PSAs Effective Way to Inform Public on COVID-19, Academics Say

Friday, the FCC Media Bureau waived sponsorship identification requirements for outbreak-related situations. The order said the move lets previous buyers of spots donate that time instead for health-related PSAs without running afoul of sponsorship ID rules. Mandating the name or logo of the commercial entity that bought the airtime be included in the PSA might discourage such donations, staff said.

Station owners and executives agreed PSAs provided by NAB, the Ad Council and state and local authorities are getting more airtime than usual. They noted the pandemic-related drop in commercial advertisements. “We’ve had many cancellations,” said Gary Cocola, CEO of Cocola Broadcasting. NAB and NCTA estimate their members combined have done $142 million worth of pandemic PSAs (see 2004030056).

PSAs can be “very effective” at communicating health information, said Crystal Lumpkins, University of Kansas Medical Center associate professor of family health. “Whenever there’s a high level of uncertainty, anything that can provide information that’s clear and consistent” can help people cope, said Cappella. Outside of an emergency like COVID-19, PSAs are usually aired on donated ad time for nonprofits, said Joan Winkler, partner at marketing firm Boom Broadcast Media Relations. That makes it difficult to precisely track effectiveness. Organizations such as the Girl Scouts of America rely on them to drive donations, Winkler noted. This demonstrates nonprofits see them as a useful tool for reaching audiences, she said.

The most effective PSAs are those targeted to specific populations, said Lumpkins, who studied the efficacy of breast cancer PSAs on African American women. Depending on the perception a given community has of the organization offering the information and how it’s framed, reactions can vary, she said. “Because people are being so inundated” with coronavirus information, messaging needs to be unique to cut through the noise, she said.

“Children should wash their hands after coming in from outside, before eating, after coughing, sneezing or blowing their little noses,” says first lady Melania Trump in one PSA made available for broadcasters by the Ad Council. Offerings star U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, while others use graphics and text. NAB and the Ad Council have versions of several PSAs with voice-overs and graphics in Spanish.

Ramar Communications General Manager Brad Moran told us his Lubbock, Texas, stations have been running the NAB and Ad Council PSAs, plus some created by the office of Gov.Greg Abbott (R) starring celebrity and native Texan Matthew McConaughey. Some stations have also been creating their own PSAs with their local news personalities, Moran said. Broadcasters and analysts note the pandemic caused a huge fall in paid ads (see 2003270055), and Moran said with that volume down, he and other broadcasters are running the PSAs in the extra space. Cocola said he has been providing some advertisers with free commercials during the pandemic, and he has more ad time to run the PSAs.

Spanish-language programmer Estrella Media created an information campaign focused on the pandemic called SiSePuede (Yes, We Can) that uses Hispanic media personalities to communicate COVID-19 information in radio, TV and digital spots. A spokesperson called it a “community empowerment campaign” aimed at informing Spanish speakers: The campaign is designed to create a “hub” of reliable information.

Pai asks broadcasters to use celebrities in their COVID-19 PSAs. “I urged them to air public service announcements featuring prominent entertainment and sports personalities, and local news anchors asking Americans to practice the social distancing that is needed to combat this pandemic,” he said in a release. Seeing information from media personalities people trust can be a useful way to add weight to a message, Lumpkins said.

“Celebrity is an advantage because it increases the chances of people paying attention to the message,” said Elisabeth Bigsby, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Communications Department assistant professor. Since celebrities aren’t always perceived as being credible sources, spots based around them should make it clear the information in them comes from respected experts, such as the CDC, Bigsby said. Celebrities aren’t perceived as similar to the average U.S. resident, Bigsby said. “It's possible the audience will think that it's easy for them to stay home with all their resources, no loss of income, and large home to relax in.”

The message matters, academics said. Pai requested PSAs on social distancing, but Bigsby said the topic could be a tough one for the medium. “Social distancing is complex idea that is not easily demonstrable,” she said, conceding she has seen media outlets create “visually interesting graphics and interactive charts” on the concept. Capella emphasized that information in PSAs should be consistent, and Lumpkins said they should contain a message of “hope.”