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And Now, A Word from Our Sponsor:
How TV Speaks to CPC Clients
By Jackie Zurinaga
"My hero hasn't traveled the world, doesn't star on her own TV show, and can't sing very well. My hero didn't plan on being pregnant, but she put her career on hold and chose to have and love ME! My hero? My Mom!"
 These are the words of pretty six-year-old Monroe as she playfully dresses up in costumes from a stage trunk. In her sugarcoated voice, and with a twinkle in her eye, this "Shirley Templesque" angel melts your heart in VirtueMedia's latest crisis pregnancy spot. Yet despite the ad's little star and the film's Hollywood quality, the message speaks volumes to young women contemplating abortion. Yes, those childhood dreams of being famous and wealthy that all girls have must be set-aside for a while. Yes, having a child requires self-sacrifice, but look at the greater good accomplished by being a mother and one child's special hero. Sometimes motherhood entails carrying a cross, but also rewards women with tremendous joy. The "Hero" TV ad helps educate abortion-vulnerable women about a better choice—the blessings and joys of motherhood.
Television and radio media are great influences on our society. By the time Americans reach the age of 75, they will have spent a full 14 years of their lives watching television. Unfortunately, media's messages in both advertising and entertainment have become increasingly negative and overtly sexual over the last 20 years. VirtueMedia's founder, Tom Peterson, decided that enough was enough. Eight years ago he gave up a successful career in secular advertising to dedicate himself to saving babies. He has created more than 20 national quality TV and radio ads aimed at promoting the sanctity of human life. The themes of these ads range from the dangers of embryonic stem cell research to general pro-life education. However, the crisis pregnancy ads have a special place in Tom's heart. "These ads are really saving lives today," Tom emphatically states.
In addition to "Hero," VirtueMedia has other powerful ads that have a very stylized, contemporary appeal to them. The inspiration for these ads was real-life women who either had or contemplated abortion and spoke of the fears and dilemmas they faced. These ads have mass appeal, since they simply offer help and support to women in need. VirtueMedia ads have aired with great success on cable networks like BET and MTV plus main broadcast network affiliates like WB, UPN, FOX, and other "Gen-Y"-oriented channels.
Many pregnancy resource centers have a preconceived notion that TV ads are too expensive and complicated. Not so, according to most of VirtueMedia's clients. What centers need to consider is the tremendous impact that TV has versus the impact of billboards, movie screens, or even radio. The costs per call generated by TV ads are lower than ever. In January 2006, VirtueMedia launched a $20,000 crisis pregnancy TV ad campaign that ran in Atlanta, generating 2,646 phone calls in one month from abortion-vulnerable women. The results amounted to a cost of only $7.55 per call. This set an all-time record for the most productive crisis pregnancy TV campaign ever, according to CareNet's Optionline, the help line that fields the initial calls and partnered on this campaign.
Campaigns in smaller markets with budgets between $1,000-$3,000 also produced excellent results. Lee John Bruno of United for Life Foundation of Birmingham, Alabama, commented on his city's efforts this past year. "We were amazed at the number of calls received from our first VirtueMedia television campaign last April. We did not realize at the time how many women facing crisis pregnancies in the Birmingham area would actually pick up the phone to call for help. Even more amazing is that subsequent campaigns launched in October 2005 and January 2006 produced the exact same results! For every $12.00 spent on media, a phone call from an abortion-vulnerable woman was generated! With so many women in this city needing help, these VirtueMedia commercials should be airing every month."
Peterson suggests two important points to remember when making the decision to buy TV media.
Target the Right Audience. Play the right ad on the right station at the right time. This is where having a media buyer pays off. Media buyers know how to speak to your abortion-vulnerable clients. They know which shows they watch and what times of day are the most effective. They can also choose an ad that will be more appealing for urban women or another that is more effective in a suburban or rural setting. Media buying is another service offered by VirtueMedia because it helps take the burden off of center directors, yet requires no additional cost. It allows centers to focus on what they do best—counsel pregnant women.
Use the 1-866-88-Woman phone number to track results. Commercials tagged with VirtueMedia's national 1-866-88-Woman phone number and PregnancyLine.com website go directly through a tracking system to capture the date, time, and location of each response. Callers are then directed to a local center. While VirtueMedia ads can be tagged with your center's local phone number, Tom recommends using the toll-free tracking number and website so that directors can see exactly how ads are really working for them.
Television media is an ideal way to energize your donor base while fulfilling your mission of reaching abortion-vulnerable women. To see VirtueMedia's ads on line and for more information go to www.virtuemedia.org or call 1-877-7VIRTUE.
| Jackie Zurinaga is the Director of Marketing for VirtueMedia. She can be contacted at info@virtuemedia.org. |
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