A Public service announcement is a somewhat brief public interest message that has the intention of raising awareness and educating it’s audience about a behavior or issue with the goal of motivating them to change or cause change.
PSA’s are similar to Public notices in that they are not selling anything. Like a Public Notice they also answer the questions why and what. Why the audience should care about the issue, and what the audience can do about it this means including detailing out what exact action you expect your audience to take to create the change necessary
How to write a Public Service Announcement
The first step to writing a PSA after you identify the subject of the PSA is to Define the audience
This means identifying where they are ( location)
who they are (age, gender, and ethnicity)
and their values are ( religion and lifestyle)
and even what industry of job they might work or be active in.
Next, you will want to decide on the tone of your Public Service Announcement. Decide if your ad will be humorous, inspirational, or appeal more to their values and beliefs. Furthermore, you will want to think about what type of elements and/or imagery you want to use to catch the attention of your audience.
For radio announcements it is appropriate to prepare both a 30-second (65-90 words) and a 60-second (150-180 words) version of your public service announcement. Be sure to include the scripts for both versions, along with any alternate scripted options so that they may also be read live on air.
What to include in your PSA
PSA’s are intended to cause a reaction spark change, and inspire the audience it is intended to reach. They frequently use emotional language along with jarring or alarming imagery. The purpose of this is to evoke a response. It is necessary for the audience to understand the importance of the consequences of their inaction or actions.
when you are submitting a PSA, it is important to have and include the following information
Official name of any 501(c)(3) Charity/NonProfit it is affliated or attached to as well as the website associated with it.
A brief overview of the initiative, cause, or a description of the event.
It is important to include the location, date, and time of any event.
It is important to also include who or what is the beneficiary of the organization or cause and where any donations go including how the proceeds are split. Lastly, it is important to include all contact information, such as name, title, and phone number.
Most of the time, PSAs depict images that may be considered jarring. This is because PSAs are intended to cause a reaction. They are intended to alarm the reader enough so that they understand the importance of their actions or the consequences of their inaction. For more information on Public service announcements please see this additional post