta is still the preferred format for accepting PSAs. Sure enough, however, a growing number of TV stations are receptive to using DVDs,
with 23% saying that they now accept the format.