AAUW Public Service Announcements

A Powerful Branch Tool for Increasing Visibility and Recruiting New Members

Are you looking for a new membership recruitment tool?  Please take a minute to read about the AAUW Public Service Announcement (PSA) Campaign below.  PSAs are a powerful recruitment tool on the local level, so I am urging you will take action as soon as you can.

AAUW has produced several excellent 30-second and 60-second PSAs referred to as “In the moment I knew…”   Radio stations have a certain amount of air time reserved for non-profit PSAs. Locally, it is our job to contact the radio stations in our area and ask them for air time.

Because submitting PSAs to radio stations is probably something foreign to most of us, AAUW has made it pretty easy.  Teaming up with someone else on your branch board may be a great way to start since collaborating and planning together might help you to be more comfortable.  Below are the steps to take.

Here is how to contact a radio station in your community and ask for air time:

    • First, reading some background information for branches and states  is important.
    • Next, you can locate the radio stations in your area on the Virginia Radio Distribution List.  There you will find phone numbers and a contact name.  (Only the largest stations are listed…the ones with the strongest signal.  If you wish to call different stations not on the list, email Cordy Galligan and she will research the needed info and get it to you.  Locally you probably will be able to look up the information you need and save a step.)
    • Now you are ready to review the Branch Phone Script which you can use when calling the radio station of your choice to ask for air time.   Again, January and February are particularly opportune times, but the PSAs can be aired any time.
    • Sometimes a station will offer objections to airing AAUW’s PSAs.  AAUW is ready with more information for you in response to any objection.  Attached you will find PSA Overcoming Objections from public service directors.  This resource will be helpful if objections are made by the radio station.

If you make phone calls to radio stations, please let me know how it goes.  When the program was rolled out by AAUW during the summer of 2010, CDs with the PSAs were sent to the stations.  If the stations no longer have the CDs, then, as stated in the script, email media@aauw.org and request that another copy be sent.

Good luck as you reach out to your local radio stations to air AAUW PSAs.  This is just another way to be visible and proactive.   I hope you will give it a try!

Patsy Quick, Vice President for Communications, AAUW of Virginia