REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
April 29, 2025
FROM
JOSHUA DUGAS, Director, Department of Public Health
GEORGINA YOSHIOKA, Director, Department of Behavioral Health
SUBJECT
Title
Contract with 3 Olives Media, LLC for a Fentanyl Awareness Media Ad Campaign
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
Approve contract with 3 Olives Media, LLC to purchase ad space for an expanded Fentanyl Awareness media ad campaign, in the amount of $450,000, for the period of January 27, 2025 through September 30, 2025.
(Presenter: Joshua Dugas, Director, 387-9146)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Promote the Countywide Vision.
Create, Maintain and Grow Jobs and Economic Value in the County.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
This item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The contract cost of $450,000 with 3 Olives Media, LLC (3 Olives) for the Fentanyl Awareness media ad campaign (Campaign) is funded by opioid settlement funds (Settlement Funds). Adequate appropriation and revenue have been included in the Department of Public Health’s (DPH) 2024-25 budget and will be included in future recommended budgets.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
In June 2023, DPH partnered with the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) to leverage its existing efforts regarding fentanyl awareness. Through DBH’s existing relationship with 3 Olives, DPH invested Settlement Funds into an integrated campaign on the dangers of Fentanyl use and exposure. The intent was to reach residents throughout the county, with special consideration to young adults and at-risk and underserved communities. At the time, with the approval of the County Purchasing Department (Purchasing), a purchase order was issued to procure freeway billboard space, radio spots, and targeted social media and digital outreach. The DPH 2023 campaign delivered 23,998,595 advertising impressions, which is a measure used to gauge the number of times an advertisement is displayed or viewed by users. It is a basic unit in advertising to determine the reach and potential effectiveness of an ad campaign.
In December 2024, DPH partnered again with DBH and 3 Olives to run a limited fentanyl media campaign which included radio and social media outreach to targeted communities. The campaign was scheduled to run from December 2024 through March 2025, totaling $199,000 and was executed via purchase order within Purchasing’s approval authority.
Because the fentanyl crisis has continued to be a significant ongoing health concern, there has been a need for sustained media and education surrounding misuse, addiction potential, and ways to mitigate overdose including use of medication such as naloxone (Narcan). In addition, due to the strong public reception of the outreach campaign and increased demand for Narcan resources, the campaign was expanded in January 2025 to include a broad billboard messaging component to further educate the public. The expanded campaign resulted in an additional cost of $123,366 through the original campaign period of March 2025.
Approval of the recommendation will retroactively approve the expanded billboard campaign at a cost of $123,366 and ongoing media totaling $326,634, for a combined total of $450,000 through September 30, 2025. The fentanyl campaign will continue to serve the public by providing education, awareness, and critical resources to communities within the county which are at utmost risk of fentanyl misuse and overdose.
The public demand for Narcan resources has increased by 161% in the first three months of 2025 compared to the entirety of 2024. The request for Narcan in 2024 was 610, compared to requests received January through March 2025 totaling 1590. The recommended ongoing 2025 campaign will continue utilizing multiple advertising formats such as billboards, radio ads, cable TV ads, streaming platforms, and social media to create mass awareness and reach. The goal is to provide education and tools to the community to make informed decisions about substances that can be misused and impact their health.
DPH recommends approval of the contract with 3 Olives to ensure the public continues to be made aware of the dangers of fentanyl and to deliver comprehensive and sustained information in an effort to provide greater awareness, prevention, and harm reduction outcomes. This item is being presented at this time as this is the first available date following contract negotiations, and the required operational, fiscal, and legal reviews. Approval at this time will not impact DPH’s services or activities.
PROCUREMENT
Purchasing approves this non-competitive procurement based on timing constraints. Approval of this contract will allow for the continuation of the existing campaign without disruption, and time for a formal procurement to be completed.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Adam Ebright, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on April 10, 2025; Purchasing (Ariel Gill, Supervising Buyer, 387-2070) on April 18, 2025; Risk Management (Gregory Ustaszewski, Staff Analyst, 386-9008) on April 11, 2025; Finance (Iliana Rodriquez, Administrative Analyst, 387-4205) on April 11, 2025; and County Finance and Administration (Robert Saldana, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on April 11, 2025.