2 minute read
PSAs
A public service announcement (PSA) is a message in the public interest disseminated by the media without charge to raise public awareness and change behavior. There is no law requiring broadcasters to air PSAs anymore, but they continue to do so when they feel that the message brings a benefit to the community.
A great PSA should spark a conversation. When the original anti-drug ads aired, they brought the topic of drug abuse to the forefront. This created an opportunity for parents, teachers and other influential community members to talk to kids about drug abuse. In fact, we’re still talking about these ads. Recently, the Partnership for DrugFree Kids revived the “Your Brain On Drugs” campaign with the hopes of encouraging today’s parents to talk to their children about drug abuse. The new version of the ad is impactful because it goes beyond the “got any questions” line and shows that kids may actually have a lot of questions. This provides parents a framework for starting the conversation
The goal of any PSA should be to raise awareness of an issue and call people to action. Beginning with what you want your audience to talk about is a good starting point for any communications campaign. Below are some tips to keep in mind when developing PSAs.
Tips for Developing Your PSA:
• Short and Simple: Like all communication in the digital age, concise and short is best.
Capture your audience – and keep their attention – with phrases and images.
• Call to Action: Each PSA needs a call to action at the end. What do you want your target audience to do? Join an organization? Sign a petition? Volunteer? Make it clear to the audience what is being asked of them.
• Visual Elements: “A picture is worth a thousand words?” Let images tell the story and let the words support what your audience is experiencing. This should also be a rule of thumb when developing a PSA unless it is radio, but then paint a picture in the listeners mind.
• Radio & TV Broadcast Versions: Since PSAs are also regularly aired on radio stations, be sure to create both radio and TV broadcast versions for maximum impact.
• Duration: Most broadcast networks prefer 10- and 15-second spots. Networks need to fill time in between paid commercials/content and this PSAs are the perfect tool for filling that space.
• Make it Timely: If there are elements to a PSA that could become dated, be sure to cover that in your voiceover. Have a separate recording that could be switched out, as needed, in order to keep the PSA as relevant as possible.
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