Page 6 - Arkansas 811 Magazine 2020 Issue 3

CenterPoint Energy Gets Tastefully Creative With 8/11 Day Outreach
T 811 Day Cookies are a big hit!
o celebrate 8/11 Day, CenterPoint Energy partnered with a Kona Ice truck in Little Rock to deliver ice cream treats to local community members. The truck, decorated with the
811 messaging, was escorted by CenterPoint Energy employees. Before digging into their treats, patrons were reminded to contact 811 before starting any outdoor digging projects.
“Since we couldn’t gather people together for natural gas safety outreach as we have in previous years, we wanted to bring the fun to our fellow community members in Little Rock,” said Ashley Babcock, CenterPoint Energy’s director of damage prevention and public awareness. “The Kona Ice truck was an excellent way to create a memorable moment around natural gas safety.”
The Kona Ice truck was escorted along a pre-planned route to engage community members in areas with heavy construction activities and in densely-populated residential neighborhoods.
In addition to the ice cream truck, CenterPoint Energy promoted 8/11 Day through radio advertising, earned media and delivering pre-packaged, 811-themed cookies to emergency responders, excavation companies and government officials. This effort led to a blitz of
social media posts from these influential stakeholders promoting natural gas safety with their audiences.
“I’m blown away by the amount of traffic we saw on social media and through the news related to our efforts. I’m proud of the team for working through some unique challenges to make this year’s 8/11 Day a success, and I’m ecstatic about building on these efforts to make next year even better,” said Ashley Babcock.
CenterPoint Energy gets the Kona Ice truck in Little Rock prepared to distribute treats to local community members.
CenterPoint Energy employees deliver 811-themed cookies to Central Arkansas Water.
4 • Arkansas 811 Magazine 2020, Issue 3