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Fresno County Fentanyl Awareness Campaign

Also: Before It's Too Late

“Before It's Too Late”

Fresno County fentanyl awareness campaign (US-CA) funded by the County Administrative Office and District Attorney from July 2021 after a high school senior's death, with billboards of local victims, TV and social PSAs for teens, young adults and parents; among the first multimedia fentanyl campaigns in California, it inspired AB 2365 grants and later added a consequences phase after the county's first fentanyl murder conviction.

Years
2021–now
Country
United States
Budget
USD 194,520 maximum under Purchasing Agreement P-21-291 with OUTFRONT Media (5 Aug 2021 to 5 Mar 2022, billboards and geofencing); then Agreement A-22-058 with OUTFRONT from 7 Mar 2022, USD 156,170, raised to USD 276,170 (Amendment I, Sept 2022) and USD 436,170 (Amendment II, 2023); plus Univision Television Group: Purchasing Agreement P10-0000021636 (14 Feb-30 Jun 2022, TV and radio PSAs) and Agreement A-22-449 from 20 Sep 2022, USD 50,000, raised to USD 150,000 (2023) (Fresno County Board of Supervisors Legistar records).
Topic
DrugsOpioids
Asks people to
Never startRecognizeTalk to someone
Strategy
Fear appealTestimonial
Channel
OutdoorSocial (paid)TVWebsite
Audience
ParentsYoung adultsYouth

Evidence

Self-reportedUnknown

County reports fentanyl deaths fell from 114 (2021) to 96 (2022) and 66 (2025); officials attribute change to several factors, not this campaign alone. 2023 NACo Achievement Award (Best in Category).

Sponsor (who paid)

Credits (who made it)

  • OUTFRONT Media Inc. Media, 2021-2025 source
  • Univision Television Group, Inc. Media, 2022-2025 source

Executions (individual ads)

Related campaigns

Sources

  1. NACo: The County of Fresno - Fentanyl Awareness Campaign (2023 Achievement Award) sponsor · 2023
  2. ABC30: Fresno Co. fentanyl overdose deaths plummet after first murder conviction, public awareness campaign (25 Feb 2026) news · 2026
  3. Fresno County Board of Supervisors, agenda item 22-0092 (22 Feb 2022): Agreement with OUTFRONT Media for a Fentanyl Awareness Campaign (PDF) sponsor · 2022
  4. Fresno County Board of Supervisors, agenda item 22-0921 (11 Oct 2022): Retroactive Agreement with Univision Television Group, Inc. (PDF) sponsor · 2022
  5. Fresnoland: Fresno County Board of Supervisors (9/20/22) ... fentanyl awareness campaign news · 2022

Research notes

US-CA (Fresno County). Videos from the Fresno County YouTube channel (oEmbed-confirmed). Discovered 2026-10-22 for #17. Credits checked 2026-10-22 against fetched pages (procurement records): OUTFRONT Media (Board agenda item 22-0092, 22 Feb 2022: 'On August 5, 2021 the County of Fresno Purchasing Division executed Purchasing Agreement P-21-291 with OUTFRONT Media Inc. to provide Fentanyl Awareness marketing using billboards and geofencing' for the District Attorney and County Administrative Office; competitive bidding waived; Fresnoland, 21 Sep 2022, reports the 5-0 vote on Amendment I); Univision Television Group (agenda item 22-0921, 11 Oct 2022: Purchasing Agreement P10-0000021636 from 14 Feb 2022 'to provide Fentanyl Awareness marketing using television and radio public service announcements', then a retroactive agreement 'for a Fentanyl Awareness Campaign' from 20 Sep 2022, bidding suspended because Univision 'has the highest viewership amongst stations in Fresno'; First Amendment 23-1097 to USD 150,000). Creative appears to be in-house: the county and DA public information officers received a 2023 CAPIO award for the campaign (Legistar 23-0579). Neither OUTFRONT nor Univision has an agency file (media owners, not agencies). Check the numbers: an ABC30 report (Aug 2021, not opened) put DEA and county spending at USD 220,000 for six months; the county agreement maximum was USD 194,520. Separately, Fresno County DBH amended its Two Q, Inc. agreement 19-178 in May 2021 (+USD 50,000, total USD 2,470,000) to add 'substance use disorder awareness campaigns on the dangers of Fentanyl and the lifesaving drug Narcan' (Legistar 21-0289): possible separate DBH effort, not this DA/CAO campaign.

Record cases/fresno-county-fentanyl-awareness.json, updated 2026-10-23· Link to this campaign