Williams Whittle Associates reports that its “Day in the Life” public service announcement (PSA), which it produced and promoted for the USO, was the nation’s most frequently aired television PSA of 2008. The Alexandria, Va.-based marketing agency’s PSA, which warmly portrays the efforts of the USO in tirelessly serving our nation’s service members, ranked first among 2,140 PSA campaigns tracked by The Nielsen Company. Overall the campaign garnered more than $70 million in donated airtime during the year.
“Station directors obviously have countless choices when airing PSAs, and we are fortunate that our cause is one that engenders tremendous support and enthusiasm,” said Sloan D. Gibson, USO president and CEO. “I also believe that the top-tier production quality of ‘Day in the Life,’ coupled with Williams Whittle’s thorough and personal promotion tactics, helped the USO stand out in a sea of worthy causes.”
Williams Whittle uses an innovative, multi-pronged approach to PSA promotion that includes leveraging its detailed database, distributing broadly across all media and personally connecting with PSA directors in the nation’s top markets. West Glen Communications handles distribution and provides analysis and media value.
Rob Whittle, president and CEO of Williams Whittle, asserts that its exhaustive customer relationship management with key stations in the top markets is critical to its success. “We reach out to these stations and develop one-on-one relationships with the PSA directors,” he said. “We listen. We learn who has a daughter in Iraq and whose father fought in Vietnam. And soon, station PSA directors change from being simply a target audience to being our advocates, and they are consequently happy to give our PSAs more airtime. Stations have told us that no one else does anything like this.”
According to the Nielsen tracking data, “Letter Home,” another PSA produced and promoted by Williams Whittle for the USO, was the 16th most aired PSA nationwide in 2008. In addition to producing two PSAs for the USO each year, Williams Whittle promotes the “Patriotic Six,” the six-week period that spans Memorial Day, Flag Day, and Independence Day. According to Whittle, it was during the “Patriotic Six” in 2008 that stations accelerated their coverage of the PSA and helped propel it to its eventual number one ranking.