http://www.adcouncil.org/newsDetail.aspx?id=211

Ad Council Announces Record-Breaking $2 Billion in Donated Media Support in FY 2007

NEW YORK.– Despite a competitive public service advertising (PSA) environment, campaigns produced by the Ad Council received a record-breaking $2 billion in estimated donated media time and space during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007. The support marks a 7 percent increase over fiscal year 2006.

“This unprecedented support marks a significant contribution from the media community,” according to Peggy Conlon, President and CEO of the Ad Council. “The media continues to value the critical social issues addressed by our campaigns and the award-winning creative produced pro bono by our leading ad agencies.”

The increase in support can also be attributed to the Ad Council’s adoption of proactive national and local media strategies. The national strategy included securing upfront media partnership commitments and establishing media steering committees with leaders representing the television, outdoor and newspaper industries. Local strategies included increasing the Ad Council’s presence on the community level with the placement of regional managing directors based in 10 top markets around the country and developing local leadership committees comprised of senior level executives from the corporate, advertising agency and media communities.

The Ad Council’s upfront donated media strategy resulted in contributions valued at more than $750 million with commitments received from more than 90 media partners. The following Premier Partners each committed media inventory valued at more than $10 million: Clear Channel, Time Warner, Comcast Spotlight, News Corporation, Entercom, Univision, Citadel, Cumulus, OAAA, Tribune, Bloomberg, Cox Cable, Adams Outdoor, MSN and Google.

FY 2007 Donated Media Support (In Millions)
Radio $1,038
Television $465
Interactive Media $144
Outdoor $126
Public Relations $124
Magazine $33
Alternative Media $27
Directories $23
Newspaper $22
Total $2,002


Television support increased by 48 percent from FY 2006 with stations donating more than $465 million in airtime for Ad Council spots in FY 2007. This increase was largely due to proactive partnerships with media companies and industry trade associations, and the support of the Television Steering Committee. Outdoor media support increased by 18 percent with a $126 million contribution of advertising space, primarily the result of engagement from the Outdoor Advertising Association of America and the Outdoor Steering Committee.

Radio remained the largest supporter, donating more than an estimated $1 billion in airtime for the PSAs. A change in radio monitoring vendors and extrapolation methodology contributed to a decrease of 10 percent from the previous fiscal year. Additionally, newspaper support declined by 30 percent due to challenges in the industry.

Public relations experienced the most significant increase (255 percent) with new strategies in online media and blogging, strategic partnerships and viral marketing. While interactive media increased slightly (5 percent), this area is continually growing, experiencing a 176 percent increase since 2004, which can be attributed to the organization’s focus on exploring new digital media strategies and online partnerships.


Top-Supported Ad Council Campaigns in FY 2007
Media Management Coalition of Media Companies $168.5 million
Childhood Obesity Prevention U.S. Department of Health & Human Services $92.7 million
Drunk Driving Prevention U.S. Department of Transportation $81.8 million
Emergency Preparedness U.S. Department of Homeland Security $72.4 million
High School Dropout Prevention U.S. Army $68.7 million

The Ad Council’s Media Management campaign, which launched last year and is sponsored by a broad coalition of media and entertainment companies, received the most donated media, garnering more than $168 million in fiscal year 2007. This support was largely due to a significant commitment to support the PSAs from the television broadcast networks (including ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC). Other top-ranked campaigns were Childhood Obesity Prevention, Drunk Driving Prevention, Emergency Preparedness and High School Dropout Prevention.

The Advertising Council
The Ad Council is a private, non-profit organization with a rich history of marshalling volunteer talent from the advertising and media industries to deliver critical messages to the American public. Having produced literally thousands of PSA campaigns addressing the most pressing social issues of the day, the Ad Council has effected, and continues to effect, tremendous positive change by raising awareness, inspiring action and saving lives.