Ruritan Club and District Officers' Handbook

The most expensive time to buy advertising on the radio is called “drive time.” This is the three hours as people are going to work and the three hours when people are driving home from work. These are the times when your announcement will be heard by the greatest audience, but you might have to pay more for the extra audience. Compare the costs of drive time to the radio station’s late night (midnight to 6 a.m.) and daytime advertising rates. Consider both your budget and audience when deciding which time slot is right for your message. Tips on Public Service Announcements Radio stations have time set aside for public service announcements and sometimes radio stations will run your announcements as a public service announcement or PSA. The key to getting the radio station to agree to run your announce ment this way is to convince the station manager that your club performs a public service to the community. Explain what your club has contributed to the community in the past, giving specific names of people in your community who have benefited from scholarships, fundraisers, or other community service projects. Another tactic to try is giving away tickets to club events on the air. If your club is planning a great public event or a special community fundraising meal, ask the radio station to assist in promoting the event in return for free tickets. If the radio station gives away tickets to your fundraising event, it generates publicity for your club and ultimately more ticket sales. Many stations also broadcast a calendar of upcoming community events. This provides a great opportunity to spread news of your club’s activities to a large number of radio listeners at no cost. If your community has cable television, contact your local cable company about placing an advertisement or announcement on the local access channel. Cable television companies are required by law to provide some form of local access channel, usually as a scroll or listing of community events. Many times a cable company will block out certain times just for free community service announcements. Couldn’t your Ruritan club take advantage of this

Collect Local Media Contacts Collect the following information for each radio station, TV station, and newspaper that covers your club’s service area. Use the contacts to get your events and news covered by local media. Newspaper: Address:___________________________ Phone: ____________________________ Publication schedule: __________________ Day and Time Deadlines for Articles: ______ ____________________________________ Contact Person: _____________________ Other Info: _________________________ Radio Station: Address:___________________________ Phone: ____________________________ Lead time for Public Service Announcements: ___________________________________ Contact Person: _____________________ Other Info: _________________________ Television Station: Address:___________________________ Phone: ____________________________ Lead time for Public Service Announcements: ____________________________________ Contact Person: _____________________ Other Info: _________________________ advertisements vary from community to community, the best way to get rate information is to contact the sales departments of your local media. Remember, always tell the salesperson about Ruritan. Volunteer community service organizations sometimes get preferred advertising rates or even free advertising during off-peak hours. cable television advertising. Radio stations and broadcast television both base their advertising rates on how many thousands of audience members will receive your message. Most radio stations (and some television stations) will write and produce an announcement or advertisement for you, usually for an additional cost. Since costs for radio and broadcast television

free time on cable television? Big Media and Big Money

Radio and broadcast television reach thousands of people, but expect the costs of your advertising to increase dramatically over newspaper and local

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Revised 8/2024