The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources listens to its commuters.

After a random sample survey of commuters in the six-county metropolitan area revealed a flattening trend in behavior change, the department conducted focus groups to better understand why it was leveling off.

The answer? The department found that what matters most to their commuters is how air quality affects the health of their families. In other words, Milwaukee commuters are more willing to alter their driving behavior when they can see a direct link between it and the health of their loved ones. The focus group showed that those commuters who care the most about changing their behavior were blue-collar workers with a family member suffering from asthma.

The department immediately swung into action and focused last summer's It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air campaign on health. Dr. Sara Burr, manager of air education, said the department developed new marketing material focusing on the health message and personal actions commuters can take to improve air quality, directly tying it to the It All Adds Up slogan. The marketing material was developed into an insert that was distributed in 700,000 newspapers. Survey research will be conducted this fall to evaluate the impact of the department's health-focused messaging.

We'll be sure to follow up on Wisconsin's evaluation research and let you know the results!