240948 Fresh Air Dining L.A.: An innovative media campaign to support policy change in Los Angeles County

Monday, October 31, 2011

Linda Aragon, MPH , Tobacco Control & Prevention Program, County of Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Matthew Le Veque , The Rogers Group, Los Angeles, CA
Rachel Tyree, MPH , Tobacco Control and Prevention Program, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
Robert Berger, MSJ , Tobacco Control and Prevention Program, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA
In March of 2010, the Los Angeles City Council adopted a smoke-free outdoor dining policy that bans smoking in outdoor dining areas of restaurants and mobile food vendors.

Los Angeles County Tobacco Control and Prevention Program, in partnership with LA City, developed “Fresh Air Dining L.A.” - a multifaceted communication plan to educate restaurant owners and diners about the new law, encourage compliance, generate positive word-of-mouth, and influence other municipalities to consider similar policies.

The plan integrated traditional paid and earned media with digital and social media tactics. Traditional media included earned media generated by press conferences, pole-banners, multi-lingual bus shelter and radio ads. The communication strategy was to raise policy awareness in an upbeat and celebratory fashion – not as a ban but as an improvement on the outdoor LA dining experience. Advertising imagery included original photography featuring highly appetizing, "normal" food choices created with healthy ingredients.

Social media tactics included 1) an interactive microsite with free digital downloads of required signage and other information for affected businesses, and short videos explaining the law to diners and business owners; 2) banner and online geo-targeted advertising; 3) digital content creation and engagement on niche social networking sites; 4) blogs targeting intended audiences; and 5) positive tips on mobile geo-location sites. Online advertising included geo-targeted Facebook ads and ads on blogs containing content for readers looking for new restaurants and food trends in the metro LA area.

The campaign is currently being implemented. Evaluations results and lessons learned will be presented.

Learning Areas:
Communication and informatics
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
•List a minimum of 4 innovative social media tactics that can be integrated with traditional media efforts. •Describe lessons learned from a multifaceted communication plan to create awareness about new policies, encourage compliance and influence other municipalities to consider similar policies.

Keywords: Media Campaigns, Evaluation

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am qualified to present because I oversee the development, implementation, and evaluation of all media campaigns for the Los Angeles County Tobacco Control and Prevention Program.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Health Communication and Social Marketing Campaigns (Organized by HCWG)
See more of: Public Health Education and Health Promotion