November 29, 2021

What does it mean to a sponsor to have a “Halo” associated with their brand?

Everything.

The Halo Effect is a selling point unique to public media. It is the idea – supported by research – that Americans attribute specific qualities of brand trust, excellence, and community to public media, and that these qualities translate to our sponsors by association.

Because our audience trusts and values public media, they are predisposed to trust and support companies that support us. 

Now more than ever sponsors are looking for a trusted environment for their message to protect and elevate their brand. In commercial environments sponsors don’t always know what other brands they may be associating with.

The very characteristics that define non-commercial public media create a trusted, quality media environment that translates to real value for our sponsors by association.

Consider this quote from “Inside Radio” on September 7, 2021:

Eight in ten (82%) advertisers say they are vetting media partners based on trust-related attributes. That is up from six in ten (58%) a year ago. This is according to the 2021 Advertiser Perceptions Trust Report.

It also shows:

A majority (54%) of advertisers said they would alter their media plan to defund media outlets promoting disinformation. And four in ten surveyed said they had already cut a media partner or shrunk their share of an ad buy this year based on trust factors.

How about the digital ad environment? Cookie tracking on digital ads is going away, and bots (fake robot users) have created distrust in spending on digital ads. It’s hard for digital ad advertisers to be sure that their digital ad will be in an environment that’s good for their brand. That’s where public media can save the day for digital ad advertisers and offer a trusted media environment via the “Halo Effect.”

Use the Halo Effect strategically in your sales process to make the business case for public media sponsorship. Greater Public has Halo Effect tools you can use in your pitches and proposals, along with data and other resources to help you leverage the Halo Effect in your local sponsorship efforts.