What is a public service announcement?A public service announcement (PSA) is essen-

tially a commercial for a worthy cause that broad-casters air free of charge. PSAs are exclusively used for nonprofit organizations.

Does Exchange have any PSAs? The National Exchange Club has professionally

produced PSAs with well-known celebrities. Cur-rent PSAs feature Amy Davidson, Malcom Jamal-Warner, and Tia and Tahj Mowry. These spots are :10, :15, :20, and :30 seconds long. These encour-age others to make a difference in their commu-nities through Exchange and warn about shaken baby syndrome and fetal alcohol syndrome.

Beta tapes including all the above PSAs are available to all clubs on a first come, first served, 30-day loan basis. Once you receive a tape, meet with your local television stations, tell them about Exchange and ask them to copy the PSAs into their system. At the end of the 30 days, the tape must be returned to national headquarters. Make sure to get the beta tape back from the station once they copy it into their system.

Who do I contact?The Communications Department can answer

any questions regarding PSAs. Contact them at commun@nationalexchangeclub.org.

VideoPublic Service

Announcements

How to get PSAs aired in your community

3050 Central Ave. Toledo, OH 43606800-924-2643 Fax: 419-535-1989

www.nationalexchangeclub.org

Do’s and Don’ts for Contacting the Media

l Localize the story - Consider ways to localize the im-pact of your issue by using local statistics.

l Know your issue cold - Have information and quick facts you can compile on your issue.

l Be compelling - Facts alone can be impersonal. Com-pelling stories about how your issue affects people in the local community are very powerful.

l Be prepared - Know your issue well and also learn as much as you can about the media outlet (i.e. program format of television, coverage area, personalities, etc.) and how your issue and their station can mutually benefit from a partnership.

l Be a nuisance - Don’t keep calling the media to ask when your PSA will appear. Media regard these calls as a nuisance, so find a more engaging way to make contacts.

l Be aggressive - Don’t try to force a personal meeting with media; they are very busy and if they can’t see you personally, handle your contact in writing instead or with a follow-up phone call.

l Be demanding - Don’t expect the media to do a lot of work to make your materials ready to use. Do the work for them and it will increase your chances.

DO

DON’T

Where do I start?Getting a PSA shown on television is highly

competitive. It helps to make a personal contact with someone on the station’s staff. Call to find out who is in charge of selecting PSAs. Depending on the size of the market and the structure of the par-ticular station, your best contact person could be the public affairs director, traffic director, program director, promotions manager, or even the station manager.

Once you know who your contact should be, call and ask if you can make an appointment to talk about the possibility of airing your PSA. Be on time, and bring an air-ready copy of the PSA, usu-ally a Beta SP, as well as information on Exchange.

Explain how the PSA fits into Exchange’s na-tional project, and how running it at the times you’re asking for will help the community. Of course, be gracious and professional at all times – any station that runs your PSA is doing you a favor, and if you come off as too pushy or unappreciative it only hurts your chances of getting your PSA on the air.

Here is an example of what you can say: “Hi, my name is _______ and I’m with the Na-

tional Exchange Club. We help serve the commu-nity by performing various public projects, offer-

Tips for getting TV PSAs airedl Contact the Public Affairs/Community Relations

Manager/Public Service Director at your local televi-sion stations.

l Identify yourself as a representative from the local Ex-change club. Determine the preferred tape format.

l Schedule a short meeting with the representative to talk about Exchange, and the importance of getting this PSA on the air. Make sure that you have a copy of the PSA to leave with them. Be sure to emphasize the importance of playing the PSA; the station will be sup-porting Exchange’s national project – the prevention of child abuse.

l Talk with colleagues — including board members, club members and business leaders — from your local com-munity to see if anyone has any real relationships with management officials at your local television stations. If so, ask that person to place a call to the station on be-half of Exchange to encourage the airing of the PSAs.

l Please follow-up with a note thanking your contact for his or her support of Exchange. Extend an invitation to a club meeting. Offer information on upcoming events and projects.

l Include the television station on your club’s mailing list to ensure that producers have the latest newsletter up-dates on what is happening at your club.

Amy Davidson Tia and Tahj Mowry Malcom Jamal-Warner

ing youth scholarships, and preventing child abuse. I would like to encourage you to run our PSAs. They focus on making a difference in your community and child abuse prevention.”

Once you’ve gotten approval for your PSAAfter you’ve gotten an agreement to run your

PSA, find out the day and time that it will start play-ing. Your contact may not be the same person who actually schedules the spots, so ask who’s in charge of scheduling and then contact that person.

Listen to or watch the station for the first airing to make sure your PSA is shown (and that it is shown correctly). Follow up by sending a thank you note and a certificate of appreciation or an invitation to a club meeting.

Keep in mind that your spot might not run ex-actly at the time that your contact says it will. PSA schedules are always subject to change.

Remember: The media have dozens of issues pre-sented to them, all of which are important to the or-ganizations vying for time and space. Be professional and thorough in your approach and respect the me-dia’s time. Make them a part of your issue and you stand a good chance of getting your issue covered.