Warning!

If you’re with a state agency, your press release only has a few hours left to live.

 Press releases, public service announcements (PSA’S), free media, it all falls under the heading of what is called Earned Media.   It is generated through public relations efforts and is exciting and rewarding to receive.

However, earned media has three significant shortcomings.

• It’s parceled out on a level playing field
• It has a shelf life of 24 hours or less.
• It seldom is heard by the people you are trying to reach.

First of all, you need to understand that at the same time you’re trying to get some “earned media” so are dozens of other worthwhile causes. While the media does its best to try and cover everyone, it only has so much “free” time to parcel out.   That’s why you find yourself on what we call a level playing field.   Everyone gets a little, no one gets enough.   Simply put, earned media will not provide you with sustained exposure.

The Michigan Radio Network can help you successfully overcome all three of these shortcomings.  How do you accomplish this?   By supporting your public relations and earned media effort with a paid statewide media campaign.  

There are three very positive outcomes you guarantee for initiative when you pay for air time:

• You control the message.   It is told exactly the way you want it told.   Media “interpretation” or last minute “editing” won’t happen and you won’t be “preempted” by the crisis of the day.  
• Paid media lets you keep yourself in the news long after you are the news.   Your message or story is repeated as many times as you want, and that’s accomplished over a planned and sustained period of time that you control.  
• You reach the people your initiative is targeted to reach so your media and communication efforts show more impact and results.   That makes it easier to justify future appropriations and funding for new programs.

At this point you may be thinking that paying for media is not really necessary.   After all, you’ve hired a celebrity to voice the message, so it should get lots of air play. You’ve placed the message on your web site and sent out letters to radio stations throughout the state telling them where they can download the message.  

We mean no offense, but for a moment you need to visit the world of the typical radio station operator.    We are unaware of any station in Michigan that pays an employee to surf the web for the purpose of downloading messages that will air free on their station.   And it’s no different if you email or land mail your PSA.    

The realty of radio in this day and age is that most stations commit a relatively small amount of time for PSA’s.   And the time they do commit is mostly reserved for local groups and events, not statewide causes!

But once again, the good news is that there is a way to effectively and affordably make sure your message is heard when and where it needs to be heard!   The Michigan Radio Network can make sure your informational campaign is heard state wide, gets the results you need, and provides you with the necessary documentation to assist in securing next years funding. 

Find out how affordable it is to have guaranteed, statewide exposure for your message.   Call Phill Orth at the Michigan Radio Network today for a no obligation marketing analysis and proposal.