Black Hills Energy & 811
Overview
Black Hills Energy & 811 – “Call 811 Before You Dig”
Public Service/Safety Awareness Campaign (Utility/Infrastructure Safety)
Audience Reach: 20+ Million Customers
Awards: American Ad Fed Gold in Public Service: Sales & Marketing Campaign
The Challenge
Developing the creative of a co-branded public safety campaign with 811 Damage Prevention, the national service that encourages safe digging practices. The campaign titled “Call 811 Before You Dig” was expanded on to raise awareness and educate both residential and commercial audiences on the critical importance of contacting 811 before beginning any digging project.
The core challenge was clear: reducing Black Hills Energy hits per thousand by 5% (from 2.16 to 2.05) and prevent third-party damage to underground natural gas lines, a costly and dangerous issue that affects communities, contractors and utility providers Specifically, our goal was to raise awareness and lower the rate of line hits, aligning with national safety benchmarks and internal performance metrics.
To celebrate their wedding, Anna and Luke distilled their own small-batch whiskey, a process that reflected their love of tradition, patience and craftsmanship. The Whiskey was not only served during their celebration, but a portion was bottled, sealed and set aside as a gift to be opened one year later on their anniversary – a gesture of aging, evolving and horning time together.
We developed a brand for the whiskey called Wood + Wool, named for the two materials that defined each of their crafts: Luke’s handmade bowls and Anna’s hand spun and dyed wool masterpieces.
You will find several thoughtful touches of “A Love Handcrafted” woven into every corner of their wedding day. More than a wedding – it was a living brand experience that honored their past, celebrated their present, and planted seeds for their future together in craft, love and life.
Art Direction
The Insight
811 is already a nationally recognized brand, synonymous with excavation safety and damage prevention. Rather than reinvent the message, we strategically leveraged the existing brand equity of 811 – riding the coattails of its widespread recognition – to create a localized extension that reinforced Black Hills Energy’s commitment to public safety.
By co-branding with 811, we positioned Black Hills Energy not just as a utility provider, but as an active safety partner. This alignment allowed us to amplify a message the community already trusted, while tailoring creative and tone to resonate with the specific Black Hills Energy customer base across eight states.
Creative Approach
The creative strategy focused on trust, clarity, and visual cohesion across all channels. We used Black Hills Energy’s signature orange as a unifying color to symbolize safety and continuity through the campaign. This color served as a visual cue and brand bridge between the two organizations.To create authentic, relatable content, we produced a comprehensive photo and video shoot covering real-life digging scenarios across residential and commercial sites. These assets were designed for
Target Audience
- Homeowners and DIY diggers
- Professional excavators
- Landscapers and general contractors
- Home improvement and construction professionals
We approached this as a community-wide education effort, blending strong and relatable brand storytelling with actionable safety messaging to shift behavior and promote responsible digging practices.
Messaging and Voice
At the heart of the campaign was the nationally recognized and trusted messaging:
“Call 811 or Click Before you Dig”
“It’s free. It’s safe. It’s the law.”
“Safety is in your hands – every dig, every time.”
Black Hills Energy fully embraced this clear, direct messaging as part of the co-branded strategy, using it consistently across all campaign channels. Rather than dilute the message with utility-specific language, we chose to stand behind the national voice, reinforcing credibility and consistency in the minds of our customers and contractors.
Deliverables included
The campaign spanned multiple touchpoints, including:
- Campaign playbook (assets and usage)
- Paid media (digital and traditional)
- Out-of-home (billboards, transit ads)
- Print materials (stickers, info cards, utility bill onserts, brochures)
- Website and social media content (both organic and toolkit-based)
- Radio ads
- Internal communications
- Promotional materials (giveaways, safety kits)
Developed branded toolkits for internal teams and external partners to localize messaging while maintaining visual consistency across regions
Role & Contribution
- Art direction across all visual elements and channels
- Led concept development, visual identity and brand alignment and execution
- Oversaw content production, including photo/video shoots and post-production
- Collaborated with cross-functional teams (communications, safety, public affairs, internal, media)
- Execution of campaign consistency across internal and external rollouts
Results
This initiative demonstrated the power of strategic branding, public awareness and education along with creative storytelling to drive meaningful behavior change.
This campaign drove measurable impact:
Line hits decreased to the lowest rate in five years (2025).
Increased community engagement and share a voice in safety-related conversations
Recognition
- American Advertising Federation of the Black Hills –
Gold Addy Award – Public Service: sales & marketing campaign
Why it Worked
The success of the “Call 811 Before You Dig” campaign lies in its strategic alignment between national recognition and local relevance. By cobranding with 811, a trusted national authority on safe digging and pairing it Black Hills Energy’s established presence in the community the campaign delivered a clear, consistent and credible message across every touchpoint.
Through a mix of high-impact creative, real-world imagery and omni-channel delivery, we reached our diverse audiences – homeowners, contractors, landscapers and DIYers – where they are, with messaging that resonated. The use of authentic visuals and strong safety symbolism (like Black Hills Energy brand orange) helped reinforce trust, urgency and safety.
Most importantly, it worked: Black Hills Energy line hits dropped to their lowest level in five years, providing that awareness leads to action. Because the core message is timeliness, legally required and universally relevant, this campaign remains scalable, repeatable and adaptable year after year.