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AQMD – HEROS Program
SITUATION
With the worst air quality in the nation, Southern California acquires more than half of its smog from gross-polluting vehicles. To combat this, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) implemented the High Emitter Repair or Scrap (HEROS) program in which specially equipped vans detect high pollutant cars on Southland freeways. The owners of these smoggy cars receive $500 to fix the car’s smog problem, or $1,000 to scrap it ($2,000 if they’re low-income). Westbound was tasked with increasing the program’s awareness through widespread media outreach in AQMD’s four-county jurisdiction.
IMPLEMENTATION
We implemented a steady stream of media outreach among community papers as the vans appeared in different cities each week. Media with a broader reach were targeted from different angles as we capitalized on the many issues the program encompassed such as air pollution, consumer benefits and automotive repair. We coordinated interviews with AQMD representatives, staffed media visits to the van locations, and secured participant testimonials and interviews to cater to reporters’ needs.
RESULTS
The HEROS program garnered more than two dozen placements across Southern California TV, radio and print media. In addition to general news coverage, HEROS was also included in special feature stories, such as a consumer segment from ABC-7’s Ric Romero and an automotive article in the Los Angeles Times’ weekly “Highway 1” section. At the conclusion of our outreach efforts, the majority of the17 million residents in AQMD’s district were reached multiple times with a consistent message about reducing automotive emissions.
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