Public Service Announcements (PSAs)
For Recovery Month 2006, SAMHSA produced two new radio and television public service announcements in English and Spanish. The 2006 PSAs were developed to inform the public about the effectiveness of treatment for substance use disorders, the nature of addiction and the recovery process, and the tremendous need to increase treatment service capacity across the country.
One of the 2006 PSAs, "New Morning," is a positive portrayal of a mother in recovery, starting her day and reflecting on the joy of regaining her life after overcoming the disease of addiction. Treatment has helped her get her life back. She can now reestablish relationships with her family and her community.
The second PSA, "Labyrinth," captures the confusion, isolation and lack of direction for those battling an alcohol or drug addiction. However, through treatment, recovery is possible. With the support and direction from family and the community, people find their pathway from drugs and alcohol - their direction home.
The broadcast PSAs put an everyday face on addiction and recovery, and offered SAMHSA's 24 hour, toll free National Helpline, 1 800 662-HELP, as a call to action if viewers, or someone they know, is in need of treatment. All PSAs were produced in English and Spanish in 15-second and 30-second lengths.
In collaboration with SAMHSA, the National Association of Broadcasters launched a brochure for local broadcasters to address alcohol and drug addiction in their communities. The brochure, Join the Voices for Recovery, contained programming ideas and script public service announcements (PSAs) to assist stations in raising awareness about the benefits of alcohol and drug addiction treatment. Downloadable radio PSAs were available for stations on the NAB Public Service Web site. Television PSAs continued to be made available to stations via the NAB monthly PSA satellite feed and through free dubs.
SAMHSA distributed and pitched the TV PSAs to 1,004 stations and networks, including 85 Spanish stations nationwide. The radio PSAs were distributed to 3,348 stations, including 186 Spanish stations nationwide. The PSAs were also distributed to airlines' in-flight entertainment departments.
In 2006, SAMHSA also created open ended spots for customization. These open ended spots allowed local television stations and community groups to personalize the PSAs with their logo, slogan, or telephone number at the end of the PSA. These spots were available via SAMHSA's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI).
In addition to the 2006 public service announcements, SAMHSA continued to track previous years' spots throughout 2006. These spots - "Treat Me", "Artist", "Boat", "Tony", "Crosswalk", "Psyched Up", "Runner", and "Subtitles" - were all produced in English and Spanish and continue to make an enormous impact on people in recovery and those who have helped them on their path to recovery.
In 2006, the 2005 Recovery Month PSAs, "Treat Me" and "Artist" won a renowned FREDDIE award. For the past 32 years, the FREDDIE awards have showcased brilliance in the health productions realm and have been a reflection of the advances in consumer and professional health education and technology programming.
Television PSAs
The 2006 television spots, "New Morning" and "Labyrinth," were distributed to 1,089 TV stations and networks, including 80 Spanish stations nationwide. From July through December 2006, the PSAs aired 14,320 times (equaling 102.97 broadcast hours) through 234 outlets reaching 112 markets, at an estimated earned media value of $1,544,983 and 178,641,935 in viewer impressions.
Since 2002 through December 2006, the 16 spots released in previous years continued to air, producing an estimated earned media value of $14,129,430 and 1,303,355,195 in viewer impressions.
In total, the overall estimated earned media value for all television PSAs released from 2002 through 2006 is $15,674,413 with a collective viewership of 1,481,997,130.
Radio PSAs
The 2006 radio spots, "New Morning" and "A Way Out," were produced in English and Spanish in 20-second and 30-second lengths and were distributed to nearly 3,534 radio stations nationwide. From July through December the radio spots were broadcast 40,791 times (equaling 315.83 broadcast hours) through 217 outlets reaching 188 cities in 49 states, resulting in an estimated earned media value of $ 2,156,179 and 233,530,520 in listener impressions.
From 2002 through December 2006, 16 additional spots from previous Recovery Month efforts continued to air, producing an estimated earned media value of $7,662,176 and 770,050,169 in listener impressions.
In total, the overall estimated earned media value for all radio PSAs released from 2002 through 2006 is $9,818,355 with a collective listenership of 1,003,580,689.
