Well I think it’s time I write about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. After all, it is essentially a lesson in social marketing gone viral. In fact, I thought it had reached it’s peak when a slew of A-list celebrities started participating. By Wednesday, I thought the Ice Bucket Challenge would start tapering off…and then people in my close circles of friends started posting videos…and then I got nominated.

ALS is a terrible disease where the body quickly breaks down and loses function until the person is living in a hollow shell that they can’t move. The ALS Ice Bucket challenge started innocently in Florida as a challenge that was not associated by a specific charity. It took a turn when golfer Chris Kennedy was nominated by he poured ice water over his head in the name of ALS. The challenge started taking off and the association with ALS stuck. And it’s been effective. Over $50 million has been donated since July 29, compared to $2.2 million in the same period last year.

Although the Ice Bucket Challenge wasn’t a planned campaign for ALS, that doesn’t mean we can’t learn a thing or two about marketing from it. I don’t believe that a marketing campaign should be created with the goal of going viral because that almost never works. The goal should be to engage and delight your followers/fans/customers/clients. That is exactly what happened with the Ice Bucket challenge – a few people created a fun challenge to spread some good will and at some point it took a life of its own and became something amazing. Here are the lessons I think you can take away from this Internet phenomenon:

Create a network effect

With the ALS Ice Bucket challenge, those participating are urged to share the experience with friends by nominating them. The effect is multiplied by the social pressure of the task being for an altruistic cause.

Patrick O’Brien, a filmmaker who has documented his experience with ALS, wrote a Times article and described the challenge as ” a way for people to connect with something bigger than themselves.” I think this perfectly describes how the network effect has worked in this case. Everyone that participates feels a connection to others that have been nominated and created their own video, including their favourite celebrities that participated before them.

Don’t underestimate the power of of celebrity endorsements

See:

And you know something is important when Oprah gets involved:

Now, you might not have access to a big celebrity to amplify your message. If you do, and they want to get involved, GREAT! But the idea to take away is that getting others on board will help spread your message. Consider a partnership where you and another company can leverage each other’s audience. For example, bring brand ambassadors on board who are experts in your field and can gain something from being an active participant in the campaign.

MOST IMPORTANT: Keep it simple but leave room to be creative

The concept of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge is simple. Dump a bucket of ice water over your head, or donate money to the charity (or both).

One thing I learned from working on marketing campaigns is that the easier it is to participate, the easier it is to convince your audience to take that first step in engagement. Consider online contests. A contest that requires entrants to fill out only  their name and email won’t have a problem getting people to fill out the online form. A contest that requires entrants to fill out a laundry list of personal questions is likely to scare people away before they’ve even started.

The simplicity of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has meant that people nominated don’t feel a burden to participate. At the time of writing, the challenge continues to trend and grow. There are lots of great videos online and has even resulted in some very funny ‘fail’ videos going viral. Here’s my personal favourite:

Also, the more that there is room for putting a personal stamp on participation, the more people will be engaged and excited to interact with your brand. In particular, some of the celebrity participants have come up with some very unique takes on the challenge:

It has even led to some great branding opportunities:

To close off, if you are interested in learning more about ALS and why the challenge has had a positive impact on the cause, I encourage you to watch Anthony Carbajal’s video: