Coping With
Underwriting Anxiety

What, me worry?
–Alfred E. Neuman

Nearly half of public radio’s listeners are "anxious" about underwriting.

Does that mean you should be worried too?

Everything a public radio station broadcasts irritates someone. Even the most popular programs have their detractors. While responsive stations strive to please most of their listeners most of the time, some percentage of listener disapproval is unavoidable.

Recent findings by AUDIENCE 98^® demonstrate that a significant percentage of listeners harbor some resentment towards on-air pledge drives. Should this be a cause for concern and a call to action?

Absolutely. Individual givers are essential to public radio.

But should stations react to this information by severely curtailing on-air fundraising goals or eliminating pledge drives all together? Absolutely not.

Such is also the case for business support and Underwriting Anxiety.

The listener's consternation is not so difficult to understand. He hears us say we've reached our pledge drive goal, but in the next hour we ask for more. We describe ourselves as noncommercial, yet underwriting credits often sound like advertising.

Pledge drive resentment and Underwriting Anxiety are problems but they are also opportunities.

First, we can research and adopt the most effective underwriting tactics while maintaining public radio's values.

Second, we can position underwriting as the necessary and beneficial source of income it is.

Effective Underwriting

While AUDIENCE 98 cannot specify the exact causes of Underwriting Anxiety, the likely candidates are some combination of:

Placement - Where in the programming the announcement is heard.

Length - How long the underwriting credit is perceived to be.

Repetition - How often listeners perceive that they are hearing the same credit and/or messages by the same underwriter.

Content - The actual words and/or production used in the credit.

Delivery - The sound and style of the announcer in reading the credit.

Category - The type of product or service mentioned in the credit.

Each of these elements can be researched for its positive and negative attributes. The results can be actionable for both local and national credits.

In an ideal world, networks, stations and producers would work with each other to present underwriting effectively.

Positioning

Public radio has a unique relationship with listeners, and particularly with givers. They have high expectations for the product and its presentation.

In turn, we expect them to accept our fundraising needs and techniques on faith. We believe they should acquiesce – without explanation – to announcements in and around their favorite programming from a myriad of national and local businesses.

Should we really be surprised that a high percentage of listeners have Underwriting Anxiety when most do not understand the financial necessity of business support?

How many managers have taken any time to explain the differences between underwriting and commercials? To position underwriting as a valuable service that, when combined with dollars from listeners, makes the purchase of their favorite programs possible?

We attempt to explain the rationale for individual giving during pledge drives. It’s time to take the same step for underwriting.

Here are just a few of the positive messages that could be communicated:

• Business support helps shorten on-air fund drives.

• Underwriting doesn’t "cover" programming; it occupies built-in cutaways.

• Stations and producers need and seek underwriters, but maintain inviolate polices against editorial interference.

• Listener and business support together provide the most stable, viable and independent funding option for public radio.

Research is needed to identify the most effective messages. But even absent such tests it’s good business to explain to listeners that, in this era of scaled back subsidies, underwriters are public radio’s allies. And that makes them listeners’ allies too.

A little knowledge and understanding can go a long way towards reducing Underwriting Anxiety.

– Peter Dominowski
– John Sutton
AUDIENCE 98 Associates

 

Audience Research Analysis
Copyright © ARA and CPB.  All rights reserved.
Revised: September 01, 2000 12:38 PM.