Public Media — The Right Audience, The Right Environment, The Right Time

I am willing to bet that your CEO listens to public radio. I know this because I’ve been invited into the C-Suite of many Fortune 100 companies and heard from them firsthand. They are public media fans, and passionate ones.

After years working in commercial media, and before that Arbitron (now Nielsen), it was shocking how open high-level marketers were to meet with me as a representative of WNYC, New York’s public radio powerhouse. Chief Marketing Officers brought their marketing teams to meet with us, pouring their hearts out about their love for the station and the many programs produced and distributed by Public Radio Exchange (PRX), NPR and American Public Media (APM). They shared stories of literal driveway moments when they got home before a program was over and realized they’d been sitting in their parked car waiting to hear the end of the story that had hooked them. I didn’t have to sell them on the value of public media. They were basically doing the selling for me by their excitement to support quality journalism and public media. These were the best sales calls I’d ever experienced.

Like many advertisers, it had never occurred to them that they could invest marketing dollars to create social impact and achieve ROI for their brand by supporting public radio. They assumed that only members wrote checks in exchange for a tote bag or mug. They didn’t realize that supporting quality journalism through a marketing investment would result in brand lift unmatched by other traditional marketing channels. Commercial media sells advertising, but sponsoring public media is supporting a station’s or podcast’s mission and beloved content they share with the world. The mutual affinity created by supporting public media that its listeners and fans also support translates to equity for brands.

At Market Enginuity, we connect brands with public media and millions of listeners from shows distributed by PRX, one of the world’s largest podcast networks. Our company’s mission is built around the belief that supporting quality journalism in America is essential, and that’s true now more than ever.

Public Media Is Built for This

The health and economic uncertainty that we’re experiencing is daunting. There are endless media studies and op-eds on marketing and advertising during these unusual times. PR machines are spinning the commercial media story because they rely on advertising to survive. In many ways, survival has become a central theme in our new reality.

But while newsrooms around the country are shrinking, local newspapers are folding and commercial radio staffs are furloughed, public radio is investing in itself. At this challenging moment in our country, the need for trustworthy news and information has never been more vital, and public radio stations are delivering. Every dollar gained through membership or corporate sponsorship supports quality journalism and growing newsrooms to cover the important stories that must be told and that audiences need to know.

Marketers Have an Important Choice to Make

Now is the time to act.

We know that some advertisers and marketers are pausing messaging until they know more about the pandemic and its effects on this country and its consumers. But retreating from consumers’ minds can be counterproductive, leading to an erosion of brand equity over time. Brands with directives to continue have rushed to change their advertising creative so it sounds less like … well, advertising. Sponsoring public radio stations or podcasts that inform, educate, and inspire isn’t advertising. It’s supporting quality reporting and stories about human connection that a loyal audience care about and often support themselves, donating to something that is otherwise free.

That loyal audience is the group of consumers you have to reach during the COVID-19 crisis. They are educated, informed, financially stable, and as lifelong learners, better prepared to weather this storm and rebuild their communities. They are employers and community leaders who are navigating the crisis for their businesses, employees, friends, and families — and they are turning to trusted news sources to guide their decisions. According to a recent survey by Jacobs Media, 77% of respondents say they completely trust NPR/Public Radio to provide answers and solutions to the Coronavirus outbreak.[1]

How Will You Be Remembered?

Now is the time to connect with these valuable consumers, and they want to hear from you. 67% of public radio listeners want to hear how brands are supporting their employees during the pandemic and 60% want to know how brands are getting involved in their communities. This type of messaging feels natural and genuine in the public radio environment because public media is community-oriented by nature.

Your CEO understands the value of public media. Adding it to your media plan will not only align with their values, but also gain your brand long-term return from an engaged audience who will remember your support and thank you for it when making purchasing decisions. Choices brands make now will either set them up for success or failure when life finds its new “normal.” What choice will you make?

I’m proud to represent mission-driven, educational, and inspiring independent media from public media stations in media markets #2–44 and the incredible producers who are part of the PRX network. If you want your brand to be remembered, support public media.

We’re Built for This.

Harry@marketenginuity.com

marketenginuity.com

[1] Jacobs Media Coronavirus Survey, April 2020

This post first appeared from Harry Clark on Medium