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Community Spotlight

San Diego Turns Tire Gauges into Air Quality Messengers

In mid 2003, the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District, a three-year Community Partner of It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air, had an important message to get across. All they needed was a low cost platform and a crowd.

Last year they found both.

It all started when San Diego County employees across the region were invited to attend a lunch-hour event where they could grab a quick bite and meet face-to-face with the managed care organizations that would provide their health benefits that year. To pump up the appeal and further underscore the health and wellness theme, the Air Pollution Control District was encouraged to join the roster along with local health care providers and chiropractors - all of whom were eager to sound off their own wellness messages and market their services.

"What better time is there to raise public awareness and get those clean air messages out than when large groups of people are gathered for an event?" said Karen Jacobs, district outreach & training coordinator for San Diego's Air Pollution Control District.

Although Jacobs only anticipated a quick, one-day opportunity to spread the word using some literature, a few visuals, and a DVD of TV ads obtained from the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air initiative, her presentation quickly developed into a full-scale public outreach program.

First impressions matter

Enthused by the quality of Jacob's exhibit, the vendor responsible for organizing the county event, Spice of Life, expressed an interest in bringing the Air Pollution Control District on board with them permanently - at no cost.

"Their group provided such a great educational piece that we wanted them to come back and do more events with us," said Amy Davis, co-partner of Spice of Life, which provides weekly interactive health and lifestyle expos for corporations and organizations throughout Southern California. Davis even waived the standard fees she charges other participants for the space and draped display tables. "We don't charge the Air Pollution Control District - we're just happy to be able to support their cause," she said. "They're very pro-active in their outreach efforts. They treat it like a business appointment and stick around and really talk to people."

With It All Adds Up messages a regular fixture at weekly expos throughout the San Diego area, thousands of employees from corporations both small and large, including SONY and Time Warner Cable, are learning the simple steps they can take to improve air quality.

Choosing the right strategy

However, getting the people of San Diego to internalize the messages can be challenging simply because the area doesn't struggle with the air quality issues that other California cities face. "Air pollution is not a big problem here so people aren't as anxious about the health effects of poor air quality and traffic congestion," Jacobs explains. Nonetheless, a rapidly increasing population is reason enough to keep air quality messages alive in people's minds. "Our population continues to grow every year and along with it, so does the number of cars on our roads," she said. "The really good thing about these fairs is that most of the people we are reaching are middle class families, who are the people we want to talk to most. They're the ones who are driving cars to jobs everyday and buying cars for their teenagers."

Convincing residents to leave their cars at home is a tough sell, but suggesting ways to save money is almost guaranteed to attract an audience. With that in mind, Jacobs and her team decided to focus their efforts on the pocketbook benefits of good car maintenance, namely, those of keeping tires properly inflated.

The dangling carrot

At the Air Pollution Control booth, grabbing a free tire gauge is all the rage. "People love getting these," said Jacobs who uses funding collected from state vehicle registration fees to purchase the $3.29 tools, which include a carrying case and a clean air message. "People's interest in saving money on fuel rises along with gas prices. That gets them over to our booth to talk to us and learn about San Diego's air quality."

When picking up their freebie, attendees are also encouraged to watch an It All Adds Up DVD playing nearby on a laptop computer. Those who view it receive an added bonus: phony bucks they can use for a chance to win raffle prizes including radios, theater tickets, gift baskets, and other desirable items.

"I want to hear what people have to say about air quality so I make sure to hold those dollars in my hand," explains Jacobs. "This way they have to approach me and talk to me."

With a little marketing help from It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air and generous support from a local environmentally-conscious company, Spice of Life, Jacobs has found an effective, inexpensive way to keep the San Diego air quality flag waving.

"Here we are a year later and 3,000 tire gauges less!" Jacobs said

For more information about San Diego Pollution Control District activities, visit their Website at http://www.sdapcd.org or contact Karen Jacobs at Karen.jacobs@sdcounty.ca.gov.

Interested in doing the same thing? If you have an air quality program in Southern California, Spice of Life wants to hear from you! Contact Amy Davis at amy@greatdayeveryday.com.