By now we’ve all had our social media accounts filled with people dumping buckets of ice water on their heads and making a donation to the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association. Within the month, it’s no surprise the Association has seen an increase in donations from $1.9 billion to $70.2 billion. But what does this Ice Bucket Challenge phenomenon do for public relations and campaigns in the future? Here are a few takeaways:
1. Encourage grassroots thoughts.
Many probably don’t know that the Ice Bucket Challenge was not created by the ALS association. According to Facebook research, it was started by a video in late July from former Boston College baseball player Pete Frates, who was diagnosed with the disease. At the heart of the campaign is the key to any successful grassroots campaign, which is shareability. In today’s world, people want to be at the forefront of social movements, which then help increase their validity.
2. Involve everyone!
Another reason for the success of this campaign was the sheer number of people it involved. The campaign was smart in having everyone nominate a handful of others to complete the challenge, helping it spread like wildfire.
3. Make it fun and easy.
How many people have a bucket, ice, water, video camera and a social media account to post it on? Almost everyone. The challenge took advantage of items around the home that were easily accessible to people of all ages.
4. Timing is everything.
It’s not every day the weather is warm enough for people to dump ice water on themselves, so this campaign had to happen in the summer months. Additionally, July and August are two of the most common summer months for vacations, leaving people with the time to participate. Also, the short 24-hour turnaround time of the challenge helped with its viral spread.
Earlier this week, Florida State officials suspended QB Jameis Winston for one half of its game vs. Clemson after he yelled a sexually related profanity in the student union.