Oregon Consumer Justice

Challenge: As a result of the class-action lawsuit against ARCO, anyone who made a purchase at an ARCO station in Oregon was entitled to receive a total payment of $183.88, paid in two equal checks of $91.94. The first check was sent to 1,716,123 people but 27% of those checks were never cashed. Our goal was to increase the number of people depositing their settlement check. With any settlement distribution, some checks will be thrown away because people don't know what they are, some checks will be tossed as possible fraud, some people may move without a forwarding address, and others will pass away. 

A large part of our mission was rooted in the fact that many ARCO stations are located in economically vulnerable locations, where there were additional barriers identified for people who didn't speak English, spoke English as a second language, or were unbanked or underbanked. Previous efforts regarding the settlement were provided in English only, and the language on the checks implied that the checks could not be cashed without a bank account.

Objective: To reach these audiences and successfully communicate that these checks were real and that they could be cashed, even without the person having a bank account.

Strategy: Because many ARCO stations are in economically vulnerable locations, it was critically important for us to reach these people so they could get the money they deserved. We faced the challenge of overcoming language barriers and serving unbanked or underbanked people. BPN developed and produced a hyper-local plan targeted to Oregonians most likely to receive the settlement check based on the zip code analysis of check recipients. Both English and Spanish-language communication was created.

BPN created a straightforward, easily understandable, focused message around the fact that the check was real and that recipients should cash it. The campaign aired during the summer of 2020 and included streaming audio and video, digital, Spanish-language radio, and outdoor. Efforts drove to ThisCheckIsReal.org or EsteChequeEsReal.org for people to earn more.

Results: The campaign increased the percentage of checks cashed to 96%, compared to 73% for the first round of checks, very effectively reaching economically vulnerable audiences and Spanish-speaking audiences.

Audio Spots: https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/ciRXsxSGi