KEY FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
Despite many successes, overall public awareness decreased in the last year of the campaign.
- Message awareness has fallen significantly from 71% in 2000 to 58% in 2001.
Fewer messages were heard on television in 2001 than in the first four years of the campaign.
- This can be attributed, in part, to the added spin and significant television exposure delivered by the news media’s focus on El Niño and La Niña in the early years of the campaign.
- In addition, the California energy crisis, not weather- and pollution prevention-related stories, dominated the airwaves in 2001.
Although the County doubled the amount spent on advertising in Year Five, the inability to fully fund a 2001 media plan to achieve advertising exposure levels similar to earlier years of the campaign probably affected awareness. In addition, as detailed on page 22 of this report, two additional factors likely contributed to diminished awareness during the final year of the campaign:
- The total 2001 advertising buy did not run during the tracking period.
- Media in the Los Angeles market became more expensive.
Despite the decrease in recall of the campaign, indicators of social acceptance of the campaign messages remain strong.
- Of 11 different polluting behaviors measured, eight of them show decreases in estimated volume of polluting occurrences. This suggests acceptance and internalization of the messages that were delivered over the course of the campaign.
- Additionally, fully half of all LA County residents claim they have changed their habits for the better to prevent storm water pollution, including 60% of Neat Neighbors and 67% of Rubbish Rebels.