Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
When the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) served as a demonstration community, 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 of It All Adds Up.
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.
Sharing Ideas and Resources
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. During summer, 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 bookmarks created by Barnes and Noble, with whom they partnered. Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air also distributed an estimated 25,000 
Simple Steps flyers (PDF, 28KB) at local events throughout the state.
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, such as 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 collaborated with the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission and the Illinois DOT to develop a high school driver 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 teachers' guide and a Web site.
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. Over a 17-week summer campaign, air quality messages reached 95% of the target market 28 times. The DNR estimates that the It All Adds Up messages reached about 1 million citizens.
Surveys Reveal the Real Deal
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% of the target market was aware of "ozone alerts." By 2003, 89% of the target market was aware of ozone action days. Additionally, 44% believe they can do something to reduce air pollution through individual action and 51% believe they can do a lot. When air quality is bad, 56% report that they reduce car use occasionally, sometimes, or always. Further, 35% have actually made behavior changes like the kind described in the 10 Simple Steps.
Such positive results will likely persist as the partners continue their summer radio campaign, beginning in May. They've also added gas pump toppers at gas station pumps throughout the greater Milwaukee area, which are expected to reach 25 percent of age 18 and over drivers 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.
However, after another random sample survey of commuters revealed a flattening trend in behavior change later on, the department conducted focus groups to better understand the trend.
The department found that what matters most to 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 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. 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 created as an insert that was distributed in 700,000 newspapers.
For more information, visit the Wisconsin Partners for Clean Air Web site.