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CalVCB’s $3 million public‑awareness campaign reports millions of impressions, rise in self‑filed applications
Summary
CalVCB staff and vendor Civilian reported the statewide $3 million awareness campaign has delivered tens of millions of impressions and coincided with a measurable increase in traffic and self‑represented applications; critics at the meeting said outreach cannot substitute for fixing systemic obstacles to compensation.
CalVCB staff and their marketing vendor, Civilian, told the board the statewide $3 million awareness campaign launched in April 2024 has delivered large reach and measurable website engagement and that preliminary results show a modest increase in self‑filed compensation applications.
Deputy Executive Officer Katie Gardenas said the campaign is funded by one‑time money appropriated in the 2022 budget act and is intended to reach underserved communities statewide. Civilian presenters — Carly Wagner (senior project manager), Lisa Welborn (director of media services) and Camilla (Camellia) Moreno Zolzadeh (director of strategy and insights) — described the campaign’s goals and performance metrics.
Civilian reported that between the campaign launch in April 2024 and March 2025 the program delivered more than 72 million impressions (including about 20 million in Spanish), about 650,000 clicks to CalVCB’s website and roughly 406,000 website visits attributed to paid media. The vendor said average monthly users rose 56% year‑over‑year, and CalVCB staff noted a 13% increase in self‑represented applications during the campaign period.
The vendor described a targeted approach: priority counties were selected using crime‑to‑application data, and a mix of streaming audio, radio, billboards and ethnic media will be used. A pilot influencer component reached several thousand accounts (two California‑based micro‑influencers produced content), with a reported estimated media value of roughly $16,700 on $8,000 in fees.
Civilian described steps taken after the Los Angeles fires to avoid insensitive messaging: pausing certain flights and removing creative with the word “rebuild” in affected markets. The vendor detailed upcoming flights from August through October 2025, including San Diego, Los Angeles and a second Kern County push, and an ethnic media plan to add languages including Vietnamese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Tagalog and Russian.
Several board members praised the campaign’s metrics and asked about “durability” — how awareness can persist after the one‑time funding ends. Civilian said providing customizable, evergreen outreach tools for community partners and translated assets could help preserve gains.
During the public comment period, Margaret Petros of Mothers Against Murder — who had earlier criticized CalVCB’s policies — said the campaign was the wrong priority: “What good is a $3,000,000 campaign when so many crime victims who reach CalVCB… are further traumatized?” She urged the agency to focus on removing barriers in its processes rather than on public relations.
CalVCB staff and board members said the campaign is one part of a broader strategy to increase awareness and that programmatic improvements at the agency remain necessary to convert awareness into equitable access.
The presentation was informational; no board vote or contract approval was requested at the meeting.
CalVCB staff said a post‑campaign survey is planned for spring 2026 to measure changes in awareness, trust and knowledge among target communities.
