Reaching a program's target audience in an area the size of Los Angeles County is a daunting challenge, but it makes no sense to begin if you don't intend to succeed.

By Michael Mohajer and Melinda Barrett

In June 1999 the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (LACDPW) launched a new three-year public education program designed to educate L.A. County residents about household hazardous waste (HHW) and ultimately reduce their polluting behaviors. The following lists the campaign's two overarching goals:

1. Increase awareness among L.A. County residents of HHW-related messages through broad-based education. Messages include identification of HHW in the home/garage; environmental impacts; risks to family, health, and safety; proper storage, use, and disposal of HHW; source reduction; and use of less toxic products.

2. Increase participation at the county's HHW collection events with the intent of reducing illegal disposal of residential hazardous waste.

To reach these goals, the HHW Public Education Program (HHWPEP) enacted a two-tiered strategy:

1. Broad-Based Education. The first tier utilizes overarching countywide communications channels to "umbrella" the county with program messages. Educational outreach tactics include media relations, participation in special events, and promotional partnerships with retailers and corporations.

2. Targeted Local Programming. The second tier utilizes community-driven strategies to encourage residents to participate in locally hosted HHW collection events. Targeted outreach is tailored per event and per city in order to address their unique demographics and infrastructure. Education outreach tactics include advertisements, media relations, retail in-store promotions, and direct mail.

These two tiers of outreach activity collectively bolster the strength of the HHWPEP in delivering its messages, which emphasize action-oriented tips for county residents to adopt. All campaign collateral materials and outreach messages include "how-to" instructions regarding the proper and safe use, storage, and disposal of HHW, as well as county resources that are available for further information—an 888 telephone number and a Web site.

Target Audience
Given the size of L.A. County's population (almost 10 million residents), the ethnic and cultural diversity of its residents, and limited budget resources, staff was challenged to reach key audience segments—the greatest polluters most likely to change their behaviors—in order to maximize dollars and have the greatest impact. In addition to conducting broad-based education that targets multiple audience segments, the HHWPEP has expanded its outreach strategically to key subgroups who demonstrate a high propensity to incorrectly dispose of HHW—and thus warrant additional focus.

This submission focuses on the HHWPEP's outreach to the Latino community—a key audience, given their percentage of the overall L.A. County population (nearly 45% of its residents are of Hispanic origin) as well as their relatively low awareness of and participation in HHW-related activities. Outreach efforts targeted both English- and Spanish-speaking Latinos.

Technical Information
The HHWPEP was developed based on research findings—data regarding HHW materials that contribute most heavily to the wastestream; tracking information on participation rates of key audience segments in HHW collection events; and qualitative findings regarding knowledge, attitudes, and polluting behaviors of L.A. County residents.

Early in the program, the county commissioned a Resident Attitude Survey that assessed a representative sample of all L.A. County residents in order to establish baseline findings and help inform the strategic focus of the campaign. The survey consisted of a total of 604 telephone interviews. Participants were drawn from a representative sample of random digit phone numbers for L.A. County. To ensure that the sample accurately reflected the population, quotas were established for gender, age, and ethnicity.

The technical information gleaned from this survey outlined those population segments that were most likely to generate or improperly dispose of HHW and that represented the greatest opportunity for behavior change. It honed in on the outreach methods that would be most successful in delivering key campaign messages. Among its findings, the survey revealed that Latinos:

• have a high propensity to use hazardous products at home and to incorrectly dispose of HHW,
• had a very low rate of participation in the collection event program,
• are highly receptive to messages that focus on family, health, and safety in addition to those that address environmental concerns.

Based on survey findings, the HHWPEP sought to reinforce core environmental and collection event messages by linking them to these issues of concern to Latinos (i.e. accidental, at-home poisonings of children). The campaign produced culturally relevant, Spanish-language media, outreach, and collateral materials. The campaign also specifically targeted those venues—media, retailers, community-based organizations, and county events—with a strong Latino following.

Program Goals
Implicit in achieving the HHWPEP's two key goals is the success of reaching all of the ethnic and cultural segments of L.A. County. Given the high percentage of Latino residents in the county, the group's tendency to use hazardous products at home and to incorrectly dispose of HHW, and the group's low level of program participation, the HHWPEP needed to hone in on the Latino segment of L.A. County. Thus, the HHWPEP identified effective outreach tactics and successfully delivered culturally meaningful HHW messages to Latinos to ensure that the program would reach its long-term goal of reducing L.A. County residents' overall polluting behaviors.

Tasks to Reach the Goals
To reach these goals, the HHWPEP enacted the two-tiered strategy—broad-based education and targeted local programming—that collectively strengthened the program's outreach by connecting with the maximum possible audience through educational messages regarding proper disposal of HHW and the use of nontoxic products. This effort also promoted the county's toll-free telephone number and Web site as resources, providing residents with additional program information.

Simultaneously the local programming gave the efforts a targeted and localized thrust into communities where the collection events were on the horizon. By doing this, the dual message (proper disposal and source reduction) would be received by residents at the time when a collection event was convenient. In addition, by focusing the message by area and audience, residents who most likely need and participate in collection events were reached.

Throughout the specialized outreach to English- and Spanish-speaking Latinos, both tiers of strategy were refined to reflect the needs and concerns of the community, as well as the trusted sources upon which it tends to rely. Evaluating which media outlets to pitch was based on extent of reach and, more importantly, the outlet's level of credibility as perceived by Latinos. Culturally relevant themes of family, health, and safety were woven into the HHWPEP's core messages so that Latinos would be more receptive to the subject matter. Where appropriate, HHW messages were delivered in the preferred language (English or Spanish).

Outline of Activities/Key Results
Tier One: Broad-Based Education
Media relations is a crucial ingredient in an effective public education campaign. Throughout the campaign, media coverage positioned the HHWPEP as an environmental and public health resource to L.A. County residents. Strategic, broad-based media relations were conducted to increase Latinos' awareness of HHW and related issues and to alert this segment of the community to collection events in their area. The campaign aggressively pitched key Spanish-language media outlets and used culturally relevant themes as a gateway to communicating the HHWPEP's core messages. Through these efforts, the campaign:

• garnered "third-party" endorsements of the campaign;
• secured consistent, high-profile venues to convey public education messages;
• cost-effectively multiplied the breadth and reach of the HHWPEP;
• effectively and efficiently reached the Hispanic audience via tailored messages and the top media outlets.

The HHWPEP recognized the significant influence that Spanish-language media outlets have in shaping L.A. Latinos' attitudes and behaviors. To most effectively reach the Spanish-speaking population, the campaign strategically cultivated relations with Spanish-language television, radio, and print publications that were considered the most credible by Latinos. All media interviews and coverage promoted the county's 888 hotline and Web site as a source for further environmental information—provided both in English and Spanish.

Univision/KMEX-TV
The HHWPEP successfully leveraged the influence of L.A.'s number-one Spanish-language news program and produced a morning news segment on the popular "Primer Edición." The segment focused on the prevention of accidental, at-home poisonings and tied that to the campaign's core messages about the proper and safe use, storage, and disposal of HHW. The segment specifically was filmed in the home of an L.A. County resident of Hispanic descent so viewers could more easily identify with the subject matter and recommended action steps. An LACDPW representative pointed out common household toxic products and suggested alternative, less-toxic product recipes. Both the county hotline and Web site were promoted as resources for additional information, and collection events scheduled throughout the county were announced. The nature of this segment showed viewers that they easily could implement action that immediately would reduce their polluting behaviors.

Working with Univision not only raised the credibility of the county's programs and messages but also afforded the campaign the opportunity to reach a significant number of Latinos (130,000-150,000 viewers). Repeated segment air dates further extended the reach of the messages.

Public Affairs Programs on Spanish-Language Radio Stations
Public affairs programming focuses on topics affecting local communities and provides listeners with educational information as a community service. These programs were highly receptive to promoting the HHW action-oriented steps—"buy smart, store properly, dispose properly"—and the problem-solution approach—"get involved, attend a collection event"—adopted by the HHWPEP. Interviews were conducted on top-rated Spanish-language radio stations, such as KWKW-AM, KLVE-FM, and KBLA-AM, with an L.A. County Spanish-language media-trained spokesperson. The interviews centered not only on the role residents play in improving local conditions—by promoting the core messages of the campaign—but also on positioning the county in a proactive policy leadership role. The first round of public affairs radio interviews garnered more than 138,000 impressions, while multiple airings further extended the reach of the messages.

Print Publications
By establishing relationships with well-respected print publications, the HHWPEP was able to reach a wide cross-section of Latinos and leverage the built-in credibility of these "messengers." The campaign conducted media pitches linked to issues that were of concern to Latinos and consistently promoted the collection events, county hotline, and Web site as action items to utilize. Representatives from L.A. County served as spokespeople and were media-trained to ensure proper delivery of HHW messages. Supplementary educational materials were developed in Spanish and distributed. Pitches to the following high-profile Spanish-language print outlets yielded significant coverage:

La Opinión. The HHWPEP secured six feature articles in the largest Spanish daily newspaper in the country, focusing on family-, health-, and safety-oriented issues, such as the risk certain toxic household products might pose to children, other family members, and ultimately the environment. Articles also included a creative focus by including alternative product recipes that could be made at home and used in place of more toxic products. These comprehensive pieces in La Opinión offered a series-oriented format that familiarized readers with the subject matter on a semiregular basis. Establishing a relationship with La Opinión provided the campaign with strong third-party support, along with a promising working relationship for the future. The six features generated more than 3.7 million impressions.

Mundo L.A. The HHWPEP capitalized on another highly regarded communications outlet, Mundo L.A., a leading weekly Spanish-language newspaper. Coverage primarily focused on family, health, and safety. Two feature articles promoting collection events, the county hotline, and Web site generated more than 1,080,000 impressions.

Corporate Partnerships
A recent countywide telephone survey has shown that Latino residents—whether recently arrived in the area or more established—as compared to the general population are more likely to do their own fix-it work instead of hiring a contractor. Home do-it-yourselfers are a strategic audience in the overall outreach effort because of the likelihood that they would be purchasing household hazardous products. Based on this information, a concerted effort was made to partner with home improvement stores to distribute information in Spanish to this audience. The partnership effort included:

• distributing bilingual flyers to home improvement stores in and around areas where upcoming HHW collection events were to take place,
• having bilingual staff set up tables in front of home improvement stores on the weekends before the events to answer questions that Spanish-speaking residents might have regarding HHW and the collection program,
• placing bilingual "shelf-talkers" (8- x 14-in. posters that hang from the shelves) next to hazardous products describing safe use and disposal of household hazardous materials.

Special Events
Participation at special events further enabled the dissemination of broad-based HHW education to a diverse cross-section of L.A. County residents. This face-to-face interaction visibly demonstrated the county's commitment and provided the HHWPEP an opportunity to get anecdotal feedback from residents and assess and influence their awareness of HHWPEP messages and polluting behaviors.

Key events reaching large segments of the L.A. County Latino population:

Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. With more than 300,000 attendees, this annual event provided the campaign with an opportunity to reach county residents who engage in do-it-yourself car care, resulting in the generation of a significant amount of hazardous waste.

L.A. Auto Show. This annual event, attracting upward of 1 million attendees, also gave the HHWPEP an opportunity to reach car enthusiasts and other do-it-yourselfers, which include a high percentage of Latinos. To leverage campaign dollars, the campaign partnered with the City of Los Angeles.

Bay Days. Located at Venice Beach and attracting more than 50,000 diverse county residents, this event (cosponsored by LACDPW and Heal the Bay) afforded the campaign the opportunity to conduct outreach to a variety of key target audiences.

Los Angeles Latino Book and Family Festival. Given the diverse population of L.A. County, this community-specific event targeted to Latinos was a worthwhile opportunity to deliver tailored HHW messages to some 70,000 attendees.

Tier Two: Targeted Local Programming
Collection Event Promotions
To encourage residents to participate in locally hosted HHW collection events, the campaign developed and implemented targeted strategies—tailored per event and per city—in order to address their unique demographics and infrastructure. Integrated outreach activities were designed to expose residents to messages at as many points of contact as possible and took into account the specific needs, opportunities, and most effective communications venues available. The HHWPEP conducted the following outreach activities:

• It secured coverage in local papers (English- and Spanish-language) on HHW issues and collection events and provided supporting materials in both English and Spanish.
• It placed traditional advertisements and advertorials (a more issues-oriented advertisement) promoting local collection events in English- and Spanish-language newspapers.
• It partnered with local cities in sending local residents educational materials in both English and Spanish to ensure maximum reach through the various intracity distribution channels (i.e., utility-bill inserts, city newsletters, libraries, street banners).
• It conducted direct-mail efforts to community residents promoting collection events in both English and Spanish.
• It worked with religious institutions, community-based organizations, and school organizations (e.g., PTAs) to disseminate HHW-related messages to their members.

In promoting collection events, the HHWPEP worked with more than 50 media outlets, generating more than 9 million impressions.

Program Design
Conducting a public education campaign in L.A. County that successfully reaches all 10 million residents and is considered relevant to all ethnic and cultural segments is especially challenging. It is even more so when budget resources are limited. With these unique obstacles, the HHWPEP was tailored to target multiple audience segments and maximize dollars. The originality of the program lies in how the design (the two-tiered approach) successfully met those needs.

The main messages about collection-event participation; proper use, storage, and disposal of HHW; source reduction; and alternative products were reinforced throughout the duration of the campaign. At the same time, some product-specific messages were rolled out on a seasonal basis to enhance their effectiveness (e.g., messages about pesticides were promoted during the spring planting/gardening season). Media pitches/feature stories included such topics as links between HHW and family health and identifying potential hazards and risks (e.g., sniffing and huffing of inhalants). They also provided:

• information about alternative products and other source reduction techniques,
• identification of household products that are characterized as HHW,
• environmental problems associated with improper disposal of HHW,
• availability of other disposal options (e.g., used-oil recycling centers),
• seasonal triggers reminding residents about the HHW products in their home.

Special-events participation enabled the HHWPEP to reach a diverse cross-section of L.A. County residents. This face-to-face interaction visibly demonstrated the county's commitment and provided the HHWPEP an opportunity to get anecdotal feedback from Latino residents, assess their current polluting behaviors, and assess the effectiveness of the HHWPEP message delivery. Dissemination of specialized collateral materials and information on ongoing HHW program activities and resources at special events helped extend the reach of the HHWPEP's messages.

The county implemented the following promotional activities to convey educational HHW messages and impact collection-event participation:

City Outreach. The county worked with the 88 cities in the county by providing English and Spanish collateral to city coordinators for distribution at local health fairs and community events, helped place information on city-owned cable channels, and worked with city managers to educate residents through intracity distribution channels such as city newsletters, utility-bill inserts, postcards to residents, street banners, and distribution of flyers at libraries and community centers.

Local Media Relations/Advertising. The county secured feature articles/briefs in community publications, allowing HHW messages to reach targeted readerships; provided spokespeople conversant in both English and Spanish; and provided supporting materials in both languages.

Religious Institutions, Community-Based Organizations, and School Outreach. The county worked with ethnically diverse religious institutions, civic clubs, PTAs, and community organizations to educate members, volunteers, and staff via bulletin insertions, meeting announcements, newsletter articles, posted and distributed flyers, and collateral. Organizations included Boys & Girls Clubs, YMCAs, Farmers Markets, and various churches and homeowners associations.

Retailer Outreach. The county worked with major home improvement stores—including Home Depot, Lowe's, and OSH—to conduct bilingual outreach to customers to promote local collection events to customers, distribute information on safe use and disposal of hazardous products, and set up information tables to answer customer questions about HHW.

Promotional Materials Use

A diverse roster of traditional promotional materials was created, along with various other outreach activities to disseminate the HHWPEP's messages in a way that is culturally relevant and meaningful to the diverse population of L.A. County.

The promotional materials and outreach activities were developed to motivate the audience to action (i.e., participate in a collection event, buy nontoxic products) and educate residents so they would be interested in changing their behavior.

The promotional materials used included flyers (house-shaped and traditionally shaped), magnets, wipe boards, and street banners. Other types of outreach materials included press releases, newspaper advertisements and advertorials, public service announcements, fact sheets, direct-mail flyers, collection-event schedules, and Web site content (including less-toxic product recipes).

All the promotional materials for the program were designed with three key elements so that they would be attractive and engaging to the public and, when translated, would be culturally relevant to the diverse segments of the county's population. Once the readers were engaged, the next step was to give them reasons to care by showing how the issue affected them. Most people are not interested in a lot of information on a problem; rather, they want to be told why/how it affects them and what they can do to solve the problem. In the design stage, materials were created in a problem/solution–type format so that they were interesting.

Evaluation Mechanisms
Several evaluation mechanisms were used to determine the effectiveness of each of the HHWPEP's outreach methods. Measures of success included:

• the number of impressions garnered through media relations, promotional partnerships, special events, and distribution of collateral—demonstrating reach of messages;
• the attendance of residents at collection events that are located in cities/areas where Latinos demographically are a majority or plurality;
• the volume of waste collected at collection events located in cities/areas where Latinos demographically are a majority or plurality;
• the number of calls to the county's environmental programs hotline;
• the number of visits to the county's environmental programs Web site.

The success of the campaign is reflected in the more than 14 million impressions generated by broad-based educational outreach activities. Additionally, the number of Latinos participating at collection events has increased steadily throughout the campaign.

In terms of attendance, there was a 25% increase in 2001 over 2000 at all the comparable collection events in primarily Latino areas where focused bilingual outreach were conducted. Correspondingly, there was a 28% increase in the volume of waste brought to these collection events.

There also was an increase (albeit a bit lower rate of increase) in callers to the hotline selecting the Spanish-language menu option. These numbers showed that 2,422 callers selected the Spanish-language menu option in 2000; in 2001 there was a 4% increase (to 2,523) callers selecting that menu option. This number, however, might be a bit diluted because it is counting all calls coming into the environmental hotline.

Since the start of the Spanish-language portion of the Web site in December 2000, the average number of hits to those pages has doubled every four months and is still growing at this rate. By the end of 2001 the total number of hits to the site per month was nearing half the monthly volume of calls to the hotline after only one year.

Overall each set of data shows a trend that the outreach is taking hold and that the Latino community is being effectively reached. This information also has been extremely helpful in gauging the effectiveness in different program elements since individual results can be matched up with points in time when different outreach techniques were being used. As data continue to be analyzed, the outreach effort will continue to be refined to more effectively impact the target audience.

Areas for Improvement

The primary challenge faced by the HHWPEP is that of taking L.A. County residents from the first phase of practicing proper disposal of HHW to the next phase of source reduction and the use of less toxic alternatives. Some gains have been made in this area overall, especially among the Latino population. This is largely due to establishing strong links to HHW and various family, health, and safety issues. Themes of inhalant abuse and accidental, at-home poisonings of children have resounded greatly among Latinos and inspired significant interest among Hispanic media outlets.

To continue to make progress toward motivating L.A. County residents—particularly Latinos—to practice source-reduction behaviors will require newsworthy messages that are culturally relevant and that are backed by credible news outlets. Garnering the support of news sources, considered "ambassadors" to the community, will not only help in the further dissemination of HHW messages but also will ultimately increase community buy-in and involvement in the HHWPEP. As community involvement increases and a stronger feedback loop is subsequently established, we can better understand how to assist residents in making the leap from proper disposal to source reduction.

Michael Mohajer is division chief in charge of Los Angeles County's Environmental Program Division, and Melinda Barrett is in charge of the division's Environmental Affair Section. This project received SWANA's 2002 Communication, Education and Marketing Division's School Curriculum Bronze Award. Details of the project can be accessed at www.888.cleanla.com.

MSW - November/December 2002