By Brandy Gaskins
The National Payroll Week® (NPW) message reached millions of people in 2017 thanks to an extensive and diverse advertising and media plan. The plan covered an array of outlets and gained exposure for the payroll industry on television, print, social media, news sites, and more.
NPW on Television
Leading the NPW advertising campaign this year was a new, professionally produced 30-second commercial, “Payroll Throughout History.” The commercial aired nationally on several TV networks including NBC’s “The Today Show,” Fox Business Network, and CNN.
The new NPW commercial explained that although wage payments may change throughout history, payroll always ensures payday is the best day of the week for employees. It encouraged viewers to thank their modern payroll teams. The fun animated video can be viewed on the APA’s YouTube page at www.youtube.com/PayNewsNetwork. Between Facebook and YouTube, the video has been watched more than 71,000 times.
APA Public Relations and Social Media Specialist Brandy Gaskins also appeared on local San Antonio morning shows to spread the NPW message. Gaskins highlighted the importance of NPW and shared paycheck maximizing tips on the Fox affiliate morning show “[email protected],” CBS affiliate show “Great Day SA,” and NBC affiliate show “San Antonio Living.”
NPW in Print
The 2017 NPW print ad ran in major publications including New York Times Magazine, USA Today, and Journal of Accountancy. The print advertising featured imagery that complemented this year’s NPW commercial. The NPW print ad also encouraged workers to thank their modern payroll teams for making sure the best day of the week always happens.
NPW in the Headlines
In the month leading up to NPW, Business Management Daily looked ahead to the celebration with the post, “Forecast for September: A Week to Celebrate Payroll.” In addition, during the week of NPW, Business Management Daily’s Payroll Today blog published an additional post, “In Honor of National Payroll Week, Here’s to All That You Do!” recognizing the critical role payroll plays in funding vital government programs. The two posts reached a potential audience of 385,788 readers.
NPW sponsors and Media Partners also got into the NPW spirit and shared numerous blog posts and articles on their respective sites and social media platforms. Their help was invaluable to spreading the NPW message during the week.
The “Getting Paid In America” survey also attracted the attention of industry media. Results from the survey were picked up by PYMNTS.com with its article, “With Labor Laws in Flux, Here’s How Americans Get Paid Today,” which reached more than 1.7 million readers. Benefits Pro also published an article, “Self-service Pay and Benefits Portals Growing in Popularity,” that reached more than 200,000 readers. Five press releases highlighting the “Getting Paid In America” survey results also were featured by hundreds of media outlets, including Yahoo! Finance, CNBC, and Reuters, reaching millions of readers.
NPW once again had prime real estate in New York City’s famous Times Square. The giant Reuters digital video billboard featured this year’s NPW print ad and encouraged passersby to thank their payroll professionals for making the best day of the week happen.
NPW Goes Digital
The NPW message went big with its online and digital exposure. An NPW Facebook advertising campaign promoting the “Getting Paid In America” survey generated 2.8 million impressions. NPW ads also were featured in the Google ad network and enabled the NPW message to appear on hundreds of popular websites and mobile apps. The Google ads received 3.9 million impressions for NPW. For the first time ever, APA introduced NPW to users on Instagram. Ads promoting the “Getting Paid In America” survey earned an additional 53,569 impressions on the popular photo-sharing site.
NPW on Social Media
Social media continued to be a favorite way for the payroll community to join in NPW festivities online and share all of their #PayrollWeek fun. The NPW social media campaign featured two fun contests this year. The “NPW Party Sweepstakes” offered visitors the chance to win NPW 2017 merchandise prize packs simply for “liking” the NPW Facebook page. “The Phrase That Pays” photo caption contest allowed payroll professionals to showcase their creativity. Jonathan Sumner took home bragging rights and the grand prize of a GoPro Hero camera for his witty creation.
APA continued to support viral promotion of NPW with the release of an audience favorite—a new NPW meme. The fun graphic encouraged everyone to share it with followers if they were processing payroll “like a boss” during the week of NPW.
In addition, daily “Payroll Throughout History” fun facts were shared on the NPW Facebook page that explored beer and cowry shells as ancient forms of payment, the birth of direct deposit, and more. On the final day of NPW, a custom graphic was released that highlighted some of the payroll professionals directly responsible for making payday the best day.
Visit the NPW Facebook page today at www.facebook.com/NationalPayrollWeek to check out all of the fun photos, memes, and videos shared during the 2017 campaign by the APA and your payroll peers. The success of NPW was made possible thanks to all of the amazing efforts of payroll professionals and sponsors across the country.
Brandy Gaskins is Public Relations and Social Media Specialist for the APA.