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Packaging Articles

 
Packaging Samples: TV | Radio | Print | Outdoor | Pre-Campaign Alerts | Letters | Campaign fact sheets/Organizational descriptions | Follow-up reminders | Thank you letters | Shipping Instructions
 
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.

Tips

  • Use lots of color, photos or art on your package and include a benefit statement.

  • Make your package functional so media gatekeepers have everything they need to make a decision quickly. Make sure titles, spot lengths are everywhere they should be such as exterior label, storyboard and on the tape itself. Put a kill date on the label if applicable.

  • If doing both English and Spanish you can put them both in the same package to save a considerable amount of money, but you should use both English and Spanish copy/photos.

  • Based on our three 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.


    TV

    This article provides an answer to one of the most frequently asked questions about TV PSAs: What do we need to do to maximize impact and do it at a reasonable cost?
    Radio

    To be successful with radio, you need to know how to create messages that engage the mind, how to match distribution plans against your target audiences, and new evaluation techniques. This article will tell you all this and more.
    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. This article tells you what you need to know to get your print PSAs used.

    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.

    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.
    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.

    Campaign Fact Sheets & 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.

    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.
    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.
    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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