CREATING EFFECTIVE

PSA – What is it?  A PSA is an advertisement for a non-profit organization  Can take the form of a TV commercial, radio commercial, newspaper ad or billboard  It’s aired voluntarily by individual radio and/or TV stations or printed in newspapers as part of their “in kind” advertising.

PSA – The challenge…  Whether you call it a “PSA” or a “commercial”, to the audience, it’s the same as any other advertising.  Therefore, creating an effective PSA comes with its challenges.  Instead of trying to sell more product like a regular commercial does, you are normally trying to affect deeply seated public attitudes and behaviors.

PSA – Getting your facts  PSA development starts with gathering the facts on the issue and the audience that will be the focus of the campaign  Get the facts on: 1. the problem or behavior that needs to be addressed 2. the demographic /details of the primary target audience.

PSA – Setting a Goal  Once your research is complete, you can set the goal of your PSA  The goal of a PSA is simple – to get someone to take specific action. It needs to motivate the audience to act. E.g. -To drop off canned goods to… -To buckle your seatbelt … -To stop smoking… -To donate money for victims of….

PSA – The Campaign  PSAs need to have a broad scope  A single TV spot or just a radio spot is an execution, not a campaign.  To produce a campaign, you must target a variety of media  By using a multi-media approach, you increase the chances of reinforcing your message  Also, each medium has strengths and weaknesses in terms of reaching your primary audience.

PSA – Qualities of a PSA 1. Attract the attention of your target audience 2. Speak to the audience in their own language 3. Relate to the audience’s lives 4. Deliver a single core message 5. Deliver the message with clarity 6. Motivate the audience to act

PSA Tips – Results  Results drive emotion!  Don’t write like a news report: “The Simcoe Homeless Shelter is holding its annual food drive from Monday November 1 st until Friday November 25. If you would like to participate, please bring your canned goods to one of several drop off points located at….”  It’s a lot easier to talk about the potential results: “A can of food probably doesn’t mean that much to you. You probably have a cupboard full of them. But just a few of those cans will keep a Simcoe family from going hungry tonight…”

PSA Tips – Language  Don’t use the kind of artificial language you hear in some commercials “Our quality merchandise and competitive prices…”  Use every-day language you would use in a conversation!  Instead of “To obtain participation details” say “To find out how you can participate…”  Even better… “To find out how you can help feed a hungry family…”

PSA Tips – Emotion  Emotions “sell”!  People might “rationalize” their actions with logic but they’re motivated to act based on their emotions.  Build a sense of caring about a problem  “Tonight, many of Simcoe’s children will go to bed hungry. Unless you help.”

PSA Tips – Personally Relatable  A PSA is nothing more than a conversation with the audience.  Make the message personal to your target audience – something they can relate to.

PSA Tips – Personally Relatable  Example text from a radio ad – it uses regular, relatable language and appeals to their emotions to motivate a reaction.  E.g. “Have your ever been hungry? Not because you’re on a diet or you didn’t eat breakfast, but because you don’t have enough money to buy food? Can you imagine what it’s like for a child to go hungry every night? Unfortunately, that’s not an imaginary situation for 13,000 children in Simcoe. The Simcoe Homeless Shelter knows you’d like to help. That’s why we’ve made it easy for you to drop off your canned goods to any Sobey’s store during the month of December. Please take a look at your shelves and see what you can afford to donate. There’s a child in our community who will go to bed hungry tonight…unless you help.”

PSA Tips – Core Message  The “core message” is the ONE thing you want the audience to hear, to understand and to remember.  Many PSAs make the mistake of trying to get the audience to do more than one thing.  A PSA can ask people to donate food. Or money. Or time. But not all three.

PSA Tips – Clarity  To deliver your message effectively, you must do so with clarity.  The audience needs to be able to understand the message the first time it airs.  It’s not the audience’s job to figure out what you really mean.

PSA ACTIVITY to do:  Open the ClassNet file called “PSA commercial examples”  View each of the videos using the links provided.  Choose 3 videos to comment on and answer the following questions for each video chosen: 1. Who do you think the specific target audience is for this ad? 2. What is the CORE message delivered in this ad? 3. What is the “call to action” – in other words, what action do they want the viewer to take? 4. What elements of the commercial do you think are effective/ineffective in communicating the message? Explain.