In 1997, the program was implemented in conjunction with an extensive public outreach and media campaign to educate citizens about lengthy federal prison sentences for gun crimes and to maximize deterrence. The message An Illegal Gun Gets You Five Years in Federal Prison was placed on 15 billboards, a fully painted city bus carried the message changing routes every day, TV commercials, Metro Richmond traffic reports, over a million supermarket bags were also used to advertise Project Exile. Rochester, NY became the second city to implement the plan in 1998 under the leadership of Mayor Bill Johnson.