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Agenda Item
ASR
Control 25-000811 |
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MEETING
DATE: |
12/16/25 |
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legal entity taking action: |
Board
of Supervisors |
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board of supervisors district(s): |
All
Districts |
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SUBMITTING Agency/Department: |
Health
Care Agency (Approved) |
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Department contact person(s): |
Veronica
Kelley (714) 834-7024 |
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Ian
Kemmer (714) 834-2160 |
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Subject: Approve Contract for Marketing and
Public Relations Services
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ceo CONCUR |
County Counsel Review |
Clerk of the Board |
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Concur |
Approved
Agreement to Form |
Discussion |
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3
Votes Board Majority |
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Budgeted: Yes |
Current Year
Cost: $1,000,000 |
Annual Cost: FY 2026-27 $386,195 |
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Staffing Impact: |
No |
# of Positions: |
Sole Source: No |
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Current Fiscal Year Revenue: N/A
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Prior Board Action: N/A |
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RECOMMENDED
ACTION(S):
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1. |
Approve Contract with Pulsar
Advertising, Inc., for provision of Marketing and Public Relations Services,
effective January 19, 2026, through January 18, 2027, in an amount not to
exceed $1,386,195. |
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2. |
Authorize the County Procurement Officer
or Deputized designee to execute Contract with Pulsar Advertising, Inc., as
referenced in the Recommended Action above. |
SUMMARY:
Approval of the contract with
Pulsar Advertising, Inc., to update and relaunch the Life is Greater Than Drugs
Youth-Focused Social Media Campaign will allow the Health Care Agency,
Behavioral Health Services, to support the delivery of a comprehensive and
informative social media campaign to help prevent substance use by youth.
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION:
To help address the misuse of
prescription drugs by Orange County youth, in 2019 the Health Care Agency (HCA)
partnered with Pulsar Advertising, Inc. (Pulsar) to develop and execute the
“Life is Greater than Drugs” (L>D) campaign. Pulsar led the initial campaign
development by conducting campaign focus groups and facilitating key informant
interviews, developing a marketing plan, building the campaign website, and
producing video assets. Given Pulsar’s experience creating the original
campaign and website, and Pulsar’s familiarity with the campaign’s goals and
target audience, continuing this partnership is both strategic and efficient.
It ensures a seamless transition and faster implementation of the next campaign
phase.
On March 19, 2019, HCA issued a
Request for Proposals for the provision of an Opioid Prevention Media Campaign
and awarded contract No. MA-042-19011724 to Pulsar Advertising, Inc., effective
May 17, 2019, through June 30,2020, in an amount not to exceed $1,300,000. The
contract was renewed under Deputy Purchasing Agent authority for an additional
year effective July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2021, in an amount not to exceed
$1,200,000, for a cumulative contract amount of $2,500,000. On December 15,
2020, HCA obtained Board of Supervisors (Board) approval to adjust the
professional services budget amount to $510,000 and to renew the contract for
one additional year with no change in the cumulative contract amount. On August
1, 2022, the County Procurement Office executed Regional Cooperative Agreement
(RCA) No. RCA-017-22010071 with Pulsar. HCA is issuing a contract with Pulsar
subordinate to the RCA.
The original youth-centered social and
digital media campaign ran from October 2021 through February 2022. Designed to
educate and empower youth, the campaign raised awareness on the dangers of
prescription drug misuse while promoting healthy, positive alternatives. Using
social media platforms frequented by youth (e.g., YouTube, Instagram,
Snapchat), the campaign delivered exceptionally high engagement, being seen
44.5 million times and garnering over eight million full video views, a strong
indicator that youth were not just scrolling past but demonstrating strong
engagement and resonance with the content.
HCA regularly analyzes local youth
substance use trends using data collected from the California Healthy Kids
Survey. These insights help inform and guide prevention efforts across the
county. While alcohol continues to be the number one drug of choice among
youth, other drugs, such as cannabis and opioids, pose significant risks. The
widespread presence of fentanyl in illicit substances led to the rise in
overdose deaths among adolescents between 2019 and 2024. Additionally, emerging
drug trends like nitrous oxide and kratom are contributing to serious health
consequences. These evolving challenges highlight the ongoing need for
targeted, data-driven drug education and prevention messaging that addresses a
wide range of substances.
This proposed campaign represents just one
facet of HCA’s broader, comprehensive approach to its long-term goal of
reducing youth substance use. Complementing prevention efforts include the
implementation of evidence-based, multi-session curricula focused on substance
use prevention and life skills development, educational outreach to parents and
caregivers to emphasize their role in prevention, and collaboration with youth
to design and implement prevention activities within their schools and
communities. The campaign materials and the accompanying website will be
promoted through all of these prevention efforts. In addition, HCA will partner
with the Orange County Department of Education, schools and other youth-serving
agencies to further expand the reach of the campaign.
Scope
of Work
The refreshed media campaign will once
again spotlight prevention messages from youth focus groups, targeting youth
ages 11 – 18 years old. The campaign will be delivered through social and
digital media platforms with which the youth are most passionately engaged.
Short, eye-catching video ads will be crafted to feel authentic and relatable,
looking like content youth naturally create and share, whether it is showcasing
a talent they have or something fun they can do with friends. Each video will
also feature facts about the risks of alcohol and other drugs, leading viewers
to the campaign website, www.lifeisgreaterthandrugs.com, to learn more.
To ensure the campaign is youth-informed
and impactful, Pulsar will begin the development process with formative
research, actively engaging Orange County youth to gather key elements such as
video themes, messaging, and preferred social media platforms. Involving youth
from the outset ensures the campaign reflects current youth culture, including
relevant activities and messaging that resonates. This early engagement shapes
the creative direction of professionally produced videos, including scripting, staging,
and tone. Youth will be re-engaged during the review phase to provide feedback
on draft videos and overall messaging, helping to confirm authenticity,
cultural relevance and emotional resonance. Their continued involvement
throughout the process strengthens the campaign’s credibility and
effectiveness.
Pulsar will develop a comprehensive media
and marketing plan to maximize reach through a strategic and targeted social
and digital media buying, monitoring, and optimization. They will leverage
insights from the original L>D campaign, gather feedback from youth focus
groups, develop a creative brief to shape the direction of the refreshed
campaign and manage all phases of video production, from planning and
scheduling to on-location filming. Furthermore, the campaign website will be
redesigned to include information on a broader range of substances and feature
updated content that promotes healthy, positive alternatives.
The Orange County Preference Policy is not
applicable to the Contract.
This contract, due to the nature of
the services, could require the addition of subcontractors. See Attachment B
for Contract Summary Form. The appropriate due diligence has been conducted and
the subcontractors have been verified to be in good standing.
Contractor’s performance has been
confirmed as satisfactory. HCA has verified there are no concerns that must be
addressed with respect to Contractor’s ownership/name, litigation status or
conflicts with County interests.
An analysis was completed to verify
the Contract provides County with persons specially trained, experienced,
expert and competent to perform the special services in accordance with the
law.
HCA requests that the Board authorize the
County Procurement Officer or Deputized Designee to execute the Contract as
referenced in the Recommended Action.
FINANCIAL
IMPACT:
Fed: 100% (Justice Assistant Grant and
Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Primary Prevention).
Appropriations for the Contract are
included in Budget Control 042 FY 2025-26 Budget and will be included in the
budgeting process for future years.
Contract includes provisions allowing HCA
to terminate the Contract, reduce the level of services, and/or renegotiate the
levels of services provided, as necessary. This includes a notice that allows
HCA adequate time to transition or terminate services, if necessary.
STAFFING
IMPACT:
N/A
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment
A - Contract No. MA-042-26010411 for Marketing and Public Relations Services
Attachment B - Contract Summary Form