CEOs and media planners both want their companies to be successful, although they have very different methods for achieving their company goals. Sales leads must navigate the disconnect between what CEOs say in the press about the importance of giving back to their communities and what their media planners are buying in terms of advertising. The fact is, most choose a strategy based on price and a desire for mass impressions. So, how do you navigate the divide?
Bridging the Gap
Public media is an ideal way to bridge the gap between the objectives of CEOs and media planners. One of the most effective techniques that public media enables is community marketing. Community marketing allows you to leverage a sense of kinship and shared values around a brand that inspires a sense of purpose. It will enable the brand to give back to the local community in a way that resonates with their priorities, interests, and concerns.
That is perfect for satisfying the CEO's purpose-driven agenda, but how does it convince the media planners looking for the highest ROI from their advertising? Though it may not be obvious, it is the ideal melding of the two objectives. Public media has the broad audience required for mass impressions, as well as sponsorship options that return significant dividends for those that are price-driven in their advertising. It counteracts some of the most common pitfalls of those objectives by associating the brand with shared values and community support.
Public Media Benefits
Public media provides many benefits for sponsors. Because it is a clutter-free medium, sponsor messages stand out. Where commercial radio averages 18 minutes of advertising each hour, public radio stations typically run only 2-5 minutes of sponsor content. Your message does not get lost when there is less competition for the listener's attention, increasing recall and awareness.
When the audience is enjoying the programming they tuned in to hear, they tend to stay engaged even during sponsor messages. Contrast that with commercial radio listeners who immediately turn the dial when they hear long commercial breaks or bypass those playing advertisements when scanning for a station. Public media reaches a vast, engaged audience interested in what you have to say.
Sponsors of public media are seen as benefactors rather than advertisers. When that happens, the listeners perceive the sponsor messages as less intrusive than traditional ads. Instead, they are viewed as educational and informative. The audience feels as if they benefit from what they hear.
A public media sponsorship is a unique opportunity to elevate your brand. Sponsors experience the Halo Effect from their association with the highly regarded public station they support. This phenomenon is an unconscious positive bias toward the brand that enables their favorite programming. Marketers benefit from a cost-effective effort to achieve mass impressions while satisfying their CEO's objective of community service.
The Proof Is in the Numbers
While you can find many success stories related to public media sponsorship and how it returns significant ROI, seeing quantifiable results drives it home. Consider the following statistics on the efficacy of various forms of public media, whether broadcast, digital, social, or podcasts, for your marketing efforts:
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After learning a brand sponsors public radio, 72% of listeners report a more positive view of a brand.
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70% of NPR listeners favor purchasing from companies that sponsor an NPR station over those who don't.
Community Marketing and Mass Impressions Aren't Mutually Exclusive
While marketers and CEOs may favor different strategies, they are both ultimately working toward the same end: they want to see their companies succeed. A purpose-driven agenda can still result in a significant ROI. Statistics prove that public media audiences are more likely to purchase from a public media sponsor than other advertisers. The brand also gets a lift through its association with public media.
Community marketing can coexist with a cost-effective, high-impression strategy when you invest in a public media sponsorship campaign. Public media offers many benefits for sponsoring brands, including higher engagement, increased recall, and enhanced awareness. Work with a trusted, experienced media partner to learn more about opportunities for sponsorship in your market that best fit your brand and business objectives.
