BAY AREA AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT Request for Proposals 2023-042 Advertising, Communications, and Survey Research Services for Spare the Air Program
DUE DATE: Proposals must be received by 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time (PT) on Tuesday, December 12, 2023 (“deadline”).
SECTION II – BACKGROUND
A. Air District Overview
The Air District is the government agency responsible for protecting air quality in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Air District is tasked with regulating stationary sources of air pollution in the nine counties that surround San Francisco Bay: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, southwestern Solano, and southern Sonoma counties. It is governed by a 24-member Board of Directors composed of locally elected officials from each of the nine counties. The Air District’s mission is to create a healthy breathing environment for every Bay Area resident, while protecting and improving
public health, air quality and the global climate.
The Air District aims to achieve its mission through many strategic goals, including: reducing and eliminating health problems caused by air pollution, achieving and maintaining air quality standards, leading the Bay Area’s efforts to fight global climate change, creating high-quality regulatory programs, and applying environmental best practices in all operations. To do so, the Air District regulates air pollution emissions from stationary emission sources such as factories, refineries, and power plants, and from smaller facilities like gas stations and dry cleaners. The Air District ensures that such facilities comply with air pollution laws and regulations, provides incentives to replace older, higher-emitting vehicles and equipment with cleaner alternatives, and gives grants and provides outreach to encourage healthy clean air choices by businesses and consumers. The Air District implements these efforts with an equity focus, aiming to reduce air quality disparities and promote environmental justice by targeting local air pollution in overburdened communities.
B. Air Quality in the Bay Area
Air quality in the Bay Area has improved dramatically since the late 1960s, due in large part to the success of the Air District’s regulatory program and California’s strict tail-pipe emissions standards. However, the region is challenged by air pollution and has exceedances of federal ozone and particulate matter standards, and the more stringent health-based California air quality standards.
The Spare the Air program communicates the health implications of ozone and fine particulate matter to the public and encourages Bay Area residents to change their behavior to benefit air quality, such as limiting driving and reducing or eliminating wood burning indoors and outdoors.
As pollution from industrial sources has been reduced, transportation, motor vehicles, consumer products and small engines now comprise about 50 percent of the Bay Area’s air pollution problem. To continue air quality improvements in the Bay Area, reducing vehicles on Bay Area roads, as well as reducing residential and consumer sources of air pollution, are crucial. The Air District encourages the public to make changes in their behavior to benefit air quality such as: driving less by working remotely, taking transit, carpooling, walking or biking, and reducing or eliminating wood burning.
SECTION III – SPARE THE AIR PROGRAM
A. Spare the Air Program
Since its inception in 1991, the Spare the Air program has become one of the Air District’s most effective and widely recognized public outreach programs. During warmer months, the Air District issues Spare the Air Alerts on days when ozone pollution is forecast to exceed federal standards. During these Spare the Air Alerts, the Air District urges residents to reduce their driving by working remotely, taking transit, carpooling, walking, or biking to reduce air pollution. People sensitive to air pollution, such as children and the elderly, are cautioned to limit outdoor exposure.
Spare the Air Alerts and daily air quality forecasts are posted on the Spare the Air website,www.sparetheair.org, recorded on the 1-800-HELP-AIR telephone line, and announced on local media outlets. Bay Area residents can also sign up on the Spare the Air website to be notified by automatic e mail Air Alerts, phone alerts and/or text alerts. Through the Spare the Air Employer Program, employers are encouraged to educate their employees on remote work and alternative commute options and notify them when a Spare the Air Alert is called.
Through the Spare the Air program, the Air District encourages the public to make
behavior changes that will have a beneficial impact and improve air quality.
1. Spare the Air is a behavior change messaging campaign that focuses on
reducing single occupancy driving, reducing wood smoke emissions and other
clean air behaviors.
2. The Employer Program consists of employer coordinators informing their
workforce of impending Spare the Air Alerts, educating employees about the
ways individuals can improve air quality, and motivating them to take action.
3. Spare the Air in the wintertime is a regulatory program that bans wood burning
on days when a Spare the Air Alert is called and discourages wood burning at
all times.
B. Spare the Air Summer Program
Typically, the smog/summer season begins in March and runs through October. In recent
years, emphasis on working remotely, reducing driving, taking transit, carpooling and the
promotion of electric vehicles has continued throughout the year. Additionally, in 2019, the
Air District amended the Wood Burning Rule making it illegal to burn wood year-round
when particulate matter is forecast to reach unhealthy levels in an effort to address wildfire
smoke impacts.
The goals of the Spare the Air summer program include:
1. Reduce the number of cars on Bay Area roads by promoting commute alternatives such as remote work, transit, carpooling, walking and biking.
2. Motivate behavior change of Bay Area drivers to reduce their driving to minimize air pollution and traffic congestion.
3. Educate Bay Area residents about the Bay Area’s air quality challenges and solutions.
4. Promote wildfire smoke preparedness tips and related information about Spare the Air Alerts.
5. Educate the public and build awareness of Spare the Air program.
6. Achieve measurable success in motivating individuals to drive less and reduce their contribution to air pollution.
7. Expand Air District efforts to communicate air pollution information to non-Englishspeaking populations.
8. Promote adoption of electric vehicles in the Bay Area.
9. Promote the use of bikes and e-bikes versus driving, particularly for
disadvantaged communities and residents disproportionally affected by unhealthy air quality.
C. Spare the Air Winter Program
The nine counties of the San Francisco Bay Area are home to seven million residents and an estimated 1.4 million fireplaces and woodstoves. Particulate matter pollution from wood-burning devices is the largest source of wintertime pollution and a major health concern in the region.
To protect public health, the Wood Burning Rule was passed in 2008, which banned wood burning from November through February when particle pollution was forecast to be unhealthy. In 2019, the Air District amended the Wood Burning Rule making it illegal to burn wood year-round when particulate matter is forecast to reach unhealthy levels in an effort to address wildfire smoke impacts.
Wood burning is always discouraged even when it is not illegal. The Air District has many ways the public can be notified about a Spare the Air Alert in the wintertime. These include the 877-4NO-BURN hotline, phone, text and email alerts, website banners, social media sites, a widget and a Spare the Air mobile application. The selected contractor will assist with promoting these tools to help reduce wood burning in the Bay Area.
The goals of the Spare the Air winter program include:
1. Reduce wood smoke in the region by motivating residents to reduce the use of wood burning stoves, fireplaces and outdoor fire pits and encouraging the use of alternatives such as electric heating devices.
2. Achieve measurable behavior change in motivating individuals to reduce their contribution to Bay Area wintertime air pollution.
3. Inform the public about the Wood Burning Rule (burn ban, health impacts and notification methods).
4. Inform Bay Area residents about the localized impacts from wood burning at the
neighborhood and regional level as well as inside the home.
5. Outreach and promotion of Air District wood stove change-out programs.
6. Expand Air District efforts to communicate air pollution information to nonEnglish-speaking populations.
SECTION IV – SCOPE OF WORK
The selected contractor (hereinafter referred to as “contractor”) will provide Advertising,
Communications, Employer Outreach and Survey Research Services for Spare the Air
program and will be responsible for the tasks outlined in this Scope of Work. Proposers
need not assume that all program elements or methods used previously by the Air District
must continue as before. The Air District encourages the development of innovative
approaches toward meeting the goals of its education and outreach program, including
the realignment of the various elements of the campaigns currently in place.
A. Advertising
The contractor will work with the Air District Communications Office to develop, produce
and implement the following Spare the Air advertising campaigns:
• March through October – encourage transportation behavior change to reduce solo
drivers on Bay Area roads and encourage remote work, transit, carpooling, walking
or biking and Employer Programs, and other Spare the Air behavior change
campaigns.
• November through February – educate the public about the health effects of wood
burning and how to access Spare the Air alert information.
• Year-round – encourage employers to adopt permanent remote work options for
employees, promote alternatives to driving alone (like taking transit), and provide
information on wildfire smoke preparedness and associated Spare the Air alerts.
The contractor will design the program and produce and implement all aspects of the
advertising campaign – including but not limited to, concept, writing, design, production
and media placement. The contractor will take part in team meetings with Air District staff
and other Air District contractors on a weekly basis or as needed.
B. Media/Public Relations
The contractor will work with the Air District Communications Office to develop, produce
and implement media/public relations that support the overall messaging goals of the
Spare the Air program. Media/public relations will support each Spare the Air program
through media events, news interviews, speaking engagements, Op-Eds, and other
relevant messaging opportunities.
The contractor will design the program and produce and implement all aspects of the
media/public relations components — including but not limited to, concept, writing, design,
production and media pitching. The contractor will take part in team meetings with Air
District staff and other Air District contractors on a weekly basis or as needed.
C. Social Media
The contractor will develop and implement social media messaging plans, promotions and
contests, build social media following and engagement, and manage social media
accounts that encourage behavior change through the (1) Spare the Air program (summer
and winter) and (2) Spare the Air Employer Program.
The contractor will:
• Develop social media strategies including but not limited to, concept, writing,
design, production and technical services.
• Create and curate engaging content for social media platforms.
• Develop and manage content calendars to ensure timely publication.
• Ensure digital content is engaging, relevant and supports the objectives of the
Spare the Air campaigns.
• Implement social listening tools to monitor mentions of relevant topics.
• Monitor engagement and define key performance indicators for each platform.
• Take part in team meetings with Air District staff and other Air District contractors
weekly or as needed.
• Work with Air District staff to ensure social media efforts are consistent with Air
District social media outreach efforts.
D. Public Opinion Measurement Surveys
The contractor will measure the effectiveness of the Air District’s Spare the Air program
and assess public behavior patterns. The contractor will conduct surveys strategically
year-round during Spare the Air Alert and on non-alert days when air quality is good for
the Spare the Air program.
The contractor will conduct in-language surveys in Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese in
the third year of the contract as a follow-up to in-language surveys conducted for the Spare
the Air winter portion of the program.
The contractor will:
• Spare the Air summer program
o Design survey methodology and work with Air District staff to develop and
refine survey questionnaires, as appropriate.
o Coordinate data collection to follow Spare the Air Alerts, collect interviews,
process data and produce topline results.
o Process and weigh data, analyze results, calculate emission reductions,
prepare a draft report for Air District review, and a final report based on review
comments.
o Collect 1,500 statistically significant interviews for Spare the Air and collect data, process interviews and produce topline results.
• Spare the Air winter program
o Design survey methodology and work with Air District staff to develop and
refine survey questionnaires, as appropriate.
o Coordinate data collection for Spare the Air Alerts, collect interviews, process
data, produce topline results.
o In 2026 (third year of contract), conduct in-language surveys in Spanish,
Mandarin and Cantonese to follow Spare the Air Alerts, collect interviews,
process data on an episode basis, and produce topline results for each
episode.
o Process and weigh data, analyze results, calculate emission reductions,
prepare a draft report for Air District review, and prepare a final report based
on review comments.
o Collect 1,300 statistically significant interviews for Spare the Air Alerts and
collect data, process interviews, and produce topline results.
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