Throughout 8/11 Day (Aug. 11) last week, we saw some very impressive and creative campaigns that helped spread the 811 safety message! There were concert sponsorships, augmented reality filters, partnerships at baseball games and more, all of which raised awareness about the importance of safe digging practices in fun and creative ways.

CGA President and CEO Sarah Magruder Lyle participated in more than 20 TV and radio interviews during an 8/11 Day media tour to share the 811 safety message with homeowners and professionals across the country. She reminded viewers and listeners that contacting 811 before you dig is paramount to avoid injury and damages to underground utilities.

Thank you to all the CGA members that shared their 8/11 Day plans on Engage. Here are a few more creative campaigns shared by our members from 8/11 Day last week:

• American Petroleum Institute (API) published an updated standard on pipeline operators’ public awareness programs on 8/11 Day to provide new guidance on how pipeline operators can manage their public awareness programs.
• Carvertise highlighted what several of their clients executed for 8/11 Day via posts on their Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn pages, including Louisiana 811, Oregon 811, Nebraska 811, Utah 811 and Dig Alert.
• Columbia Gas of Ohio counted down the days to 8/11 Day on billboards throughout its service territory. On 8/11 Day, the company’s damage prevention specialists spent the day reaching out to local landscaping teams with information on proper landscaping practices near gas facilities.
• Georgia 811's external teams made in-person visits to stakeholders on 8/11 Day, offering resources, training and 811 goodies. Georgia 811 also distributed an 8/11 Day press release to spread the word about safe digging practices in their local news outlets and announced via newsletter that registration for their first Damage Prevention Summit on Oct. 6 has opened.
• Nicor Gas held a safe digging sweepstakes where customers who practiced safe digging by contacting 811 would be automatically entered to win a $500 gift card. Nicor Gas also worked with the National Excavator Initiative to promote the safe digging message with popular TV personality Mike Rowe via radio, print, online media and billboard campaigns.
• UtiliQuest leveraged 8/11 Day to debut their new website, logo and branding. UtiliQuest shared the news on their social media channels to promote the 811 safety message to their followers.
• We Energies and North Shore Gas both held local ‘Ambassadog’ competitions, encouraging local residents to submit photos of their dogs digging in order to win. The winning dogs will be featured in awareness campaigns next year to remind homeowners about safe digging practices.

We want to hear from you regarding the tools and resources you would like CGA to provide for next year’s 8/11 Day, National Safe Digging Month and safe digging awareness all year round. Take this short survey to let us know how we can improve 811 awareness resources.

Thank you for your continued dedication to safe digging, damage prevention and raising awareness about safe digging practices on 8/11 Day and beyond. We look forward to seeing all the creative campaigns our members execute next year!