TV SURVEYS/PSA RESEARCH

The Future - BUILDING TRUST • Television PSA Trends Survey • Paying or Sponsoring Public Service Media

The Future - BUILDING TRUST - Challenges and Opportunities For the PR Profession

The most important finding from Edelman's fourth semiannual Trust Barometer Survey of 850 U.S. and European opinion leaders is that individuals are eight times more likely to believe information that they get from articles or news coverage than information in corporate or product advertising.

This may not be surprising to PR practitioners, but it does make us wonder why so many corporations, particularly those facing credibility issues, still spend a high percentage of their resources on advertising.

Building successful companies and brands isn't about selling. It's about building trust and understanding through open, interactive and information-rich relationships. That's the domain of public relations – and that is the challenge and opportunity for the profession.

How can the PR industry gain the upper hand on advertising and seize the opportunity to yield greater influence in the executive suite? Following are some recommendations for your consideration.

Actions always speak louder than words.

In the face of a seemingly endless series of corporate scandals, trust in U.S. business increased to 48 percent from 41 percent just six months earlier.

Although more needs to be done, business, legislative, market and regulatory leaders in the United States assumed responsibility, acted quickly, sought solutions and instituted new controls such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. U.S. trust in government fell from a post-Sept. 11, 2001, high of 48% in January 2002 to 39% in Winter 2003.

Strengthen Corporate Reputation Because It Matters to Products and Services.

Americans value a good corporate reputation. It plays a large role in their opinion of a company's products and services, and makes them more willing to pay a premium for them, especially if the company is well-regarded for labor and environmental practices.

This means that companies need to find meaningful connections between the corporation and its products and services, and must keep the company's reputation consistent from market to market.

More companies must engage in an array of stakeholders-consumers, regulators, legislators, media, analysts, academics and so on – and build solid relationships with them.

Business today is everybody's business and the companies that develop open, interactive and information-rich relationships with each of these influence groups will win.

Develop Relationships with NGOs

NGOs are the most highly trusted institutions in Europe today, by wide margins (10% over business, 13 percent over media and 20% over government), and are on a par with business in the United States.

People have come to think of NGO's as independent sources of credible information about companies. Not only have they become advocates who can review and endorse environmental or labor practices, they are also essential and influential partners for corporate social responsibility programs. It's important for companies to actively seek NGO's advice and counsel in the development and implementation of programs, not simply to keep them informed.

PR Builds Credible Brands, Advertising Reinforces

Opinion leaders are eight times more likely to believe news stories and articles than information conveyed through corporate advertising. Furthermore, there is no single-most credible source of information that people turn to for news and information. Articles in newspapers, newsweeklies and business magazines and radio and TV coverage all carry an implied level of credibility that readers and viewers appreciate.

Companies cannot buy credibility. To move from a "buy it" approach, corporate leaders must help build conversations with people who are respected.

Advertising can reinforce brands and reputations after a company's credibility has been established.

Use Impartial Spokespeople

The most credible spokespeople are the ones who appear not to have a vested interest in the company, such as academics and physicians. In our surveys, athletes and entertainers came in dead last – only 1% of opinion leaders felt they were legitimate spokespeople. This doesn't mean that celebrities cannot ever be effective spokespeople. It means they should be used wisely, and only when they have a genuine link to the issue or organization they are representing. And it is always best to disclose any financial connection, whether it's a celebrity or a celebrated heart surgeon.

Repeat the Message

Edelman Vice Chairman Michael Deaver, Ronald Reagan's former deputy chief of staff, coined an approach to communications for the president known as "The Great Communicator." To get through, repeat one or two key messages early, and often, in all kinds of media.

This has never been truer than it is today. We trust more slowly because media and information inundate us, leaving us with what author and former Microsoft strategist Linda Stone calls "continuous partial attention." We don't give our full attention easily or quickly. Rather, we commit it gradually. As a result, companies and brands must continuously earn trust by using media and independent experts, by communicating with audiences when and how they want, and by using multiple communications channels that offer flexible formats for information exchange.

Reprinted from Bob Kornecki's global practice at Edelman's.

Television PSA Trends Survey

Methodology

In an attempt to understand the changing marketplace for Public Service Announcements in the television market, TV Access prepared and conducted the attached extensive survey.

The survey was disseminated via electronic transmission. Responses were returned via an 800 # fax line to TV Access.

The request for information (TV Access Survey) was made to 700 television stations nationwide. This survey vehicle is included as Appendix A. Their responses provide the information for this report.

This survey was completed by 158 respondents.

Overall, the percentage of response was 23% (158/700).

This is a statistically relevant response.

Importance of localized PSAs

Questions one, two and three inquired of the television stations the importance of localized PSAs and what qualifies as a local PSA, as well as, whether or not a local PSA would get more frequent plays.

Question one asked:

"Is it important that PSAs be localized for your area?"

Of the stations responding, 153 completed this question. The results were as follows-

Very important	51	33%
Somewhat important	58	38%
Prefer	30	20%
Not important	14	9%

Almost three quarters of the stations indicate that localized PSAs effect usage.

Question two asked:

"What qualifies as a localization at your station? (Check all that apply)

The responses were as follows-

Local Organization named	113
County or other area named	73
State named	74
Phone number to local facility indicated	103
Station call letters	49
Station call letters plus local facility	47

A majority of the answers indicate that including the name of the local organization or facility is more important than having the stations' call letters.

Question three asked:

"If spots were localized with your station call letters would these PSAs on average receive more usage..

...than other localized PSAs?"	Yes	56	39%
	No	86	61%
...than national PSAs?"	Yes	87	63%
	No	51	37%

These answers indicate it's more important to include a station's call letters for a national PSA than for a localized one.

Question 3b. asked:

"Do you ever localize a :25/:05 or :53/:07?"

Of the 148 responses, the results were as follows-

Yes	87	59%
No	61	41%

Reviewing a National Version to Order a Localized Version

Question four queried the television stations about willingness to order a localized version of a previewed national version of a PSA.

Question four asked:

"Would you be willing to review a national version of a PSA and then if you planned on airing the PSA order the localized PSA via a 800#?"

Of the stations responding, 145 completed this question. The results were as follows.

Yes	110	76%
No	35	24%

Three quarters of the stations would order a localized version of a national PSA with an 800 phone number.

These results support an economical solution to localized compilation releases. TV Access is well aware of the problems of localized PSAs. Localization always presents variables such as which organization or group of organization is assigned a market? How does the end frame appear for multiple organizations within a market? Does the organization hand deliver or central source, etc? Because there are so many variables with localitation, the level of difficulty would increase dramatically with multiple end frames on the same PSA. This option allows for a release of national spots with the option for stations to order the PSAs they would like to have localized.

Preferred Collateral Paper

Question five queried the television stations about collateral paper preference to accompany PSAs.

Question five asked:

"What collateral paper do you prefer to receive with PSAs?"

Some stations made more than one selection. The results were as follows-

501 (c) 3 Documentation	57
Form to Order Free Materials	36
Comment Mechanism	19
Photoboard	88
Organization Fact Sheet	74
Scripts	80
Other	6

Receiving photoboards or scripts, fact sheets and 501c(3) documentation with PSAs are the most important collateral paper for television stations.

Stations desire the three to four pieces of documentation that normally accompanies a client release. It will be costly and cumbersome to include this much documentation with ten to twenty releases in a compilation reel. Working through all the details needed for a compilation reel release needs to take into account these issues.

Compilation Reels

Questions six through eleven inquired of the television stations receiving compilation reels vs. sponsor specific materials, packaging, number of spots on a reel, the organization of a reel and how often to receive a reel.

Question six asked:

"Would you prefer to continue to receive sponsor specific materials or only compilation kits?"

Of the stations responding, 142 completed this question. The results were as follows-

Sponsor Specific	69	49%
Compilation	73	51%

This is a very even response, half for and half against.

Question seven asked:

"Would you like to receive sponsor specific materials and materials through compilation kits mailed periodically?

Of the stations responding, 146 completed this question. The results were as follows-

Yes	105	72%
No	41	28%

The majority of stations report that it is a win-win situation to have both compilation and sponsor specific materials.

Question eight asked:

"Does specific campaign packaging help you in determining whether your station will run spots (e.g. logo, issues, target audience, etc.)?"

Of the stations responding, 141 completed this question. The results were as follows-

Yes	101	72%
No	40	28%

Once again the specific campaign is clearly an important component in any overall distribution plan.

Question nine asked:

"How often would you like a compilation reel of multiple campaigns on one tape?"

A few stations made more than one selection. The results were as follows-

Monthly	17
Every Other Month	14
Quarterly	74
Semi-Annually	13
Yearly	7
Never	19

A quarterly distribution was clearly selected most often.

Question ten asked:

"What length compilation tape would you be willing to review? How many spots should be on the compilation reel?"

Some stations made more than one selection and the stations that selected "never" on the previous question did not make a selection on this question. The results were as follows-

5 Spots	20
10 Spots	41
20 Spots	49
25 Spots	13
30 Spots	13
More	5

Ten to twenty spots on a reel is the preference of the stations.

Question eleven asked:

"If you prefer a compilation reel, how would you like it organized?

A few stations made more than one selection and again the stations that answered "never" on question nine did not make a selection on this question. The results were as follows-

Length	40
Sponsor	31
Subject Matter	62
Target Audience	19

A reel organized by subject matter was the majority selection.

©Copyright 1999 TV Access

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Paid or Sponsored Public Service Media

Overview of PSA Potential

The survey asked a single question of television stations' PSA inventory.

The question was:

"Is the number of PSAs that you receive increasing, decreasing or staying about the same?"

Of the 212 surveys returned, 99% of the television stations responded to this question. The results were-

Increasing	71	33%
Decreasing	16	8%
Staying the Same	123	59%

This question was analyzed using two separate criteria.

1. market size of the station

2. station past usage of PSAs.

First, we examined the responses based on the size of the market in which the stations were located.

TV Access divided the responses into three categories.

Large markets are markets	1-30
Medium markets are markets	31-100
Small markets are markets	101-212

When analyzed in this manner, the percentage of responses almost exactly matched the percentage of stations these categories represent in the total universe of U.S. TV stations.

Size	% Responding to Survey	% of U.S. TV Stations
Large	25%	27%
Medium	39%	36%
Small	36%	37%

The question was also analyzed based on TV Access' statistical information for the years 1996-1997. TV Access assigned a value of High User, Medium User, Low User and Non-User to every responding TV station.

Size	% Responding to Survey	% of All Stations
High	34%	29%
Medium	27%	33%
Low	28%	26%
Non-User	10%	12%

Once again, the stations responding accurately matched the percentage of the total universe of stations.

Conclusion-
Clearly, two thirds (66%) of the responding television stations reported receiving an increase or the same number of PSAs.

Both High User and Large Market stations reported the smallest percentage of decreasing receipt of PSAs and the highest percentage of increasing receipt of PSAs.

These survey results match our distribution results in that overall we are experiencing about the same amount of media time available to PSAs. However, the slices of the pie are slightly smaller for each PSA. This is most dramatic in stations large markets.

Frequency of Inquiries for Paid PS Media

Question two inquired of the television stations on one of the central issues of non-profit organizations, paid or sponsored public service time.

Question two asked:

"Do you or your station make a distinction between a nonprofit paying for media time vs. a corporation sponsoring or paying for that time on behalf of the nonprofit?"

Of the stations responding, 211 completed this question. The results were as follows-

Category	# Responses	% of Responses
Yes	84	40%
No	80	38%
Unsure	47	22%

This question is at the heart of one approach to PSAs receiving quality air plays. A non-profit organization may look to sponsorship from corporate donors to pay for high profile air plays. With forty percent of the responding stations, this would not be perceived the same as the NFP purchasing the time and, therefore, the assumption is that this would not affect the free PSA airplays.

TV Access has started a database of stations and their current approach to this type of sponsored PSA.

This remains a complicated situation. Stations that do not receive sponsor dollars may be aware of a non-profit organization obtaining sponsorship dollars for other stations in their market. This may adversely affect the free PSA airplays. Non-profit organizations should look at each market individually.

Awareness & Station Policy on Paid PS Media

Questions three and four inquired of the television stations their awareness of the practice of paid or sponsored public service time.

Question three asked:

"Are you aware of nonprofit organizations that have purchased media time from your station?"

Of the stations responding, 211 completed this question. The results were as follows-

Yes	115	55%
No	62	29%
Unsure	34	16%

Most stations are "aware" of nonprofit organizations buying time at their station. However, almost one-third of the stations did not have non-profit organizations buying time from their station.

Several media gatekeepers wrote in next to their "unsure" responses that they did not know because paid spots were not handled in their department. We attribute this to the large percentage of unsure responses.

Question four asked:

"Does Your station have a policy regarding paid or sponsored PSAs?"

Does Buying Time Change an NFP's Category?

Question five inquired of the television stations their perception of non-profit organizations that buy time.

Question five asked:

"Do you think that when a nonprofit organization buys media time they are in a different category than others that do not buy time?"

Of the stations responding, 210 completed this question. The results were as follows-

Category	# of Responses	% of Responses
Yes	100	48%
No	59	28%
Unsure	51	24%

Almost half the stations (48%) considered buying time sufficient reason to think of the non-profit organization as different.

Frequency of Inquiries for Paid PS Media

Question six queried the television stations on the frequency of airing paid or sponsored public service time.

Question six asked:

"How often do you receive inquiries from nonprofit organizations regarding paying for media time and space?"

Of the stations responding, 204 completed this question. The results were as follows-

Category	# of Responses	% of Responses
Frequently	4	2%
Somewhat Frequently	82	40%
Occasionally	15	7%
Seldom	18	9%
Never	77	38%
Unsure	8	4%

Most stations (58%) have had experience with non-profit organizations inquiring about buying time at their station. However, 38% of the stations have not experienced inquiries from non-profit organizations.

Criteria for Withholding PSA Inventory

Questions seven through ten inquired of the television stations four different scenarios to see if the station would withhold public service time.

Question seven asked:

"Will you withhold PSA inventory from a nonprofit because they are paying for TV time on a national level?"

Question eight asked:

"Will you withhold PSA inventory from a nonprofit because they are paying for TV time in select local markets?"

Question nine asked:

"Will you withhold PSA inventory from a nonprofit because they are paying for other media on a national level?"

Question ten asked:

"Will you withhold PSA inventory from a nonprofit because they are paying for other media in select local markets?"

The result of this survey is good news for non-profit organizations thinking of buying time.

It is clear that only a minority (16-29%) of stations will withhold a non-profit organizations PSA from free time no matter where the non-profit organization is paying for time. The percentage of stations drops to 16-23% if we do not include paid time on television in local markets.

Market size has very little bearing on these questions, as the percentages remain fairly constant.

	Q. 7	Q. 8	Q. 9	Q. 10
Yes	49, 23%	62, 29%	33, 16%	44, 21%
No	135, 64%	119, 57%	148, 70%	137, 65%
Unsure	27, 13%	30, 14%	30, 14%	29, 14%

The survey illuminates that television stations are most sensitive to question eight. It would seem natural that more stations would consider the purchase of television time in their local market as more of an invasion of their territory. The survey confirms this assumption.

The purchase of other media consistently raised fewer concerns with the stations responding than the purchase of television time. The percentage expressing concern was 23% and 29% when the questions were about television and only 16% and 21% when the question was about other media.

The response increased by 50% when comparing the 33 (50% of 33 = 16) positive responses to question nine with the 49 responses to question seven (33+16=49). This was the same question with the only change being from other media to television media.

The purchase of media on a "national" level was of less concern to more stations than the purchase of "local" media. Both the purchase of television media or other media experienced a 5-6% gross change or a 21-25% change within the response category.

An examination of the pattern of station responses confirms that most stations (92%) that answer "No" to question eight also answer "No" to questions 7, 9 & 10.

©Copyright 1998 TV Access