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| Home » Client Support/Promotion » Case Histories » Packaging Articles |
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Packaging Articles |
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| Packaging
Samples: TV | Radio | Print | Outdoor | Pre-Campaign Alerts | Letters | Campaign
fact sheets/Organizational descriptions | Follow-up
reminders | Thank you letters | Shipping
Instructions |
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| PACKAGING ARTICLES |
Packaging
your PSA properly is one of the most important aspects
of a successful distribution plan. Due to the tremendous
competition for earned media time and space, it is critically
important to use compelling packaging concepts to cut
through the clutter. Since we use direct mail to get
our PSA packages to the media, the same principles that
apply to successful direct mail programs should be used
with PSAs. This means using color and a benefit statement
in your package. It means making your package functional
so media gatekeepers have everything they need to make
a decision quickly. And it means providing the type
of materials they can use, with as much flexibility
as you can provide in terms of spot length and print
ad sizes.
Based on our two decades of
distributing PSAs, we have written several articles
that can help you and your design team create PSA packages
that are intrusive, memorable and functional. On this
section of our site you will also find templates for
each different packaging concept we regularly use. These
templates make it easier for your design team to create
the type of packages shown in each of the following
articles. |
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TV
This article provides an answer to one of the most frequently
asked questions about PSAs: How should we package our campaign
- what do we need to do to maximize impact and do it at a reasonable
cost?
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Radio
 As
with all media, there are many different ways to package a radio
PSA, and this article addresses the three types that we most
frequently employ. These include the DiskPac, the "wallet" style CD package and the "script booklet"
package.
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Print
We see perhaps more mistakes made with print than any other
medium from a design and packaging standpoint. Too many print
PSA packages are designed with PSAs that are larger than the
media can use. There are frequently ads designed with dark backgrounds
that don't reproduce well. Many of the print PSAs we get don't
take the different reproduction standards of magazines and newspapers
into consideration and the demand for CDs with electronic artwork
is growing. This article tells you what you need to know to
get your print PSAs used.
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Outdoor
 Written
off several years ago as a dying industry, outdoor billboards
and other forms of out-of-home media have risen to new levels
of popularity and effectiveness. This case explores the background
of outdoor advertising, its communications advantages and how
to package and evaluate an outdoor PSA campaign.
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| Collateral
Samples |
Pre-Campaign
Alerts
 There
are various kinds of devices to alert the media that your campaign
is about to be released, including blast faxes, e-mails, mailgrams,
letters and postcards. Some of them are shown below.
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Letters
When you are writing copy for letters to media gatekeepers,
remember they don't have much time, so try to make your points
very quickly and clearly. Briefly describe your campaign; tell
why
it deserves time and space and describe how local communities
benefit from the campaign. For TV, include the fact that you
are a non-profit 501(c) (3) organization and if there is a kill
date on your PSA, mention that. In terms of length, your letter
should be about 200-250 words. Essentially the same letter copy
will work with all different media types, but make sure you
use descriptive copy that is appropriate, i.e. 'Advertising
Director' instead of 'Public Service Director'in the title.
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Campaign
fact sheets/Organizational Descriptions/TV Storyboards
 Keep
the facts on your campaign or issue as brief as you can (not
to exceed 130 words if you are using our all-on-one-page storyboard.
See sample). Explain the scope of your problem or campaign;
describe how many people are impacted by it; tell how many
people you have reached or cured; and if you can, localize
with local data, contacts and phone numbers.
There are two places where we use a brief synopsis of your
organization and the PSA campaign you are releasing. One is
in our Broadcasters
Café Newsletter and the other is with our shared-reel
distribution service called CABLEPAK.
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Follow-up
Reminders
 For broadcast media - and radio in particular - we often use
various follow-up techniques to remind the media to return bounce-back
cards or to remind them to take another look at one of our client
PSAs and schedule it for airing.
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Thank
You Letters
It is rare that organizations say thank you to the millions
of dollars worth of support that is provided by the media for
our causes and issues. Remember, there is no law that says the
media has to provide this support; it is strictly voluntary.
After your campaign has run its course, think about sending
a letter of appreciation to those media that have used your
PSAs. If they have given you an inordinate amount of PSA support,
think about presenting media with a plaque or certificate of
appreciation. And remember, a personal presentation is better
than mailing it.
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Shipping
Instructions
 As
your distributor, it makes it very hard for us to get your campaign
replicated, packaged and distributed in a timely manner when
we do not get clear instructions. When packaging collateral
materials are being shipped to our vendors, we need to know
what materials are being shipped, when they were shipped, by
whom, contents, and by what method. We have provided instructions
for how to ship materials and to whom they should be sent.
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