Future Trends and Opportunities in Public Media Sponsorship

Public Media continues to develop its programming as well as sponsorship. By meeting the needs of its communities with focused programming, public media affords marketers an ideal format to increase brand trust and target particular demographics.

Unique opportunities flourish in sponsorship and vary from station to station. From on-air content to podcasts and cultural events, options for organizations to engage with the public are vast. We’ll explore some of the latest possibilities here.

Benefits of Sponsorship

Historically, public media sponsorship has been a powerful image-enhancing tool. Because it isn’t typical advertising, the public embraces sponsorship messages through a different lens. Organizations that provide sponsorship are in essence supporting their community and the intent for a healthier society. Consequently, public media supporters commonly trust these sponsors and consider their services premier. This is referred to as the halo effect.

Essentially, sponsorship provides:

• Positive publicity
• Increased marketing reach to new audiences and
• Enhanced employee loyalty

From brand awareness to general trust, public media fans often support sponsors because they have helped fund local public media stations.

Event Sponsorships are as Successful as Ever

Event sponsorships have long been a popular way to support arts and culture while increasing brand awareness. Events can draw a lot of attention. Even for those individuals who don’t attend, seeing that your organization supports local events creates confidence and appreciation for your brand that may be difficult to obtain otherwise.

Furthermore, cultural events often create lifelong remembrances in the minds of community members. Having those memories associated with an organization’s sponsorship can go a long way in securing brand trust. From music festivals to art shows, sponsorships help those experiences happen and the general public values it.

Events are becoming more specialized and as a result, allow marketers to find audiences that align with their own brand mission. In 2017, St. Louis Public Radio partnered with The Story Collider, a podcast that produces shows where personal stories about science are told live on stage. The Story Collider was founded by two physicists in 2010 and regularly puts on shows in New York City, Boston, Atlanta and various other cities around the world. Available Story Collider sponsorships include website promos, as well as on-air recognition and more. Yet, spaces for storytelling don’t stop there.

This summer in St. Louis, Missouri StoryCorps and STLPR have come together to facilitate a 6 week-long funfest of storytelling. Since 2003, StoryCorps has shared over 30,000 personal stories across America. This is how it works:

• The StoryCorps mobile recording booth arrives
• Volunteers sign up in pairs, one interviewing the other
• Sessions are 40 minutes in length and are guided by an experienced facilitator
• Participants receive a CD of their session and with permission, a copy is sent to the Library of Congress

There are 3 different tiers of sponsorship opportunities for this single event: presenter, corporate and supporting. Each level has various benefits.

On the West Coast, KCRW in California is producing the Summer Nights Music Series: 15 nights, 11 different venues, all outdoors. This event series also has Presenter and Supporting sponsorship opportunities, as well as a special option for a singular event night in Chinatown. Each sponsorship level offers numerous marketing benefits for the sponsor.

To give you an idea of what is offered, the Presenter Sponsorship includes the following:

• 120 on-air messages
• Logo add-ins for all event emails, landing pages and newsletter mentions
• Opt-in box for more sponsor info in emails pertaining to event
• Organic mentions of sponsorship in social media, newsletters and website
• 30 sponsor mentions in on-air spots
• 300,000 non-geo impressions on digital audio
• 300,000 non-geo impressions via display banners on KCRW.com

If you are looking for a more politically minded audience, look no further than WAMU in Washington DC. The WAMU station hosts, Conversations with Jenn White. As a seasoned reporter, White leads discussions on pertinent political topics such as environmentalism, housing, public health and even Artificial Intelligence (AI). Although this program is produced in DC, it’s distributed across all NPR channels nationwide. This provides a greater reach for larger organizations that want to improve national recognition.

Podcasts are Powerhouse Sponsorship Ops 

Podcasts have become a powerful form of media over the last decade. Centralized themes for topics allow audiences to tune in to what matters most to them. This option also provides marketers with particular demographics to convey their brand message.

WBEZ in Chicago hosts The Rundown podcast. This program distills the top 5 stories of the day. Listeners tend to be individuals who want to remain adept in current events and are generally committed to community and belonging. Sponsorship of this podcast offers organizations an audience of engaged action-takers more likely to support their brand.

KERA in Dallas, Texas created a podcast titled, Tiempo Tranquilo. In Spanish, this means "quiet time.” Geared toward children from predominately Spanish-speaking families, the program is intended to provide tools to aid in processing intense emotions. Ultimately, this podcast can help children feel more in control of their life experiences and less debilitated. 

When Magic Happens, also based in Chicago, is a podcast with a specialized focus on the needs of Black women. This program highlights faith, finance, health, love and more. Podcasts guests have included Roz Brewer the CEO of Walgreens, Juliana Stratton, Lt. Governor of Illinois and Mellody Hobson, President and Co-CEO of Ariel Investments. The hosts are three dynamic Black women, each representing a different generation. Thus, Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X are all present to add various perspectives on the challenges discussed.

Reporting Desk Sponsorships Provide Results

Every local public media station caters its programming to the needs of its constituents. Thus, different reporting desk options may vary from region to region. For instance, most stations have an Education Reporting Desk where the sponsor can provide broadcast messages, promotional messages, and exclusive banner ads on the education news landing page of its website. NPR also has Business Reporting Desks, Sustainability, Science and more depending on the location of the station.

These sponsorships have proven ideal for organizations seeking effective marketing options that afford a strong ROI. Moreover, each reporting desk opportunity provides a new audience that may not have heard your message elsewhere.

The NPR Tiny Desk music series has developed a huge following since its inception in 2008. Unknown artists are highlighted on this program and on occasion, artists such as Usher, Harry Styles, John Baptiste and Adele perform mini-concerts as well.

Sponsorship opportunities are available for the Tiny Desk website page. With over a thousand concerts available, and over 23 million views to date, this “desk” garners a lot of attention. And that’s exactly what any organization wants for its brand message.

Websites Work for Sponsors Seeking Consistency

Nothing has taken hold in recent years like storytelling in marketing. It is the foundation for connecting an organization’s mission with the needs of its community. Sharing real-life experiences in a way that inspires growth is the catalyst for positive change. More importantly, people respond to it.

Community Catalyst is a public media website that does just that for the Houston, Texas area. Its focus is on local non-profits. By providing mission-driven stories of local organizations, Community Catalyst affords the Houston region insight into the impactful interactions already happening within their community.

This helps locals to determine whom they would prefer to provide certain services in their day-to-day lives. From healthcare to volunteering, public media fans trust sponsors that support their community in both sponsorship and service.

Of course, banner sponsorships on station websites are also a tried-and-true option. They appear at the top of the homepage for the designated station or in the case of the Tiny Desk, on the national NPR website. Moreover, sponsorship banners can be linked to the organization’s preferred business page. This method can take the viewer directly to your website or designated sign-up page.

The Right Sponsorship Opportunity for You

No matter your preferred audience, as a sponsor you are likely to find exactly what and who you’re looking for with public media. With specialized programming and too many sponsorship opportunities to count, your brand message will be heard by people who are both receptive and reactionary.

Whether you want a specific demographic or an environmentally conscious audience, public media fans trust public media sponsors. So, what are you waiting for? Impress your marketing team with a strategy that will produce impact—a public media plan!

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