SALMON
LICENSE
PLATE
January 25, 2023
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
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BACKGROUND
The Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board (OWEB) and Oregon Parks and
Recreation Department (OPRD) first debuted the salmon plate in 1998. Revenue
from the specialty plate protects and restores native salmon habitat. Since the first
offering, more than $8 million of salmon plate funding has been invested in Oregon
from the plate registration funds.
In 2015, legislation passed to make sure that proceeds go directly to projects that
restore the streams, rivers and estuaries salmon require at every stage in their life
cycle. Salmon hatch in freshwater rivers and streams, migrate to the ocean, then
return years later to their natal stream to spawn before dying. Restoration projects
include removing invasive plants along waterways, planting native trees and shrubs,
and placing large logs in rivers to create cool, slow-moving pools to protect eggs and
young salmon.
The original salmon plate was one of the earliest custom designs available in Oregon,
second only to the Oregon Trail plate that debuted in 1993. In 2021, OWEB and
OPRD updated the plate design. The new design is a colorful upgrade, showing
spawning salmon in a clear stream. The image was created by Gretchen Kirchner, an
amateur artist and former graphic designer for OWEB.
Net revenue from plate
registration funds have
dwindled over the years.
OPRD received over
$500,000 in 2013 for
that biennium and saw
steady decreases since
then (see Graph 4 on
page 9). In the 2021
appropriation year, the
fund saw over a 33%
decrease. The push for a redesign and revival of the plate came urgently as the fund
faced continual decline in inflation-adjusted dollars for roughly the last decade.
The new salmon license plate went on sale Sept. 1, 2021 to the public. However, a
special auction for low number plates from SM 000001 through SM 00020 ran from
July 20-July 30, 2021. Proceeds from the auction went to support education, outreach,
and on the ground projects that project or restore native salmon habitat.
Figure 1The original or the "classic" salmon plate debuted in January 1998 and retired in July 2021.
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
3
GOALS
• Stabilize at 10% more registrations after release of new
design excitement and buzz settle.
• Achieve ongoing growth matching overall vehicle
volume growth over the long term in Oregon.
• Earn back the upfront re-design investment and higher
ongoing production costs.
• Yield two benefits:
o more funding for salmon recovery projects in state
parks and statewide
o greater awareness of the salmon recovery plan
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
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MARKETING & ADVERTISING
With the launch of the updated plate, OPRD and OWEB collaborated on external marketing and
advertising efforts through web content, social media, online video advertisements, cable
advertisements and partnerships with nonprofit organizations.
Figure 2 Instagram ad promoting the new plate in August 2021.
Initially earned media through press releases and the hype of the low-number auction drove interest
in the new plates. It was also supplemented by online campaigns and partner organizations with
assets created by a branding and design firm called Delicious and an external website hosted for the
first year of the marketing campaign under orsalmonplates.org.
The Delicious contract called for $15,000 for the original
salmon plate campaign including: YouTube Pre-roll
commercials from concept to production, domain name
registration for orsalmonplates.com, up to six rounds of
revisions for the website and hosting, web and social media
content and asset development for catch-and-release/fisherman
types; recreational enthusiasts; and environmentally conscious
individuals.
Social media content alerted people to purchase the old plate
before it expired and push people to the orsalmonplates.org
webpage where people could find out more information about
purchasing a new plate.
Figure 3 Twitter post promoting new plate auction in July
2021.
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Video Ads
From December 2021 through February 2022, OPRD hired Univox Media to run programmatic
advertisements to continue to promote the plate into the new year. With a net budget of $9,000 the
project aimed for 540,750 impressions of video ads across Connected TV and traditional pre-roll to
a specific target audience.
Connected TV tactics served ads on Smart TVs via WiFi & connected devices such as Amazon Fire
TV, Apple TV, Roku systems, etc. The campaign delivered via PMP (Private Marketplace Deals) in
100% brand safe environments via more than 200 suppliers from current tech stack. Common
household names such as PlutoTV, Sling TV, Direct TV Now, and other lesser known brands
Newsy, Tubi, etc. The preroll tactics served across phone, tablet and computer.
The final recap after February 28, 2022 highlighted the following:
• Exceeded the goal of 540,750 impressions by delivering more than 757,700 ads to the target
audiences.
Connected TV
• Ads that play via the
internet, not on traditional
cable or broadcast TV
shows. These are served
ONLY on internet-
connected TVs.
Pre-roll Ads
• Ads that play before the
content the end-user has
selected to watch.
Target Audience
• Adults ages 25+
• In-market for a new vehicle
• Interested in fishing
• Interested in watersports
• Interested in rivers & streams
• Interested in nature/wildlife preservation
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
6
• Bought media at an efficient eCPM (effective cost per mille) of $8.18 per thousand ads
served.
• The Connected TV Living Room flights ran at a 1.84x average frequency and impacted
55,500+ unique households in the state of Oregon
• The Connected TV Video Completion Rate finished at an average of 97.8%, meaning that
100,300+ video ads were watched to completion
• Video advertisements created by Delicious were reformatted to two 30-second shorts:
Environment and Fishing.
o Creative performance numbers showed that there were slightly more clicks and
higher click-thru-rate (CTR) on the “Fishing” :30 ad creative.
• As a result of the Preroll flight, we received total 1854 clicks back to the website.
• Device platforms where impressions were aired included: Roku; Tizen; Amazon Fire;
Android; Apple TV; Xbox; PlayStation; Chromecast; iOS and others
• Device types were 97% on Connected TV and the rest on Game Consoles.
• Daily impressions averaged about 4,800
• Overall, the campaign numbers exceeded initial goals.
Ad Type
Total
Impressions
Average
CPM
Total
Clicks
Total
CTR
Preroll
Retargeting
7,002
$ 8.05
68
0.971%
Preroll
648,173
$ 4.79
1,786
0.276%
CTV
102,600
$ 30.75
33
0.032%
Rollup
757,775
$ 8.41
1,887
0.249%
Figure 4 Oregon Parks Salmon License Plate "Fishing" Commercial Still from YouTube
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DMV Sales Records
Classic salmon plate sales from 1998 started off strong with more than 1,000 plate sales per month
in its first year. The sales stayed steady hovering consistently over 800 plate sales until late 2001 with
a few exceptions. In 2002, the original Crater Lake plate option debuted and competed with the
existing Oregon Trail and Salmon Plate options. Sales declined but stayed between 300 – 500 plate
sales per month until mid-2008.
For the next ten years, the classic salmon plate struggled to compete as more custom plate options
became available to Oregonians. Sales dipped below 200 sales consistently and OWEB and OPRD
began discussions to renew the plate design to inspire more sales.
By 2019, Oregonians faced a plethora of options including a highly competitive Smokey Bear plate
and the popular “Coastal Playground” gray whale plate. As of the end of 2022, 19 different plate
options are available to the public including the renewed Salmon Plate design. Although the new
design was ready for its reveal in 2020, reduced car sales from COVID-19 impacts delayed the
campaign. The salmon plate saw its lowest registration numbers between April – July 2020, where
sales did not exceed 34.
The sales started to recover with the rebound of car sales after initial pandemic restrictions and
resumed a steady registration rate between 100-200 per month until July 2021 when the retirement
announcement of the classic salmon plate made rounds.
Low numbers for the first 20 plates were held for a special auction that raised over $15,000 in
charitable gifts to support conservation organizations that protect watershed health.
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
Jan-98
Jan-99
Jan-00
Jan-01
Jan-02
Jan-03
Jan-04
Jan-05
Jan-06
Jan-07
Jan-08
Jan-09
Jan-10
Jan-11
Jan-12
Jan-13
Jan-14
Jan-15
Jan-16
Jan-17
Jan-18
Jan-19
Jan-20
Jan-21
Jan-22
Graph 1: Salmon Plate Sales January 1998 - Nov 2022
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
8
With the announcement of the old plate retiring and the new
design debut, the salmon plate registration numbers jumped
up in August to 1684 and 722 sales in September. After the
initial excitement, the numbers plateaued between 300-450
for several months. These numbers have held steady
throughout 2022.
Appendix E shows the plate sales monthly average and
percentage change over the years. In 2020, the average
monthly sales were 88 plates. In 2021, the average monthly
sales were 425, a 386% increase. In 2022, the average
monthly sales dropped to 371, still a 324% increase over
2020. The expectation is that once the novelty and buzz of
the redesign wears out, we will still maintain higher average
monthly sales than we did prior to the redesign. The goal for
a consistent 10% increase seems well within reach for the
future.
The digital campaign ran from December 2021 – February
2022 with impressive engagement numbers but the
correlation of the registration numbers does not imply
causation of the sales numbers. The combination of internal
and external marketing efforts from the auction, participating nonprofits, social media, the Oregon
Auto Dealers Association, along with an appealing new design has reinvigorated the registration of
the salmon plates and made it a competitive option among Oregon drivers.
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
Jan-11
Jun-11
Nov-11
Apr-12
Sep-12
Feb-13
Jul-13
Dec-13
May-14
Oct-14
Mar-15
Aug-15
Jan-16
Jun-16
Nov-16
Apr-17
Sep-17
Feb-18
Jul-18
Dec-18
May-19
Oct-19
Mar-20
Aug-20
Jan-21
Jun-21
Nov-21
Apr-22
Sep-22
Graph 2: Salmon Plate Sales January 2011 through Nov 2022
Figure 5 Oregon Auto Dealers Association's 2021
Summer Newsletter helped promote the new plate
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
9
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
Graph 3: Salmon Plate Sales June 2021 through Nov 2022
$-
$100,000.00
$200,000.00
$300,000.00
$400,000.00
$500,000.00
$600,000.00
2013/14 2015/16 2017/18 2019/20 2021/22
Graph 4: Salmon Plate Revenue Appropriated to OPRD
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
10
OPRD Team
This project was a cooperative effort by both the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board and
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department with the support of the Oregon Department of Motor
Vehicles.
OPRD’s efforts were led by Chris Havel, Deputy Director of Government Relations; Diane
Navarrete, Public Affairs Specialist; Beth Wilson, Public Affairs Specialist; Noel Bacheller, Natural
Resource Specialist; Jo Niehaus, Government Relations; Cathy Blackwell, Budget Analyst; and Sarah
Heinsohn, Digital Media Coordinator.
Appendices
Appendix A: Artist Bio: Gretchen Kirchner
Appendix B: 2020 Salmon Plate Redesign
Appendix C: Pivot Table 1: Sale of Salmon Plates from Jan 1998 –
November 2022
Appendix D: Pivot Table 2: Salmon Plate Revenue received by OPRD-
by Appropriation Year
Appendix E: Pivot Table 3: Salmon Plate Sales Average and Percentage
Change
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
11
Appendix A
Artist Bio: Gretchen Kirchner
The 2020 salmon plate redesign was created by Gretchen Kirchner, an amateur artist and former
graphic designer for Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.
Kirchner used watercolor pencil for the original artwork and Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to
idealize it for plate usage. Her challenge was to create a realistic portrayal of salmon native to
Oregon while also meeting the design requirements for a license plate. She examined many
photographs and consulted with OWEB’s biologist to perfect each detail, from the colors to the
adipose fin.
While currently residing in Idaho, Gretchen lived in Oregon for 16 years and found artistic
inspiration from her explorations of Oregon’s beaches, forests, mountains, and valleys, as well as
from other artists. Growing up, she loved creating art, and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in
studio art from the University of California at Riverside. She enjoys working with different media —
watercolor, gouache, acrylic, and casein.
“I love knowing that each time the new plate is purchased, funds will be directed toward salmon
recovery,” Kirchner said. “Salmon are a vital natural resource for so many people, and a vital
component of a healthy watershed.”
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Appendix B
2020 Salmon License Plate Redesign
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
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Appendix C
Pivot Table 1: Sale of Salmon Plates from Jan 1998 – November 2022
Row Labels
Sum of
Salmon
Passenger
(Pass)
Sum of Salmon
Motor Home
(MH)
Sum of Salmon
Travel Trailer (TT)
Sum of Salmon
Total
January-98
0
0
0
0
February-98
1152
34
11
1197
March-98
1702
42
54
1798
April-98
1416
47
53
1516
May-98
1192
62
36
1290
June-98
1316
59
39
1414
July-98
1322
77
51
1450
August-98
1141
69
26
1236
September-98
1124
48
30
1202
October-98
1015
91
30
1136
November-98
776
67
23
866
December-98
845
64
18
927
January-99
744
42
29
815
February-99
680
63
12
755
March-99
952
59
35
1046
April-99
862
73
30
965
May-99
717
78
49
844
June-99
856
103
52
1011
July-99
801
100
47
948
August-99
772
71
35
878
September-99
794
83
49
926
October-99
835
70
32
937
November-99
702
70
25
797
December-99
603
59
23
685
January-00
653
42
22
717
February-00
601
46
41
688
March-00
744
80
40
864
April-00
672
73
42
787
May-00
665
79
46
790
June-00
800
82
55
937
July-00
859
86
53
998
August-00
901
70
45
1016
September-00
781
73
42
896
October-00
733
72
33
838
November-00
646
60
24
730
December-00
575
38
17
630
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
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January-01
744
42
29
815
February-01
680
63
12
755
March-01
952
59
35
1046
April-01
852
73
30
955
May-01
717
78
49
844
June-01
856
103
52
1011
July-01
801
100
47
948
August-01
772
71
35
878
September-01
794
83
49
926
October-01
835
70
32
937
November-01
702
70
25
797
December-01
603
59
23
685
January-02
670
26
16
712
February-02
609
34
24
667
March-02
666
43
33
742
April-02
662
57
48
767
May-02
663
55
22
740
June-02
679
55
35
769
July-02
746
65
37
848
August-02
558
45
36
639
September-02
524
20
17
561
October-02
466
14
8
488
November-02
316
13
3
332
December-02
297
6
3
306
January-03
330
8
7
345
February-03
344
11
5
360
March-03
388
17
16
421
April-03
341
13
13
367
May-03
384
11
14
409
June-03
372
20
16
408
July-03
409
16
12
437
August-03
402
14
12
428
September-03
436
12
2
450
October-03
472
7
14
493
November-03
328
10
4
342
December-03
328
10
2
340
January-04
311
0
0
311
February-04
285
0
0
285
March-04
339
0
0
339
April-04
337
0
0
337
May-04
317
317
June-04
376
376
July-04
371
371
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
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August-04
412
412
September-04
325
325
October-04
352
352
November-04
338
338
December-04
279
279
January-05
309
309
February-05
277
277
March-05
334
334
April-05
309
309
May-05
282
282
June-05
336
336
July-05
334
334
August-05
362
362
September-05
376
376
October-05
298
298
November-05
295
295
December-05
289
289
January-06
304
304
February-06
287
287
March-06
378
378
April-06
321
321
May-06
310
310
June-06
307
307
July-06
351
351
August-06
379
379
September-06
371
371
October-06
336
336
November-06
357
357
December-06
274
274
January-07
308
308
February-07
269
269
March-07
340
340
April-07
334
334
May-07
343
343
June-07
437
437
July-07
362
362
August-07
441
441
September-07
313
313
October-07
378
378
November-07
265
265
December-07
245
245
January-08
307
307
February-08
266
266
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
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March-08
278
278
April-08
292
292
May-08
258
258
June-08
262
262
July-08
322
322
August-08
269
269
September-08
280
280
October-08
229
229
November-08
194
194
December-08
176
176
January-09
183
183
February-09
174
174
March-09
213
213
April-09
210
210
May-09
200
200
June-09
262
262
July-09
209
209
August-09
240
240
September-09
222
222
October-09
173
173
November-09
139
139
December-09
170
170
January-10
165
165
February-10
162
162
March-10
194
194
April-10
180
180
May-10
161
161
June-10
200
200
July-10
211
211
August-10
187
187
September-10
167
167
October-10
157
157
November-10
147
147
December-10
163
163
January-11
148
148
February-11
165
165
March-11
184
184
April-11
176
176
May-11
173
173
June-11
179
179
July-11
181
181
August-11
184
184
September-11
176
176
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
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October-11
167
167
November-11
142
142
December-11
130
130
January-12
109
109
February-12
114
114
March-12
132
132
April-12
133
133
May-12
133
133
June-12
166
166
July-12
130
130
August-12
154
154
September-12
145
145
October-12
123
123
November-12
127
127
December-12
117
117
January-13
138
138
February-13
123
123
March-13
139
139
April-13
134
134
May-13
164
164
June-13
127
127
July-13
158
158
August-13
163
163
September-13
130
130
October-13
163
163
November-13
134
134
December-13
124
124
January-14
143
143
February-14
119
119
March-14
160
160
April-14
150
150
May-14
139
139
June-14
150
150
July-14
170
170
August-14
181
181
September-14
176
176
October-14
174
174
November-14
128
128
December-14
134
134
January-15
147
147
February-15
149
149
March-15
171
171
April-15
145
145
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
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May-15
157
157
June-15
142
142
July-15
186
186
August-15
195
195
September-15
187
187
October-15
218
218
November-15
151
151
December-15
192
192
January-16
149
149
February-16
162
162
March-16
195
195
April-16
175
175
May-16
188
188
June-16
191
191
July-16
169
169
August-16
186
186
September-16
193
193
October-16
165
165
November-16
157
157
December-16
172
172
January-17
169
169
February-17
158
158
March-17
224
224
April-17
172
172
May-17
184
184
June-17
204
204
July-17
206
206
August-17
203
203
September-17
193
193
October-17
214
214
November-17
193
193
December-17
163
163
January-18
159
159
February-18
154
154
March-18
193
193
April-18
193
193
May-18
208
208
June-18
209
209
July-18
223
223
August-18
235
235
September-18
234
234
October-18
203
203
November-18
163
163
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
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December-18
161
161
January-19
349
349
February-19
88
88
March-19
238
238
April-19
154
154
May-19
214
214
June-19
134
134
July-19
257
257
August-19
121
121
September-19
113
113
October-19
220
220
November-19
101
101
December-19
106
106
January-20
92
92
February-20
113
113
March-20
179
179
April-20
34
34
May-20
23
23
June-20
30
30
July-20
34
34
August-20
116
116
September-20
65
65
October-20
100
100
November-20
176
176
December-20
89
89
January-21
217
217
February-21
115
115
March-21
254
254
April-21
163
163
May-21
144
144
June-21
164
164
July-21
332
332
August-21
1684
1684
September-21
722
722
October-21
468
468
November-21
439
439
December-21
402
402
January-22
377
377
February-22
381
381
March-22
477
477
April-22
399
399
May-22
379
379
June-22
292
292
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
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July-22
333
333
August-22
386
386
September-22
344
344
October-22
263
263
November-22
452
452
Grand Total
103324
3785
2066
109175
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
21
Appendix D
Pivot Table 2: Salmon Plate Revenue received by OPRD-
by Appropriation Year
Row Labels
Sum of Revenue
2013
$ 514,595.06
2015
$ 479,535.13
2017
$ 455,659.46
2019
$ 416,747.15
2021
$ 343,045.50
2023
$ 325,551.94
Grand Total
$ 2,535,134.24
Salmon License Plate Report 21-22
22
Appendix E
Pivot Table 3: Salmon Plate Sales Average and Percentage Change
Year
Annual Monthly
Average
Percentage
Change from
Year Prior
5-year
Monthly
Sales
Average
Percentage
Change
Every Five
Years
Notes
1998
1276
100%
1999
884
-31%
2000
824
-7%
995
Average for
three years
1998-2000
2001
883
7%
2002
631
-29%
2003
400
-37%
2004
337
-16%
2005
317
-6%
514
-48%
2006
331
5%
2007
336
2%
2008
192
-43%
2009
200
4%
2010
175
-13%
247
-52%
2011
167
-4%
2012
132
-21%
2013
141
7%
2014
150
6%
2015
170
13%
152
-62%
2016
175
3%
2017
190
9%
2018
195
2%
2019
175
-10%
2020
88
-50%
164
8%
2021
425
386%
159%
Compared to
2016-2020
average
2022
371
-13%
126%
Compared to
2016-2020
average
