History of It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air
In developing It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air, a national initiative, it was critical to create consumer-based messages that would motivate the public to take action—messages that would also resonate across communities that vary in available transportation options and air quality awareness levels.
The It All Adds Up design was based on considerable primary and secondary research, which included a pilot phase in three U.S. cities with varying stages of air quality awareness. What followed was a complete marketing program that communities could tailor to reflect their requirements and encourage drivers to make smarter, healthier transportation choices.
Following the research phase, 14 demonstration communities throughout the U.S. received a $25,000 grant to implement the initiative. The groups were provided with a toolkit, which included a media campaign with television, radio, print, and outdoor advertising. They were also encouraged to form local coalitions of community organizations, businesses, and governments with an interest in transportation, traffic congestion, and air pollution issues.
It wasn't long before more and more air quality and transportation professionals from across the country heard about the initiative and recognized the benefits of incorporating the It All Adds Up initiative into their own public outreach and education programs. More than 100 organizations had volunteered to become Community Partners and use the It All Adds Up messages and materials to help increase awareness locally about the connections among transportation choices, air quality, and traffic congestion—with the ultimate goal of improving quality of life for millions of people across the nation.
The Alliance for Clean Air and Transportation (ACAT)—a national coalition of public and private organizations—also became an integral part of the It All Adds Up effort by distributing messages developed by the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air initiative to a broad audience nationwide. In fact, ACAT was the only national organization working to promote the It All Adds Up messages.
It All Adds Up conducted a "First Five Years" evaluation to document the initiative's progress. Read more...