Success Stories
Summer 2006 Community Partner Champion
Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition
Time and money are tight for the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition (MGCAC). So, they're more than happy to be another shiny spoke in the air quality wheel—as long as they don't have to reinvent it.
At little or no cost, this innovative team gets the word out about air quality wherever they go. If a crowd is expected to gather in central Georgia, MGCAC plans on being there; and if they can get their hands on some free, quality resources to help educate the public about improving air quality and traffic congestion, even better.
"We try to partner with groups who are already doing events and things and then come in and add another level to it," said Charise Stephens, mobile source coordinator for MGCAC and executive director of the Middle Georgia Clean Cities Coalition. "We may not have a huge budget but we do have a lofty goal, which is one of the reasons why we love It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air."
After a neighboring air quality coordinator told Charise about It All Adds Up two years ago, she immediately saw the value in using the initiative, which today plays a crucial role in reaching thousands of residents in the seven-county region. "It's a godsend—it makes my job so much easier," she said. "The materials are great and they're exactly what we needed." MGCAC favors the It All Adds Up simple steps, seasonal Flash animations, air quality quizzes, fact sheets, and various phrases and language from www.italladdsup.gov.
Wheels and deals
Charise also works tirelessly to establish relationships with area businesses, politicians, and the media—all of them important conduits for delivering clean air messages to the public.
After Bell South and the City of Macon donated a brand new compressed natural gas van to MGCAC, Charise recruited Hidden Graphics, a local graphic design company, to step in and produce the van's artwork at a steep discount.
"Providing the graphics for the van at a reduced cost just seemed to be the right thing to do—the work they do is so vital to our community," said Hidden Graphics owner, Nancy Rush of Macon. "Of course I'd hoped it would help my business in the long run, which it has."
Rush said she saved MGCAC about $400 on the clean air van and continues to work with them providing low-cost artwork and signage.
"That's my outreach mobile—I drive it everyday—it's a moving billboard," said Charise. "It's our one-stop shop during events, too. People ask about the alternative fuel portion of it and then we have all of our educational materials on the inside."
If the shoe fits, wear it
When Charise pulled up in her van during Macon's event for Beyond a Billion, a national celebration in October where Clean Cities coalitions across the country held events to mark the displacement of more than a billion gallons of petroleum, she found a way to tie in It All Adds Up. "We had a car clinic and talked about maintaining your vehicle and passed out information from It All Adds Up about proper vehicle maintenance."
It All Adds Up also made its way into the February kick-off event for the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame's 10,000 Steps initiative, which encourages walking to improve health. "It was a perfect opportunity to tie in the 10 simple steps and get people thinking about how walking is also good for the air," Charise said. To recruit volunteers, she e-mailed the event flyer and registration forms along with the It All Adds Up 10 simple steps and wavy blue tagline. On walk day, Charise's Middle Georgia CAN! (Clean Air Network) team wore T-shirts emblazoned with the 10 simple steps. "I just copied the steps onto the shirts—I didn't have to modify anything."
MGCAC also partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Central Georgia earlier this year for the Tour de Georgia event to promote the community's new bike paths. While the Sheriff's Department and Macon Police Department discussed bike safety with the kids, Charise talked to the parents, handed out It All Adds Up bike flyers, and had everyone take the air quality quiz.
"It was one of the best events we did," she said. "We talked to about 100 parents about bike riding as an alternate mode of transportation, which spurred discussion and interest in the clean air coalition and why what we do is so important."
Andrew W. Stansell, administrative officer for the City of Macon, said he's very pleased with Charise's passion and progress. "I think she has made a significant impact in our community—it's been overwhelmingly helpful," said Stansell about MGCAC's outreach activity. "She just goes out there and does what needs to be done."
To make air quality education more appealing to youngsters, Charise's daughter, Kayla, wears a little princess crown and strolls the grounds at events extolling the virtues of practicing the simple steps. "We officially made Kayla the Little Miss Clean Air, whom the kids seem to look up to—she's very friendly," Charise said. "I have a son, too, and they both help me out a lot. They're my little clean air ambassadors…always out there soliciting the kids to come by and learn."
Rubbing elbows, sharing stories
Charise's savvy public relations also gets her the coveted spot on television and in newspapers.
"We don't have an advertising budget, so I try to attract media coverage by focusing on human-interest stories," said Charise who keeps local reporters and producers informed with air quality e-mails, smog alerts, phone calls, and press invites to various events. "I try to keep media people informed. I see a lot of reporters around town during lunch so I build a rapport with them—I think they respect that. On that particular day they may not need your story but you're going to be in the back of their mind on a day when they do."
Charise also applies the PR tips she learned at the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air Roundtable during the U.S. EPA/STAPPA-ALAPCO National Air Quality Conference in San Antonio in February.
"I was so excited to be there. It was very informative," she said. "We talked about bringing on new partners, such as doctors' offices and the media, and how to make them feel part of a bigger 'movement' and also how to tie-in local meteorologists. That was particularly useful, because we were just getting ready to start a smog notification program."
Sure enough, shortly after MGCAC rolled out its color-coded smog alert program, a local TV station invited Charise to speak about air quality on their midday news show, which repeats at 5 and 6 p.m..
"We also do a quarterly show on the public access channel where I talk about the tips and do the air quality quiz," she said. "At the end, my daughter holds a calculator in front of the camera and says, "It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air!'"
Onward and upward
MGCAC simply refuses to miss out on an opportunity to generate air quality buzz.
When the State invited public comments on the development of Georgia's State Energy Strategy in July, Charise's comments proposed the State implement It All Adds Up as a statewide air quality outreach program. "We're also working on something to present directly to the governor that says It All Adds Up should be adopted statewide, because it's just a really good resource," she said. "Right now we have many counties in non-attainment so this would be a perfect way for all of us to work on it together and create some synergy!"
During the 2006 Bioenergy conference, Charise set up an It All Adds Up display table, and worked hard to recruit stakeholders who were there. "There was a lot of interest," Charise said, adding that It All Adds Up also caught the attention of a local businessman who said he wanted to share the information with teachers in Tifton, Georgia.
After two years on the outreach circuit, Charise said it's time for MGCAC to start thinking about doing some research and evaluation to measure public awareness. Until then, anecdotal evidence suggests the It All Adds Up message is sinking in.
Charise explains: "I went out to lunch the other day when we had a code orange alert and there were two ladies sitting near me. I overheard them talking about it and what they could do to help….it actually brought tears to my eyes."
To learn more about Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition's activities, contact Charise Stephens at charise.stephens@macon.ga.us or give her a call at (478) 751-9178.
Spring 2006 Community Partner Champion
West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission (WMSRDC)
When smog moved through the air across Lake Michigan, causing region-wide air-quality problems, the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission (WMSRDC)—a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) in Muskegon County—pushed back with a powerful regional coalition and creative use of the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air messages and materials.
This It All Adds Up Community Partner faces a particularly challenging dilemma—literally. Situated on the edge of Lake Michigan, residents are hit head-on with a concentrated haze of dirty air, the worst of it creeping ashore during the hot summer months. "Most of our air pollution is coming from across Lake Michigan from such areas as Chicago, Milwaukee, and Gary, Indiana," explains Amy Haack, air quality program manager at WMSRDC. "The pollution just bakes under the sun as it crosses the lake, and because we're located right at the shoreline, it hits us first and hardest."
They're not alone. Transported pollution is a common frustration for many communities across the U.S., but pointing fingers across the water isn't often an effective solution. Taking action at home is. However, with a limited budget for air quality outreach and education, there didn't seem to be enough money to cover the widespread initiative WMSRDC envisioned.
Building partnerships: fusing dollars and sense to achieve cleaner air
That's when WMSRDC turned to their neighbors—other MPOs in the area—for a brainstorm. After all, they figured, nearby MPOs must also have been struggling with the same problem. They were right, so in 1995, the West Michigan Clean Air Coalition (WMCAC) was born—the start of a solid and enduring partnership between WMSRDC and two neighboring Michigan MPOs, the Macatawa Area Coordinating Council and the Grand Valley Met Council, as well as dozens of local businesses, non-profits, and governmental agencies. The members of the partnership today all pitch in to deliver premium air quality education and public outreach to thousands of residents across several counties.
The secret to their success, said Haack, is straightforward. They use resources that are free and readily available, including the materials and messages from It All Adds Up, and share money and ideas to achieve the same goal. "We each receive separate CMAQ funding, which we decided to combine so we could duplicate more marketing materials at lower cost and buy more radio and TV advertising time," said Haack. "Plus we share our talents-some of us are better fundraisers, some of us are better copywriters, etc. We each have something unique to bring to the table." Grand Valley Met Council has the biggest purse, so they contribute the largest share (58%) for outreach materials and activities. "We decided that each MPO should pay a percentage based on the population it covers within our three-county region," explained Haack, adding that WMSRDC contributes 23 percent to the budget and Macataw, the smallest of the three, chips in 19 percent. "Once this was decided, it became the rule that each MPO would receive a corresponding percentage of the marketing materials. So, if we order 1,000 notepads, Grand Valley gets 580 of them."
The group's funding is also increased or offset through corporate and government sponsorships—another upshot of having joined forces.
No problem, it's a done deal
Blending their separate partner lists gives the team the megaphone they were seeking in order to trumpet clean air messages simultaneously across the region. "This ensures that we are sending out consistent messages. Repetition is key," said Haack, noting the success they've achieved in getting employers to send their staff emails, paycheck stuffers, and newsletters with It All Adds Up quizzes, tips, and Flash animations. Clean air display tables are commonplace inside lobbies, lunchrooms, auditoriums, street fairs, grocery stores, and concerts…where identical posters hang, clean air games are played, and promotional items and It All Adds Up tip cards are distributed.
"Going to where the people already are is much less time consuming and much more cost effective than trying to attract them to you," Haack said. The team also initiated a clean air placemat campaign at some local restaurants.
Lou Pocalujka, a senior environmental planner at Consumers Energy, Michigan's chief public utility company, is a coalition partner. As an environmental expert, he was invited to help develop strategies to improve air quality in Michigan; his company also disseminates the It All Adds Up Simple Steps to employees via its vast intranet system.
"Because the steps are voluntary and easy to do, they're easy to introduce. Telling people what to do is less effective…it makes it difficult to get people to take positive action," said Pocalujka. (Gassing up company vehicles and mowing grass when it's cool is, however, company policy.) "We just worked at it with a lot of repetition and we think it's catching on. We hear people saying they like doing something small that can make a difference."
Haack employs the same theory to recruit new partners. "If you ask an organization to do just a little, you'll generally get a good response; if you ask them to do a lot, you'll get a negative response from most." Her team persuaded some employers to designate parking spots for their carpoolers and also succeeded in getting the local bus company to apply for CMAQ funding last summer so it could offer free rides on Ozone Action days. "The program was extremely successful," said Jennifer Kalczuk, external relations manager at The Rapid, the public transportation company that participated. "By the end of the season, our ridership increased 30 percent." Kalczuk said $68,000 in CMAQ money covered the cost, including lost revenue for the 10 days the fare was waved. Kalczuk said they even noted an increase in ridership after ozone season. "Between November 2004 and November 2005, ridership increased more than 18 percent," she said.
Mining the Exchange for low-cost ideas
Last summer's door hanger campaign was another success. "I got that idea from the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air Exchange and wanted to do the same thing," Haack said. "I was looking for something low-cost and this seemed such an inexpensive way to go…so I called the Community Partner in Portland and we talked about how she did it." Haack paid $1,000 for three sets of durable paper door hangers (6,000 total) featuring the It All Adds Up clean air tips, stats, and the It All Adds Up tagline and hired two interns from a local college to place them on the doors of residents in a specified neighborhood over the course of three weeks.
Banking on repetition to drive the message home, the final hanger included a mail-in survey about air quality and a chance to win a $50 gift certificate. She also customized a press release from It All Adds Up about the program, which resulted in generous newspaper coverage. "The Website is a great place to find inspiration for new projects," Haack said. "I tell everyone about it. It's a great resource."
What's the net result?
Partnering also allows the team to designate $8,000 towards other essential work—notably a public awareness survey, which is faithfully conducted every two years with the help of a nearby private university. "We place great value on these surveys and have found them to be extremely useful when determining where we are falling short and where we are making the most impact," Haack said. "For example, we found out that few people knew about the clean air benefits of stopping at the click, or mowing and gassing up when it's cooler, but that most were willing to start doing it because it's easy and convenient." The latest survey results show that public awareness about the It All Adds Up simple steps climbed from 78 percent to 85 percent.
The survey results also provided solid evidence of where the group needed to improve, leading them to reexamine how the advertising budget was spent. Were they allocating the funds in the best possible way? The answer, they discovered, was not quite. "People were familiar with our TV messages (an adaptation of the It All Adds Up trip chaining commercial and local meteorologists sharing clean air tips during weather reports), but not too many had heard our radio ads," Haack admitted. "We'd spent our entire radio budget on one major radio network and, although the ads aired on their three affiliate stations, we couldn't afford to run them that often." This time they decided to spread the budget across three major radio stations so the ads would be heard on three times as many affiliates. "That move gave us more exposure for the same money!" Sounds simple, but without that hard survey data in front of them, the team might not have made the connection.
Making a new radio commercial
To get started on the new venture, the team spared themselves time and expense by using a free radio script from It Adds Up, which they tweaked and enhanced with a little song and dance: a playful honky-tonk tune that petitioned listeners to "do their share for cleaner air." The ad encouraged alternate modes of transportation and mowing grass on cool days before ending with the important reminder that "It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air." Click to hear the ad.
This fun and memorable summer sing-along made people smile and tap their feet. More importantly, residents across the region were consistently reminded—in an engaging way—about the simple steps they could take to reduce traffic congestion and pollution.
Haack said the coalition looks forward to learning the results of their latest radio and door hanger efforts with the next public awareness survey. "Public awareness surveys are the quantifiers that show the program is working, which makes it easier to obtain funding." Survey results also serve as a persuasive tool to get more partners on board to spread the word. "Surveys help a program make connections with new partners," Haack said. "Show that you have a successful, evaluated program that is worth a new partner's time and effort and it almost becomes a peer pressure thing—they can't say no!"
To learn more about the West Michigan Clean Air Coalition (WMCAC), which has been an "It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air" Community Partner since September 2003, please visit http://www.wmcac.org/ or contact Amy Haack at the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission (WMSRDC) at ahaack@wmsrdc.org
Winter 2005 Community Partner Champion
Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission
A couple years ago, Central Ohio had a bit of a reputation...
The six-county region had failed to meet federal standards for ozone pollution. And while many states were struggling with the same problem—and finding ways to tackle it—Ohio wasn't faring as well. "At one point, we had the unhealthiest air in the country," said Laura Koprowski, communications manager at Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), a two-year Community Partner of It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air. "We knew we had to do something to get people to change their commuting habits and drive less," she said, noting that vehicle emissions were the chief cause of their escalating air pollution.
Last year, MORPC's air quality staff put their heads together and launched the Clean Air Challenge, an engaging public action campaign that truly addresses mid-Ohio's air quality issue.
Citizens, make the choice!
To get started, the team culled information from the It All Adds Up Website and others to create a short list of voluntary steps that individuals could take to help clean the air in their community. (http://www.cleanairchallenge.net/signup2.php) The core objective was to get residents to do their part to reduce tailpipe emissions—carpool, telecommute, take the bus, walk, and bicycle.
But getting people to change required more than offering a few good ideas. So, MORPC went a little further and asked participants to pledge to actions they were willing to practice and how often they'd commit to doing them—once, twice, or four times a week. In addition to using alternate modes of transportation, Clean Air Challenge choices included refueling after 6 p.m., stopping at the click, using electric lawn equipment, and more. "Our goal was to get 10,000 people on board," Koprowski said. As an enticement, they offered a prize drawing opportunity.
The team depended on the It All Adds Up Website for budget-stretching ways to use their $50,000 advertising allocation, which was made possible with CMAQ funding and donations from Ohio DOT and Central Ohio Transit Authority. They downloaded the It All Adds Up tagline to place on their public education Web pages (http://www.cleanairchallenge.net/air-quality-101.html), the Clean Air Challenge, a new brochure about eco driving, and various other print materials. They also turned to It All Adds Up for radio copy ideas. "The It All Adds Up materials have fresh angles and interesting facts—the Website has been very helpful," Koprowski said.
After "receiving enthusiastic approval" from their board members, the team turned its focus to recruiting stakeholders, sponsors, and local businesses to help get the word out. The campaign premiered at a kick off "Breakfast of Champions," complete with Wheaties look-a-like cereal boxes wrapped in clean air images and information.
Leave no stone unturned
To trumpet the message even louder, MORPC staff developed an air quality improvement presentation and shared it with dozens of local government assemblies. "We went to every council meeting we could think of, which is a great way to get free publicity because the media is already planning to be there," Koprowski said. "If they pick up your story, businesses are likely to be familiar with your effort even before you call them."
She was right.
Newspapers, including the major dailies, began talking about it, and so did local radio stations. It wasn't long before the Clean Air Challenge and other educational materials—including the It All Adds Up air quality quizzes—were finding their way into various newsletters, such as the Columbus Chamber News, and employer Websites and email transmittals.
Some 4,000 business cards printed with clean air steps, contact numbers, and Website URLs for both the Clean Air Challenge and MORPC are also circulating around town, another inexpensive—and unusual—way to get the word out. "The business cards provide an information piece that can go virtually anywhere with our staff and our partners," Koprowski asserted.
Making public education fun
The campaign was already gaining momentum when MORPC held its Clean Air Challenge at the Arena District, a busy outdoor plaza located downtown (view flyer). But no one anticipated the overwhelming success of the May event.
For the event, the city waived its standard rental fees, and only charged $50 for utilities. MORPC spent $10,000 publicizing the event with Web streaming advertisements and radio commercials and PSAs, which aired for two weeks during peak travel times and on weekends. They also tapped their growing network of employer partners and arranged email announcements to several thousand employees.
"We planned for about 200 people to sign up and we got 800!" Koprowski said. Attendees enjoyed free hot dogs and sodas provided by Dairy Queen and lots of promotional giveaways. Local hybrid vehicle owners were on hand to show off their vehicles and radio DJ personalities delivered air quality information during a live broadcast.
Getting them on board
Barbara Colegrove, a project specialist for RideSolutions, MORPC's 11-county vanpool program and key player in the clean air effort, introduces residents to the RideSolutions Rewards program, which offers incentives to employees who sign up for carpooling. It All Adds Up "DJ Dialog" ideas are used by local radio personalities to invite RideSolutions registrants to call in with funny, interesting carpooling experiences. Prizes are awarded for the largest carpool, the longest drive, the most outrageous carpool, etc.
Colegrove said RideSolutions agreements have tripled recently, due in part to rising gas prices, but also because many people seem ready to act on the clean air messages they're hearing about. "We're hoping that even when gas prices come back down, people will still see the benefits of staying with these rideshare arrangements."
Even drivers who don't opt to rideshare are starting to make positive changes. "They always ask why they should fuel after 6 p.m., and after we explain why it's important, they almost always commit to getting gas in the evenings," said Colegrove.
MORPC's "Gas Free" event was another successful endeavor coordinated this spring by Clear Channel radio group and sponsored by a local Meijer supercenter. People did more than fuel up.
The first 100 Clear Channel listeners to pull up to the pump after 6 p.m. and take the Clean Air Challenge received a $20 gas card. All drivers were asked to turn off their engines while they waited in line and read information about the negative effects of engine idling and why they should stop at the click. RideSolutions staff walked about, discussing the issues and answering questions. "We had requests for additional information and heard people say that they want to share the tips with family and friends," Colegrove said. "People are willing—they just need specifics on how they can help."
Central Ohio still has a reputation, but now it's one they can be proud of! With roughly 5,000 citizens signed up and ready to do their part, MORPC has already reached 50 percent of its target.
"When we brainstormed this campaign, our main goal was to raise awareness about our air quality problem and get the community to take ownership of it," Koprowski said. "Now people are talking about the importance of having clean air…and that's what we wanted to happen!"
To learn more about the Clean Air Challenge and other air quality initiatives by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, please contact Laura Koprowski (lkoprowski@morpc.org) and/or Barbara Colegrove (bcolegrove@morpc.org). You can also visit the Clean Air Challenge Website at http://www.cleanairchallenge.net/.
August-September 2005 Community Partner Champion
Air Victoria, Texas
Something exciting is in the air in Victoria, Texas.
Lawn mowers across the region are resting noiselessly until after 5 p.m., drivers are stopping at the click when they refuel their cars, and increasing numbers of people are hopping on the bus or sharing a ride when ozone levels peak.
That’s because the citizens of Victoria know that these actions are all adding up to cleaner air for their region.
Air Victoria, a three-year Community Partner of the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air initiative, is changing the way people think and act when it comes to air quality. “This is the best year we’ve had,” said Joni Brown, Air Quality Program Coordinator for the Victoria region.
Victoria residents can’t help but see and hear It All Adds Up messages wherever they go – on billboards, at gas stations, across the radio waves, when they open up their mail or sit down to watch television.
“I hear people say all the time, ‘I knew today was going to be an ozone day so I gassed up last night,’” Brown said.
In October, thousands of Victoria residents received a public education survey tucked inside their utility bills—86 percent of the respondents had read or heard an air quality message during Victoria’s ozone season, May 1 to October 15. Among that group, an impressive 95 percent said they now perform ozone prevention behaviors.
Brown noted, “I even got an e-mail from a citizen saying she now stops at the click!”
That citizen is Holly Pickering. When she and husband Chris refuel their vehicles, they stop pumping as soon as they hear the gas nozzle click. But it wasn’t until recently, after the couple repeatedly noticed It All Adds Up “Stop at the Click” messages fixed on gas station pumps that they picked up the habit.
“We didn’t know the importance of stopping at the click until this public education campaign started -- now we do,” Holly admitted. “My husband gets kind of tickled every time we fill up! It’s very empowering to take charge that way.”
Customize the message
Another recent success is Victoria’s new “Alternate Choices” version of the It All Adds Up “Alternate Choices” TV ad. The original video begins with a few seconds of train footage designed to encourage greater use of public transportation, but Victoria doesn’t have a passenger train, so Brown worked with a production crew at the local television network to replace the footage with images of people boarding a bus in Victoria. The commercial is getting a lot of attention and generates a lot of discussion. “I hear more compliments about the alternate choices TV ad than any other we’ve done so far,” said Brown.
Lisa Cortinas, Director of Transportation Services in Victoria, said the alternate choices messages are undeniably influential. “We’ve definitely noticed an increase in ridership, especially on ozone alert days,” said Cortinas, who is also a member of the Air Victoria Advisory panel. “We have seen a 24-percent increase in bus trips from last year and we think a portion of that increase is due to the Air Victoria campaign.”
Target the audience
An annual Lawn Equipment Exchange encourages residents to stop by a designated home improvement store to exchange a working, gas-powered lawn mower for a new, discounted electric model. Exchanges this year increased 100 percent.
A local TV network covering the lawn mower exchange interviewed a woman whose grandkids suffer from asthma. She was moved to take action after seeing on the Spanish-language channel several Air Victoria TV spots warning about the dangers of ozone and then seeing ads for the exchange event. “This grandmother had seen our health messages and the call to action and made the connection,” said Brown. “We couldn’t have asked for a better spokesperson for our program!”
Unlike the English-language ads, which receive large exposure when aired during the morning and evening news, the Spanish-language ads appear during the station’s daytime Novella drama programs popular among the Hispanic community, a group that accounts for 40 percent of the population in Victoria.
Two Brains are Better than One
Brown frequently turns to others for support and ideas, including Jerry James, director of Environmental Services and legislative liason for Air Victoria; Ray Miller, assistant director of planning for the area’s Metropolitan Planning Organization; and Chris Jones, a part-time research assistant for Air Victoria.
Brown also depends on the It All Adds Up Exchange for inspiration and advice. “The Exchange is so valuable,” she said. “I get so many ideas from it.” Impressed with the good results Miami-Dade, another Community Partner and former champion, achieved using the It All Adds Up tagline and clean air messages on bumper stickers, Brown decided to adapt them for Victoria County. She created three versions: one for the city’s light duty, fuel-efficient trucks; one for refuse vehicles; and another for consumer-purchased hybrid vehicles. Each sticker bears the It All Adds Up logo along with the appropriate message: “I’m a fuel efficient [retrofit truck, retrofit garbage truck, or hybrid vehicle].” To get the messages out there, Brown contacted city authorities to have the stickers placed on all retrofitted city vehicles. She also met with managers at local Honda and Toyota dealerships who will distribute the stickers to every customer who purchases a hybrid.
Health partners will increase the reach
Even more is on the way for Air Victoria: using Clean Air Act funding through the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's Rider 8, a brochure developed in collaboration with the American Lung Association will educate the public about the link between ozone and respiratory illness. “We printed out a few of our favorite air quality Website pages to get ideas for the text – It All Adds Up language got circled a lot,” said Brown. The brochure will be distributed to doctor’s offices this fall.
A new PowerPoint presentation about ozone-related illness featuring the It All Adds Up tagline will be presented to as many as 50 physicians who treat high-risk groups, including the elderly, children, and individuals with respiratory illnesses. A dinner event sponsored by a pharmaceutical company and featuring Brown as the main speaker is also in the planning stages.
Booking time with busy physicians and medical directors was a very difficult, time-consuming task—but Brown was up to it. She held seminars for hospital employees, community health groups, and health advocates until the message filtered up and she made a contact with the chief pulmonary physician at a local hospital. “Now the doctors want to meet with me!” said Brown.
Brown uses the marketing materials and support from the It All Adds Up Website, builds strong partnerships to help deliver the messages, and seeks opportunities to educate the public about improving air quality.
“If you can get these simple messages out you’ll see that it works – education changes behavior,” asserted Brown
For more information on Air Victoria-Keep It Clean, contact Joni Brown at 361-485-3235 or JBrown@victoriatx.org, or visit the Air Victoria-Keep it Clean web site at www.airvictoria.org.
January-February 2005
Broward and Miami-Dade Counties in Florida
Many of the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air Community Partners create a unified front against air pollution and traffic congestion. They form coalitions with businesses and state and local organizations, and pool their resources to build public education campaigns. In some cases one Community Partner works with another to spread the It All Adds Up messages throughout a region. Miami-Dade County and Broward County in South Florida are two such Partners.
In 2003, Debbie Griner of the Miami-Dade County Department of Environmental Resources Management and Catherine Zimmerman of Broward County's Environmental Protection Department joined forces to spread the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air messages and tagline. Since then they've incorporated the initiative's materials and messages into their efforts to educate South Floridians that small, simple actions can make a big difference in air quality and traffic congestion.
Because motor vehicle emissions account for more than half of the air pollution in the region, the Partners put great emphasis on spreading the word that regular vehicle maintenance helps clear the air, as well as improves safety and saves money. Since 2002, Broward County, with Miami-Dade joining the effort in 2003, has been organizing Car Care Month events each October to promote those messages.
In early October 2004, the two organizations partnered with their regional American Automobile Association Auto Club to offer several free services to residents, including 24-point maintenance inspections; battery, electrical, and charging system inspections; child-seat inspections; and VIN window etching. Each county held a day-long inspection event (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3); in Miami-Dade, 104 vehicles were inspected and in Broward, 160 were inspected.
The counties partnered with their local auto repair shops to distribute supplementary information and tools. "Car Care & Cleaner Air" brochures, tire pressure gauges, and Car Care Logbooks—all using the It All Adds Up tagline—were distributed in over 250 repair shops during October.
The Partners also looked to another location frequented by drivers—gas stations. They partnered with nearly 200 area gas stations and gas distributors to place gas pump toppers promoting car maintenance at the pumps.
To further disseminate the car care messages and draw people to the inspection events, they ran a TV ad that Miami-Dade produced based on the "Priceless" TV commercials and into which they incorporated the It All Adds Up tagline. They also ran radio ads with the tagline during morning and afternoon drive time.
Both organizations have used their Web sites to further disseminate car care messages by posting tips and statistics. The Broward County Environmental Protection Department also developed a specific Car Care section on their site and posted the It All Adds Up summer online quiz and a variation of an It All Adds Up flyer as well as an original flyer they developed—all of which focus on vehicle maintenance.
Due in part to Miami-Dade's and Broward's Clean Car Month successes, the Southeast Air Coalition for Outreach (SEACO), which consists of partnerships of public and private organizations to improve air quality within Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, is considering expanding the activities to other counties.
While their messages are always consistent and they often collaborate on campaigns, Broward and Miami-Dade counties also have developed individual programs and activities.
One of the most exciting projects for Miami-Dade this year was developing an episode of Down to Earth, an environmental television series produced by Miami-Dade Television and Miami-Dade's Department of Environmental Resources Management. Debbie Griner and her staff developed a script discussing local air quality and what citizens can do to help. The show debuted during Clean Air Month in May.
Broward County, eager to interest children in air quality issues at a young age, held a poster contest at local elementary schools during Clean Air Month. Twenty-two schools participated, submitting 315 posters on the topic of "Clean Cars of the Future." The winners were recognized at the National Clean Cities Conference, held in Broward County in 2004, and the posters were used to create a calendar distributed locally.
Both Broward's and Miami-Dade's air quality outreach funding comes from two sources—the U.S. EPA's 105 grant funding and the State of Florida's Air Trust Fund. The Trust Fund consists of monies collected on a $1 fee attached to state vehicle registrations. If the county in which the vehicle is registered has an approved air program, the county receives up to $0.75 of the fee.
For more information on Broward's and Miami-Dade's activities, please visit their Web sites at www.broward.org/air and http://www.co.miami-dade.fl.us/derm/air/home.asp or contact Catherine Zimmerman at czimmerman@broward.org and Debbie Griner at grined@miamidade.gov.
November-December 2004
Alamo Area Council of Governments in San Antonio, TX
AACOG conducts most of its transportation and air quality outreach during ozone season. To kickoff its program this year, it held a community event in late March that included a number of useful activities for the public. People were able to get their vehicles' gas caps and emissions checked and their bikes tuned up; to view the latest hybrid, alternative fuel, and electric vehicles; and to enter a poster contest to have their poster turned into a billboard.
AACOG developed a Car Care 101 booklet that incorporates It All Adds Up messages, icons, and the print ad titled "Your mom always told you to take good care of your stuff." At its ozone kickoff event, it offered free mechanic-led car maintenance tutorial sessions and gave participants the booklet. So far this year, it has distributed more than 1,600 booklets to people in the community.
Since June, AACOG has been holding radio events promoting responsible transportation choices. It has set up live radio "remotes" at area gas stations featuring the themes of refuel in the evening, drive less, and care for your car. The campaign concludes in November when San Antonio's ozone season comes to an end.
AACOG has a presence at a number of other area events, including activities on Earth Day and during May's Hike & Bike Month.
AACOG distributes air quality information at all of its events. To disseminate the information further, it's using its Web site and http://www.aacog.com/commutesolutions where, at various times throughout the year, it has posted the It All Adds Up quizzes, seasonal flash animations, and a print advertisement. Also, the air quality program's home page has the It All Adds Up Community Partner banner, which links to www.italladdsup.gov.
Representatives from the council visit civic and business groups and local schools to educate them about transportation and air quality issues facing the community. Click here to view AACOG's presentations.
AACOG also provides carpool matching, "Bike Buddies" that matches cyclists who have similar routes, and "SchoolPool" that matches parents who have children in the same schools. This summer, AACOG expanded "SchoolPool" to match summer school students.
AACOG has organized a "Walking School Bus" program. Instead of being driven to school, groups of students who are supervised by a parent walk to school. This program and other AACOG activities were highlighted in an April New York Times article that profiled San Antonio's air quality.
Just recently, AACOG developed an air quality and transportation curriculum and is distributing the material to teachers in the region. To request a free copy, contact Heather Willden at hwillden@aacog.com.
AACOG's robust air quality program is funded through grants from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), State Energy Conservation Office (SECO), and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).
For more information on AACOG's activities, contact Peter Bella at (210) 362-5249 or visit http://www.aacog.com/air or http://www.aacog.com/commutesolutions.
September-October 2004
CommuterLink from College Point, NY
CommuterLink began as a small demonstration project in Queens, New York. In eight years it has grown to serve the entire five boroughs of New York City (NYC). The non-profit organization became an It All Adds Up Community Partner in 2000, and has successfully incorporated many parts of the initiative into its outreach program. They have earned the distinction of being the Community Partner Champion of the Month.
CommuterLink promotes carpooling, vanpooling, and mass transit as solutions for the congestion and air quality problems in the greater NYC area. It developed and for four years has managed the Ozone NY Program. This air quality initiative—sponsored by the New York State Department of Transportation with support from the New York City DOT (NYCDOT)—serves the 13 counties of downstate New York, including the five boroughs of NYC, the two counties on Long Island, and six counties in the Lower Hudson Valley. Over 550 businesses have joined as partners to promote responsible transportation choices in the region.
This year Ozone NY launched a new and innovative campaign—Get a Plant, Green Means Cleaner Air. The campaign, which includes traffic, sports, and weather report sponsorships on several radio stations and advertisements on several local cable TV networks (such as HGTV and Fox News), targets individuals rather than the business audience that Ozone NY traditionally targets. The ads center on the simple and thought-provoking concept that plants can improve air quality by reducing ground-level ozone (see www.OzoneNY.org for details on how plants can reduce VOC levels and air temperature).
As part of the program, Ozone NY formed partnerships with 250 plant stores in the region that will allow anyone who mentions ground-level ozone to get a 5-10% discount on the purchase of a plant. The plant stores were given two posters to help them promote the campaign. In turn, the plant stores receive free advertising and a listing on the Ozone NY web site. A plant tag congratulates purchasers for taking the first step to improving air quality, lists three more steps from the It All Adds Up "Ten Simple Steps to Improving Air Quality" flyer, and directs customers to the Ozone NY web site for more information.
A new Ozone NY feature that evolved from the Get a Plant, Green Means Cleaner Air campaign allows individuals, not just businesses, to sign up to receive Ozone Action Day alerts. Go to www.OzoneNY.org to see the TV ad and more about the campaign.
A core part of Ozone NY's program still involves notifying their partners—and now individuals—of forecasted Ozone Action Days. They rotate several versions of the forecast notice, which include educational information, such as the messages and tips on alternate commute modes and refueling from the It All Adds Up "Ten Simple Steps" and seasonal simple steps flyers.
CommuterLink has developed elementary and middle school curricula for area teachers, and has included some of the It All Adds Up messages in the lessons. The organization also aims to educate young people about the health hazards of ozone and its relationship to the transportation choices they soon will be making.
CommuterLink has been using the It All Adds Up materials in their promotional and advertising efforts for quite a while. In 2000, they added partner logos to the initiative's three television ads, which the local NYC cable company ran for free. Again, in 2003, they customized the three television ads with Ozone NY and partner logos and ran them for nearly two months on the CBS affiliate in New York City. This way, they were able to reach millions of people on a regular basis.
They also have run the It All Adds Up print ads in several local and regional newspapers. Across downstate NY the initiative's messages and materials were used on give-away items, billboards, bus shelter signs, fast food trayliners, and gas pump signs. NYCDOT provided much assistance by finding sponsors—such as ESPN, Reebok, Mobil Oil, Ford Motor Company, and McDonalds—to print and distribute the materials. They also arranged for the ads to be shown on electronic billboards in Times Square, Shea Stadium, and Yankee Stadium. CommuterLink ran radio ads on two local stations throughout the summers of 2002 and 2003 as well.
Contact John Galgano at (718) 886-1343 for more information on CommuterLink and Ozone NY, or visit their Web sites at www.CommuterLink.com and www.OzoneNY.org, which has been completely redesigned.
August 2004
Bi-State Regional Commission in Rock Island, Illinois
With two states, five counties, and more than 44 municipalities in its jurisdiction, the Bi-State Regional Commission (BSRC) has a complex education challenge. Since it became an It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air Community Partner in 2001, it has used the initiative's resources to meet this challenge and strengthen its ongoing "Aware of Air" public education campaign. Its enthusiastic involvement in It All Adds Up earns it the honor of being the August Community Partner Champion.
While the region currently is in attainment of the national air quality standards, BSRC staff knows that the area's continued growth and development could increase emissions and cause future problems. Therefore, BSRC has implemented an extensive advertising campaign to deliver messages on air quality and transportation choices. It is using radio, television, print, and online media to reach its target population. They receive $40,000 in CMAQ funding to support the campaign, which they match with $10,000.
Throughout the Commission's campaigns, it regularly has used the It All Adds Up materials. During its fall 2003 broadcast advertising campaign, it used the trip chaining television ad for a month-long ad buy on the local NBC affiliate. The spot ran 50 times, reaching more than 142,000 metro area households. It also was added to BSRC's Web site.
In summer of 2003, BSRC aired the It All Adds Up maintenance radio spot on a local FM station 180 times, resulting in an estimated net reach of 121,300 listeners. Page views of BSRC's Web site more than doubled - from 43 in August to 141 in September and 103 in October - which they attribute to the broadcast campaign.
This summer, BSRC is running the 30-second trip chaining TV spot 168 times in two-week intervals on the local NBC affiliate. Over the three-month schedule the ads will reach 70-80 percent of the targeted viewers about three to four times.
BSRC also has made good use of the It All Adds Up ready-made print resources. For example, it has placed the "What's Your Air Quality I.Q.?" quiz and the It All Adds Up placemat in local newspapers' special advertising sections, such as centerfold "inserts." In the most recent 4-page insert they included It At All Adds Up artwork, messages and a print ad. After running the print materials, BSRC received a number of requests from community groups wanting presentations about air quality and transportation issues.
BSRC adapted the Tomorrow leave home without it print ad for billboard use. The 6'x12' billboard rotates monthly among thirteen locations. BSRC also has used the It All Adds Up artwork and print ads to embellish its "Quad Cities Ozone Flex Plan – A Voluntary Program for Emissions Reductions" and its fact sheet about the emissions reductions program.
BSRC has an active "Aware of Air" Web site, which it has supplemented with the It All Adds Up online quiz, several of the print ads and the trip chaining TV ad (see "Environment" ad). It also links to the It All Adds Up Download Center, giving other organizations the opportunity to learn about the resources provided by the initiative.
For more information on BSRC's activities, contact Gena McCullough at 309-793-6302 + ext. 146 or gmccullough@bistateonline.org or visit BSRC's "Aware of Air" Web site at http://www.bistateonline.org/ser/env/aoa/aoa.shtml.
July 2004
Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission in Portage, IN
When the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air team launched its demonstration program in 1999, it selected the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission (NIRPC) in Portage, Indiana as one of 14 communities to test the It All Adds Up messages and materials. NIRPC was an enthusiastic and successful participant, receiving the Indiana Department of Environmental Management’s Outstanding Public Outreach Award in 2000 for its extensive It All Adds Up campaign. NIRPC has remained a committed It All Adds Up participant and has earned the distinction of being named the July 2004 Community Partner Champion.
According to Reggie Korthals, NIRPC’s Director of Environmental Planning & Programs, the organization’s goal is to create a big air quality program with a little budget. NIRPC, which works very closely with the Partners for Clean Air groups in Chicago and Milwaukee, has successfully done just that by leveraging partnerships with other local government agencies, organizations and businesses that provide in-kind contributions.
NIRPC has made extensive use of the free outreach materials provided by It All Adds Up, particularly the radio spots and the tagline. “If it weren’t for the It All Adds Up spots, we wouldn’t be able to run radio ads, because they’re so expensive to produce,” said Korthals. “I also am not shy about borrowing other agencies’ great materials, such as those available from U.S. EPA’s Communities in Motion partners.” She explained that this community partnership program also has been valuable in enabling her to learn from other communities and share her experiences with them.
In 2004, NIRPC has secured a number of partners to help them distribute the It All Adds Up materials and messages for little or no cost. This summer, they will continue their partnership with the county solid waste districts and the Lake Michigan Household Hazardous Waste District to collect old gas cans and distribute new environmentally safe gas cans. The collections are held in different locations around the region each weekend, and they serve as an ideal way to distribute It All Adds Up materials to the community. This partnership is in its third year and has proven so successful that it is being considered as a State Implementation Plan control measure. To increase awareness of the events, NIRPC partners with the local radio network to provide informational radio spots the week before the Saturday events, as well as live broadcasts at the collections.
Also this summer, NIRPC is partnering with the Gary South Shore RailCats, the area’s minor league baseball team. NIRPC is sponsoring giveaway bags that feature It All Adds Up print ad artwork and messaging (sample 1). In turn, it’s receiving free advertising opportunities, such as free radio time, the opportunity to make clean air announcements at all RailCats’ games, a full-page ad (sample 2) in the season program, and opportunities to present giveaways at special events.
NIRPC plans to partner with area gas stations in August to promote the It All Adds Up summer seasonal theme, “Don’t Top Off Your Tank,” using It All Adds Up-themed gas-pump “toppers” as well as live radio broadcasts at a number of gas stations.
Since Northwest Indiana is in severe non-attainment of the national ozone standard., vehicle emissions testing is mandatory. This presented another partnership opportunity, so NIRPC asked the testing company, Clean Air Car Check, to distribute vehicle maintenance information to drivers (which has been found to be extremely effective in reducing resistance to the testing). Not only did the company agree to distribute the materials, but they are also helping to pay for promotional items and printed materials. NIRPC has extended this “inspection and maintenance” partnership to include the Northwest Indiana Partners for Clean Air, who will use their volunteers to distribute vehicle maintenance information and literature on the new PM 2.5 standards at county fairs in July and August. The Partners also will sponsor special radio-promoted events at the fairs, which draw over 450,000 people from the region each summer.
NIRPC doesn’t stop at forming local partnerships, however. It is collaborating with a fellow Community Partner, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Illinois Department of Transportation to develop a high school drivers education curriculum on transportation and air quality. Titled XRT: eXtraordinaryRoadTrip, the project includes a computer-based strategy game focusing on vehicle technologies and eco-driving skills, a teacher’s guide and a Web site (www.extraordinaryroadtrip.org). Product launch will be in October 2004.
As a result of its successful public education efforts and Korthal’s leadership, NIRPC has seen a four-fold increase in its CMAQ funding – from $50,000 in 1999 to $600,000 for 2003-2005 – which has helped to strengthen and expand the outreach program. With U.S. EPA’s new 8-hour standards resulting in additional nonattainment areas, Korthals anticipates that state CMAQ money will be spread more thinly in upcoming years. So, NIRPC will continue to implement its partnership-building strategies that have allowed it to create such a successful “big air quality program with a little budget.”
For more information on NIRPC’s activities, contact Ms. Reggie Korthals at 219-762-1653 or rkorthals@nirpc.org or visit www.nirpc.org.
June 2004
Air Victoria in Victoria, TX
In 1995, Victoria County, Texas was designated a near-nonattainment area. In an effort to remain within EPA’s national standards, the city of Victoria began a public education program, Air Victoria-Keep It Clean. When it was considering how to most efficiently spend its $20,000 budget for air-quality outreach and education, Joni Brown, Victoria’s Air Quality Program Coordinator, pointed to the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air initiative.
In early 2003, Air Victoria became an It All Adds Up Community Partner and immediately began using the initiative’s resources. It began an extensive television and radio ad campaign. With the help of Brown, Wayne Watkins, local City Council member, and Jerry James, Director of Environmental Services, the city quickly took air quality education and outreach beyond advertising.
Air Victoria leveraged partnerships to spread the It All Adds Up messages at low or no cost. It partnered with the city’s utility department and a local transit agency to include the It All Adds Up Three Simple Steps flyers with utility bills in spring and fall 2003, which were received by 17,000 households. It also partnered with the city’s Cinemark movie-theater chain during summer 2003 to place an It All Adds Up television ad before each movie – reaching the 250,000 people going to the movies in Victoria that summer.
Air Victoria also was able to create a local “media blitz” surrounding air quality issues during the summer of 2003. As a result, It All Adds Up messages were discussed in four television news stories and six newspaper articles.
When Air Victoria staff evaluated their program at the end of 2003, they found they had made significant strides in educating Victoria’s residents about air quality issues. The research showed a 600-percent increase in recognition of the It All Adds Up logo and messages. For its impressive progress, the program received a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Clean Air Excellence Award in 2004.
In 2003 Air Victoria promoted the It All Adds Up messages primarily around air quality alert/action days. Realizing that everyday transportation choices make a difference in air quality and that air pollution is a year-round issue, Air Victoria now encourages citizens to make vehicle maintenance, trip chaining and alternate modes part of their every day life, i.e., to make these behaviors the social norm. Air Victoria is using sound marketing fundamentals, education and plenty of creative thinking to spread the word.
In keeping with its new year-round focus, Air Victoria is leveraging its partnerships to distribute the It All Adds Up Three Simple Steps flyer with utility bills every quarter - each time reaching 17,400 households.
The program’s advertising campaign has expanded as well. It All Adds Up radio ads are used in tandem with local and state ads to offer the 12 radio stations in Victoria 19 different spots. Station managers have noted that the wide variety has enabled them to choose messages appropriate for their various audiences.
It All Adds Up messages have been central in Air Victoria’s outdoor advertising campaign also. The program has created billboards in both English and Spanish (see the billboards: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 ) that focus on trip chaining, alternate transportation choices, and vehicle maintenance.
Also new in 2004, the program has a presence on the Weather Channel. Through collaboration with the local cable company, It All Adds Up messages have been placed as crawling text across the bottom of the screen during the “On the 8’s” local weather segment.
Air Victoria reinforces its advertising campaigns with earned-media placements. In just the first month of the 2004 ozone season, three television interviews, a radio interview, and six newspaper articles have already been secured!
By integrating the It All Adds Up materials with those produced locally and by the state, Air Victoria hopes that citizens will adopt behaviors and lifestyle changes that will keep Victoria’s air clean.
For more information on Air Victoria-Keep It Clean, contact Joni Brown at 361-485-3235 or JBrown@victoriatx.org, or visit the Air Victoria-Keep it Clean web site at www.airvictoria.org.
May 2004
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in Madison, WI
When the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) served as a Demonstration Community five years ago, it replaced its existing campaign with It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air. It also was instrumental in the campaign’s adoption by the “Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air,” a partnership of local businesses, schools, and local and state government, including the DNR and Wisconsin Department of Transportation. In the years since, the two organizations have been dynamic participants in It All Adds Up. Their involvement has earned them the distinction of being named May’s Community Partner Champions.
The Partners use the It All Adds Up tagline throughout their air quality program, with a special tie-in to Ozone Action Days that emphasizes actions individuals can take to reduce ozone. Additionally, the Partners included the tagline in their Gas Cap Wrench campaign targeting older drivers and those with weak hand strength. That program received EPA’s Clean Air Excellence Award in 2004.
The Partners, most notably the DNR, are focusing their efforts on an extensive radio advertising campaign, including creating their own set of targeted radio ads based on the It All Adds Up ads. In addition to the general public, they are targeting Latinos, youth, and seniors with the new clean air ads. In the summer of 2003, the Partners aired their ads on 18 regional radio stations. Each station ran at least one ad every day.
Messages from the 10 Simple Steps are incorporated in a broad range of materials developed by the Partners. For example, these messages are included in “live read” radio ads during commuter drive times, and on book marks created by Barnes and Noble, with whom they partnered. Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air also distributed an estimated 25,000 Simple Steps flyers at local events throughout the state in 2003.
The Partners created and distributed a newspaper insert that incorporated several of the 10 Simple Steps and the It All Adds Up tagline. The insert reached 700,000 households in southeastern Wisconsin and along the Lake Michigan shoreline as far north as Green Bay.
“The Partners use It All Adds Up because it has positive messages that empower individuals. It teaches citizens that there are small, convenient actions they can take to make a difference in air quality,” said Dr. Sara Burr, manager of Air Quality Education at the Wisconsin DNR’s Bureau of Communication and Education.
“The print, radio and TV pieces all convey “guilt-free,” practical information and positive reinforcement for citizens who do the right thing by choice or simply because of their existing lifestyle - like soccer Moms who carpool kids, and working people who combine errands on their way home from work.”
The DNR has made use of the It All Adds Up network as well. It is presently collaborating with the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission and the Illinois DOT to develop a high school driver’s education curriculum on transportation and air quality. Titled XRT: eXtraordinaryRoadTrip, the project includes a computer-based strategy game focusing on vehicle technologies and eco-driving skills, a teacher’s guide and a Web site (www.extraordinaryroadtrip.org). Product launch will be October 2004.
The Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air, with significant support from the DNR, Wisconsin DOT (CMAQ funding), and U.S. EPA has made tremendous strides in raising air quality awareness in its region. In 2003, over a 17-week summer campaign, air quality messages reached 95 percent of the target market 28 times. The DNR estimates that the It All Adds Up messages reached about 1 million citizens in 2003.
Telephone surveys showed an increase in awareness of the tagline, and more importantly, an increase in awareness of the actions people can take to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion. In 1993, 67 percent of the target market was aware of “ozone alerts”. By 2003, 89 percent of the target market was aware of ozone action days. Additionally, 44 percent believe they can do something to reduce air pollution through individual action, and 51 percent believe they can do a lot. When air quality is bad, 56 percent report that they reduce car use occasionally, sometimes or always. Further, 35 percent have actually made behavior changes like the kind described in the Ten Simple Steps.
Such positive results will likely persist as the Partners continue their summer radio campaign, beginning in May. This year, they’ve made some additions to the campaign, including gas pump toppers at gas stations throughout the greater Milwaukee area. The messages at the pump are expected to reach 25 percent of 18+ year-olds over six weeks. Also, 15 of the 18 participating radio stations will link their Web pages to the Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air “It All Adds Up” campaign Web site.
For more information, contact Dr. Sara Burr at 608-266-5215 or sara.burr@dnr.state.wi.us and visit the Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air Web site at www.cleanairwisconsin.org
March - April 2004
New York City Department of Transportation
in New York City, NY
The New York City Department of Transportation’s (NYCDOT) dedicated use of the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air materials and messages, spanning more than five years, earns them the distinction of being named March’s Community Partner Champion. NYCDOT became involved with the It All Adds Up initiative in 1999 when they served as one of the program’s Demonstration Communities. They quickly recognized the value of the production quality and research behind the It All Adds Up messages and materials and have continued their use ever since.
NYCDOT also understands the importance of partnerships and has formed many with area non-profit and private organizations, which has helped them achieve great success in spreading It All Adds Up messages to New Yorkers. In fact, NYCDOT’s success in finding large, national corporate partners to print and distribute the materials influenced New York State DOT’s decision to contribute to the new Pooled Fund Program, which will fund the second generation of It All Adds Up materials. In 2003, as in years past, NYCDOT conducted an extensive advertising campaign, much of which was sponsored by their partners. With over two million people riding buses each day in the City, the NYCDOT decided to partner with the vendor that places ads in bus shelters. The company agreed to use It All Adds Up ads as Public Service Announcements where unpaid space was available. An estimated 3,200 ads have been placed in bus shelters around the city. NYCDOT has also partnered with their local sports teams, placing multiple ads at Yankees, Mets, Knicks and Brooklyn Cyclones games where attendance has been as high as 60,000 per game (see photo 1, photo 2). They were also able to place electronic ads based on It All Adds Up messages in Times Square.
NYCDOT also has been partnering with organizations to create new It All Adds Up-related materials. Currently, they are working with a local organization that offers film production training to students in Harlem, to produce a 30-second air quality spot that can be run at local movie theatres. Additionally, they connected with a local HMO, who, besides sponsoring a bus shelter ad, co-sponsored a calendar art-contest. They adapted the 10 Simple Steps and placed them in the calendar along with the It All Adds Up tagline.
Such active outreach and constructive partnerships are not unusual for the NYCDOT. In years past, they have partnered with McDonald’s to place 10,000 It All Adds Up trayliners in area restaurants, and with Verizon to place It All Adds Up ads in phone booths around the city. In 2001, they built a campaign around the Leave a Little Room for the Air ad and worked with city agency refueling sites to place the “Don’t Top Off Your Tank” messages at the pumps.
For more information about NYCDOT’s It All Adds Up activities, please contact Meseret Yilma at 212-442-7182 or myilma@dot.nyc.gov. Visit their website at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/masstran/cleanair.html
February 2004
The Dover/Kent County Metropolitan Planning Organization in Dover, DE
In conjunction with the Ozone Action Partnership of Delaware
Ava Perrine of the Dover/Kent County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has been involved with the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air initiative since they served as a pilot community more than eight years ago. The MPO continues to be an active and involved Community Partner. Their long-term dedication has earned them the distinction of being the latest Community Partner Champion.
In conjunction with the Ozone Action Partnership of Delaware (OAPD), the Dover/Kent County MPO has used the It All Adds Up materials and messages to strengthen a youth campaign they established in 2003. The two groups partnered with a number of schools and youth organizations throughout the state, such as Delaware 4-H and the City of Dover Parks and Recreation, and coordinated the distribution of several hundred packets of materials. The packets included specially developed It All Adds Up brochures as well as other resources and guides, Spanish-translated information and a number of Ozone Action gifts. To kick off the effort, as well as the start of Ozone Season, the MPO and the OAPD held a well-attended event at A.I. DuPont Children’s Hospital. They publicized the event through print, electronic and broadcast media using the It All Adds Up tagline.
The Dover/Kent County MPO incorporated the It All Adds Up placemats/trayliners, which they were instrumental in developing, into their youth campaign and distributed 200,000 to hospitals and restaurants around the state last year. They are also redesigning another community’s air quality coloring book and will be including the It All Adds Up tagline in their version.
To learn more about Dover/Kent County MPO’s It All Adds Up activities, please contact Ms. Ava Perrine at 302-760-2712 or aperrine@mail.dot.state.de.us.
December 2003 - January 2004
Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority
in Spokane, WA
The Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority (SCAPCA) is one of the newest Community Partners, having joined the initiative in fall 2003. SCAPCA has not wasted any time in becoming involved in It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air activities: they actually designed their new public information program around the initiative’s look and feel, adapting the logo and messaging to their local program.
This fall, Lisa Woodard, public information officer at SCAPCA, launched their new “It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air Worksites” program aimed at raising awareness of air quality issues and promoting responsible transportation choices among employers and their employees. They developed a worksite toolkit, which provides resources and materials for participating employers to use as they implement the program in their offices.
In addition to using the It All Adds Up tagline, logo and art, they focused the program around the alternate modes of transportation, trip chaining, and anti-idling messages. Ms. Woodard customized the It All Adds Up Simple Steps for Winter into payroll stuffers (side one; side two) and several of the It All Adds Up print ads for the toolkit. They also incorporated the print ads into sample e-mail messages for employers to circulate and included an It All Adds Up article in the sample newsletter they provide to employers. To address the wood burning issue in their region, SCAPCA developed clean burning messages and materials with the It All Adds Up look and feel. Since November, over 70 employers have signed up to become “It All Adds Up Worksites.” To view SCAPCA’s toolkit, visit http://www.scapca.org/addsup.html
SCAPCA’s effort to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion doesn’t end there, however. In October, they held “Car Care Month” and used the It All Adds Up car maintenance messages and materials. SCAPCA Public Information Specialist Margee Chambers converted one of the car maintenance transit ads into a tabloid-sized poster.
SCAPCA has also partnered with their local CBS affiliate to produce and air 30-second TV spots featuring different air quality topics each month from November through June. The spots have the same look and feel as the It All Adds Up TV ads. Additionally, SCAPCA has assisted their local ABC affiliate and its two radio stations in the production of a new segment called “Air Matters,” during which the chief meteorologist will highlight air quality topics and tips.
To learn more about SCAPCA’s It All Adds Up activities, please contact Ms. Woodard at 509-477-4727 or lmwoodard@scapca.org.
November 2003
Fayetteville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization in Fayetteville, NC
Kathy McGuire and Maurizia Chapman at the Fayetteville MPO used the It All Adds Up TV and radio materials in their May 2003 Clean Air Month kick-off event and handed out the Ten Simple Steps flyer at other community festivals and events. They also organized a 2-3 minute air quality education segment for a local cable TV station, during which the Ten Simple Steps are discussed, and linked to the spring flash animation.
To learn more about the Fayetteville MPO’s It All Adds Up activities, please contact Maurizia at 910-678-7615 and mchapman@co.cumberland.nc.us
October 2003
The Central Florida Clean Air Team in Orlando, FL
Muffet Robinson at METROPLAN ORLANDO, coordinator of the 20-organization Clean Air Team, used the spring materials during the kickoff of their summer ozone education program and May 2003 Clean Air Month activities.
The team also produced a banner including the It All Adds Up logo to use at events in years to come. Several of the It All Adds Up print ads were customized and placed in issues of the weekly "Orlando Times" and the monthly Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce's "First Monday" newspaper. The spring materials were also used as the basis for a full-page clean air article in "First Monday." Four ads were translated and ran in "La Prensa," the local Spanish newspaper.
METROPLAN ORLANDO also coordinated special rates and schedules to pay for the local cable TV station and two radio stations to run the It All Adds Up PSAs.
To learn more about METROPLAN ORLANDO's It All Adds Up activities, please contact Muffet at 407-481-5672 x306 or muffet@metroplanorlando.com.
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