BOARD MEETING DATE: December 4, 2009
AGENDA NO. 14
PROPOSAL:
Advertising and Public Outreach Initiative to Minority Communities to Increase Awareness of the Impacts of Air Pollution
SYNOPSIS:
Legislative & Public Affairs and the Media Office have developed a proposal for an advertising and public outreach program focused on minority communities. The goals of the program include raising awareness of the health impacts of poor air quality; demonstrating how AQMD is protecting public health by improving air quality; and urging residents to be more involved in efforts to improve air quality. The outreach effort will include paid advertising in minority print publications at a cost not to exceed $ 400,000.
COMMITTEE:
Administrative, November 13, 2009, Recommended for Approval
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
Authorize the Executive Officer to implement a minority advertising and outreach initiative at a cost not to exceed $400,000.
Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer
Background
Through regulations and incentive programs, AQMD and its partner air quality agencies have made significant strides in recent years in reducing urban smog, fine particulates and toxic air contaminants. Recent efforts have targeted reduction of diesel exhaust since it is responsible for 84 percent of the cancer risk from air pollution in our region.
But pollution levels still are unacceptably high, particularly in low income and minority communities. As a result, residents in these communities suffer disproportionate health effects from air pollution. For example, the rate of emergency room visits for asthma attacks is four times higher for African-Americans than whites and six times higher than Asians. A study published this month also found that traffic emissions are responsible for a significant portion of preventable childhood asthma cases. Minority communities are typically surrounded by disproportionately high volumes of truck and car traffic.
In spite of their disproportionate exposure to air pollution, residents of low income and minority communities may not be fully aware of AQMD’s recent efforts to improve public health. The goal of this public outreach initiative is to clearly communicate to these communities regarding AQMD’s aims and programs including its vital role in protecting public health by improving the region’s air quality.
Program objectives include:
Increasing awareness among low income and minority communities on the many ways in which air quality impacts public health.
Providing information about AQMD programs to reduce air pollution and protect residents’ health including diesel emission reduction programs and sponsorship of health clinics such as the Breathmobile.
Demonstrate AQMD’s forward-thinking in the development of technologies that create new “green” jobs.
Promote individual decisions and community involvement that helps reduce urban air pollution and climate change.
Proposal
A public outreach initiative consisting of paid print advertisements in publications that have a significant minority readership is recommended to achieve these goals.
AQMD should seek partnerships with selected media outlets to potentially achieve increased “media value” by supporting platforms important to the media outlets. Good examples of recent media partnerships were built around the 2009 South Pasadena Clean Air Car Show with ABC7, KPCC-FM and Pasadena Star News.
Targeted print advertising will be placed in various outlets, including but not limited to:
Compton Bulletin
Inglewood Weekly
Los Angeles Sentinel News
LA Watts Times
Long Beach Leader/Precinct Reporter
Long Beach Times
Our Weekly
Pace News
Pasadena Journal
El Excelsior – Orange County
Hoy – LA County
Impacto USA – LA County
La Opinion – LA (daily)
La Prensa – Inland Empire
Other minority community publications
To judge the effectiveness of advertisements, AQMD will monitor online registrations to Clean Air Congress and Air Alerts, web site traffic and phone calls into toll-free numbers, all of which will be promoted in the ads.
Display ads in weekly newspapers will run for up to 52 weeks, featuring three or four rotating message themes. Potential advertising messages include:
Presenting the latest information about the relationship between air pollution and childhood asthma, cancer and premature deaths.
Combining the most compelling items from AQMD’s popular flyer that lists the “10 Things AQMD is Doing to Help Clean the Air” and “10 Things You Can Do to Help Clean the Air” into a simple message.
Highlighting AQMD efforts that are reducing diesel emissions in minority communities such as the replacement of older, highly polluting diesel school buses and port drayage trucks with natural gas or cleaner diesel models.
Promoting AQMD’s efforts to help create “green technology” jobs such as the alternative fuel vehicle technician training program that is part of the Chairman’s Helping Hand Initiative.
Hosting a PSA poster competition for students. We would recognize competition winners and participating school district(s) for their efforts in print advertisements. An example of this was a poster competition sponsored by LADWP where the winning image was published in a large ad in the Los Angeles Times.
In addition to the above listed programs, AQMD’s Legislative & Public Affairs Division and the Media Office are engaged in a number of outreach programs that will emphasize the important role the agency plays in southern California, including:
Media Office’s Air Quality Index Initiative, which is designed to convey the harmful effects of air pollution and the importance of daily air quality awareness through:
AQMD Air Alerts – enhanced AQI reporting
Radio partnership with public service announcements
ABC 7 partnership for student video competition
If approved in December, a public outreach initiative can begin within a few weeks and will likely be specifically targeted in the initial phase as a test for the overall project effort.
Resource Impacts
Sufficient funding is available in the Undesignated Reserves account for this program.